The GMR by any other name…
The GMR–as in Greater Midwest Region–is an acronym we use everyday in the GMR. Sometimes “GMR” refers to the region itself, and sometimes it refers to the GMR office. On the other hand, “GMR” might refer to the GMR staff. And some network members might refer to the GMR as the RML.
The GMR–as in GMR office–shares physical space with the University of Illinois at Chicago Library of the Health Sciences (UIC LHS). Technically, UIC LHS is the Regional Medical Library (RML) for the Greater Midwest Region.There are eight RMLs in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM). The Greater Midwest is comprised of the ten Midwest states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky. The NN/LM (the “Network”) developed out of a “Great Society” project of President Johnson’s administration, called the Regional Medical Programs (RMP).
The NN/LM precursor, the Regional Medical Library Network, was created by the Medical Library Assistance Act of 1965. On October 22, 1965, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) was given the responsibility of helping the nation’s medical libraries through a grant program, and created the Regional Medical Library Network. A very enlightening article is available in free full-text from NLM’s PubMed Central. The article is entitled The Nation’s Health Information Network: History of the Regional Medical Library Program, 1965-1985 and was written by Alison Bunting. For more information and some great black and white photos of the time, NLM has a section in Profiles in Science devoted to The Regional Medical Library Collection.
Next time you are online, check out these two articles. Or if you should be in Chicago, Illinois, in the Greater Midwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, and are passing by UIC LHS at 1750 W Polk, stop in and see us (the GMR staff) in the GMR…office!
February 20th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
The GMR was formed from the merger of KOM (Kentucky Ohio Michigan) and Midwest. Over the years, it has also been called “Region 3″ (but technically the region numbering is verboten in public communications) and GMRMLN (Gremlin, from GMR Medical Library Network). The old newsletter name was 3 Sources, referencing “region 3″.
February 26th, 2009 at 10:31 am
One of my astute fellow National Network of Libraries of Medicine colleagues in the Pacific Northwest Region (yes, that’s the PNR and not the GMR) caught my error on the last link I posted. The link is misnamed. It actually goes to The Regional Medical Programs Collection. A good site to see some great photos, nonetheless.
–Ed.