Electronic Access/Document Delivery Access to Health Information
The NN/LM Middle Atlantic Region (MAR), as part of its outreach and library improvement programs and its Strategic Program Plan for Network Members, is accepting applications from MAR full members for Electronic Access/Document Delivery Access to Health Information Awards. These awards are intended for the provision of access to electronic resources and/or document delivery services to underserved populations and/or unaffiliated health professionals.
Projects must involve training or demonstration of the resources available and the means by which the library will provide access to the resources for the underserved populations and/or unaffiliated health professionals.
The following categories are the priority target areas for the award:
- Target groups: Seniors, Hispanic populations, faith-based organizations, low income/literacy populations
- Partners: Unaffiliated health professionals, senior centers, non-profit organizations, schools, and public health departments; Note: Unaffiliated health professionals include nursing/long term care professionals, private practice physicians, nurse practitioners, public health departments, and Federally Qualified Health Centers (health clinics for the underserved)
- Health disparities: Diabetes, heart disease, obesity, cancer, STDs/HIV/AIDS, infant mortality, asthma, uninsured, low health literacy
Up to 3 awards at a maximum of $10,000 each are available. Funds may be used for costs associated with underwriting costs of accessing electronic resources, underwriting costs of document delivery/interlibrary loan, development or delivery of training materials, purchase of equipment to train, purchase of PDAs or other mobile devices to extend the reach of currently available licensed resources, and personnel costs.
Deadline for submission is December 15, 2008. Applications not funded may be resubmitted in subsequent years. Award Recipients will be notified by April 2009. Applications will be reviewed by the Resource Sharing Committee.
Applicant Submission Instructions/Requirements
Full members of the MAR network are eligible to apply.
Applicants must complete the online application form.
Supporting materials, including resumes, letters of support, and equipment quotes may be sent by fax to 212-263-4258 or as attachments in an email to rml@library.med.nyu.edu. Please use the title of your project as the subject line of the email. The MAR staff will acknowledge your application when received.
Cost Application Instructions
Total allowable, reimbursable expenses must not exceed $10,000.
Allowable expenses include:
- Speaker fees and honoraria
- Personnel
- Travel including mileage, tolls, and hotel costs
- Publicity
- Space rental
- Electricity
- Telephone lines/data lines
- Audiovisual costs
- Printing/reproduction/duplication including paper and supplies
- Equipment rental
- Equipment purchase
- Postage and handling
Non-allowable expenses include:
- Indirect costs
- Food or beverages
- Furniture
- Not more than 5% of the budget may be spent on purchases of NEW electronic or print collection resources.
For IT/Computer Hardware, please include the following as part of your cost proposal:
- For IT/Computer Hardware under $3,000, submit catalog pricing.
- For IT/Computer Hardware of $3,000 or more, submit three (3) vendor quotes (preferably valid for 60 days). Quotes may include General Service Administration (GSA) price lists. Vendor quotes are necessary to determine price reasonableness for purchases. If item is over $3,000 and not competed, then a sole source justification letter is required to indicate why it is the most advantageous purchase.
Please provide the above information via PDF file emailed to rml@library.med.nyu.edu or fax to 212-263-4258.
Suggested Projects
Example projects are:
- Purchase and install health information software on PDAs and use with a population that is not well-connected to the library or information resources;
- Provide document delivery/interlibrary loan to group(s) of unaffiliated health professionals, such as public health practitioners, nursing/long term care professionals, private practice physicians, nurse practitioners, public health departments, and Federally Qualified Health Centers (health clinics for the underserved).
- Train underserved populations or unaffiliated health professionals on how to access widely available, high-quality health information resources
Application Review Process
Applications are reviewed by the MAR Resource Sharing Committee. Questions and comments from the reviewers may be sent to the applicant for clarification and revision of the application. The merits of each application will be carefully evaluated, based on responsiveness to the criteria and the thoroughness and feasibility of the project. Applicants must submit information sufficient to evaluate their applicants based on the criteria listed below. Applicants will be notified about the awards by April 30, 2009.
All projects must be completed within 12 months of the award date.
Evaluation Criteria
IDENTIFICATION OF NEED
Application describes why the proposed project is needed and how it will improve access to health information for the underserved population or unaffiliated health professionals.
30 points
METHODOLOGY and TECHNICAL APPROACH
Methods are logical and demonstrate an innovative approach to the use of existing resources in reaching the target population. Issues of sustaining the project once award funding is exhausted MUST be addressed. Strategies for evaluation of the project are included.
30 points
TRAINING
Indication of who the training will reach, how many classes or demonstrations will be held, and training evaluation. The purpose of this award is to reach underserved populations or unaffiliated health professionals. Additional justification is required for training for library staff or affiliated staff.
20 points
EVALUATION
Inclusion of an evaluation of the project, including assessment of funds spent, and indications of outcomes with the target population.
10 points
EXPERIENCE OF RESPONDENT AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
Adequate evidence is provided about the qualifications of the personnel and organizational resources available to assure successful completion of the project. Documentation includes resumes, letters of support and equipment quotes.
10 points
Total Possible Points: 100
Inclusion of an evaluation of the project, including assessment of funds spent, and indications of outcomes with the target population. The awardee may consult with the Outreach and Evaluation Resource Center (OERC) and/or OERC publications for assistance with the development of an evaluation plan.
Reporting Requirements
A final report, including a blog/newsletter article, must be submitted using the appropriate form within 30 days of completion of the project. Award recipients are encouraged to take photographs for inclusion in the report and article. Reports must be submitted to the MAR within three (3) months of completion of the project.
New classes developed as a result of the award must be submitted to the National Training Center and Clearinghouse’s Educational Clearinghouse Database.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Public Access Policy Requirement
In accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy investigators must submit or have submitted for them their final, peer-reviewed manuscripts that arise from NIH funds and are accepted for publication as of April 7, 2008 to PubMed Central, to be made publicly available no later than 12 months after publication. As of May 27, 2008, investigators must include the PubMed Central reference number when citing an article in NIH applications, proposals, and progress reports that fall under the policy, and was authored or co-authored by the investigator or arose from the investigator’s NIH award. For more information, see the Public Access web page.
Website Compliance
If a website is developed under this award, the website must adhere to Section 508 compliance. Resources for this compliance include the National Library of Medicine Web Applications/Site Development Guidelines and Summary of Section 508 Standards.
Applications/Requests for Personal Appeal Type Items
“Personal Appeal Items” are items used for official duties that could be construed to be used for personal purposes. Examples include items such as cameras, MP3 Players, Smartphones, and laptop computers.
Applications requesting these items must demonstrate items will be used for official purposes only, and acknowledge appropriate use of items when acquired with Federal Government funds. The Contractor or Subcontractor work policy should evidence appropriate use of equipment in performance of a Government Contract or Subcontract.
Contact for Questions
If you have questions or require assistance contact Miguel Figueroa at MAR at 1-800-338-7657 or email figueroa@library.med.nyu.edu. Awards will be announced on the MAR Listserv and on the MARquee.
Credit Statement to be used in Publications
The statement below should be used in all publications resulting from projects funded through the NN/LM contract. This includes publications done by both the RML and all subcontractors.
This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. [contract number here] with the [name of the Institution funded as indicated on the official contract.]
Example: This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract # N01-LM-6-3501 with New York University.
