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The International Cooperation Section of the Medical Library
Association
(French abstract)
Previous articles have highlighted the Medical Library Association (MLA), its
accomplishments, goals and vision. MLA has many different sections devoted to diverse
interests such as veterinary, pharmacy, technical Services and others.
The International Cooperation Section of MLA was established in 1989. (Prior to this
there was an International Cooperation committee of MLA.) This group of 166 members value
the international sharing of ideas and resources and the coming together of librarians
from different lands.
Some of the work of this section includes:
- A sister library program
- A Job Exchange Committee
- Providing an annual International Reception at MLA
- Hosting the Cunningham Fellow
MLA consults with the chairman of the International Cooperation Section when selecting
several of its appointments including: MLA Representative to EAHIL, MLA Representative to
Canada.
This section's newsletter is excellent and highlights international medical librarians'
work around the globe. The web site at (http://ahsl.arizona.edu) is
fascinating and provides a good overview of section activities.
To join the International Cooperation Section, you must first join MLA. MLA has a
special reduced rate of $75 for librarians outside the US. Then for $10 extra, you join
the International Cooperation Section. Thus, for a total of $85 you can join MLA and the
International Cooperation Section.
The co-chairs of the International Cooperation Section of MLA:
Donna Flake, Coastal
AHEC, 2131 South 17th Street, PO Box 9025
Wilmington, NC 28402, phone +1.910/343-2180; fax +1.910/762-7600
e-mail: dbf1@med.unc.edu
Pamela Lee, Medical
Librarian, LI Ping Medical Library, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
fax +852-26377817; e-mail pamlee@cuhk.edu.hk
La section de coopération internationale (SCI) de la MLA
(In English)
De précédents articles ont évoqué la MLA, ses réussites, ses objectifs et ses
positions. La MLA comporte beaucoup de sections différentes dédiées à des secteurs
divers comme la médecine vétérinaire, la pharmacie, les services techniques, etc. La
SCI de la MLA a été créée en 1989 (son prédécesseur a été le Comité de
Coopération Internationale de la MLA). Ce groupe de 166 membres soutient le partage
international d'idées et de ressources ainsi que la rencontre de bibliothécaires de pays
différents. Les travaux de cette section incluent:
- un programme de jumelage de bibliothèques,
- un comité d'échange de jobs,
- l'organisation d'une réception internationale de la MLA,
- l'accueil du lauréat de la bourse Cunningham.
La MLA consulte le président de la SCI lors de l'attribution de certains mandats dont:
. le représentant de la MLA à l'AEIBS,
. le représentant de la MLA au Canada.
Le bulletin de cette section est excellent et valorise le travail des bibliothécaires
médicaux internationaux tout autour du globe. Le site web (http://ahsl.arizona.edu) est fascinant et
fournit un bon aperçu des activités de la section. Pour rejoindre la SCI, vous devez
d'abord adhérer à la MLA qui dispose d'un tarif spécial pour les bibliothécaires hors
des USA de 75 $. Ajoutez-y 10 $ et vous entrez à la SCI. Donc pour un total de 85 $ vous
pouvez devenir membre de la MLA et de la SCI.
Les co-présidentes de la SCI de la MLA, Donna Flake & Pamela Lee.
6TH CONGRESS OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR HEALTH INFORMATION AND
LIBRARIES IN AFRICA (AHILA), LUSAKA, SEPTEMBER 1998 - Jean Shaw
(French abstract)
The health problems of Africa are almost overwhelming, perhaps so enormous that even
the most optimistic health science librarians must lose heart from time to time,
especially when faced with yet another cut in funding, so often due to deteriorating
economic conditions on a continental scale. Nevertheless the key speaker Dr. M.Phiri from
a clinic in the northern town of Kitwe, set the tone of the conference by reminding us
that anyone who thinks that their contribution is too small to make a difference,
"has never been in a room alone with a mosquito!" Large problems have to be
broken down into smaller manageable ones and it was with a sense of sharing problems and
suggesting solutions that the Congress moved forward.
The theme of the Congress was on information for the promotion of health. Whilst the
subthemes were more specific and perhaps less obviously connected with the ultimate
end-users (i.e. us, the population), the necessity for ensuring that health information
reached all parts of the community formed a unifying undercurrent to the different
activities.
There were five sessions of contributed papers on continuing education for health
science professionals. Some concentrated on the training needs in communications and
information technology, others on the changing role of the librarian (and users!) as
global communication networks make their impact on Africa. But the necessity to acquire
new management skills (particularly marketing and fund-raising) dominated many
presentations and their subsequent discussion.
The papers were complimented by several workshops - How to present a paper, How to
write a project proposal for funding, and three, hands-on workshops on the Internet and
creating web pages using HTML. The Internet workshops were very popular with everyone.
Lenny Rhine, University of Florida Health Science Centre Library, has created a
"Guide to Health Information Sources" on Zambia University's web site. He held
three successful workshops on using the Internet and using HTML to create web pages - the
University of Ghana's Medical Faculty web page was well on the way to completion before
the day was over.
There was also a workshop/presentation on evidence-based health care. For many
participants this was the first time that they had heard of the concept, which was ably
explained by Steve McDonald of the Cochrane Collaboration based in Oxford, and
demonstrated using the Cochrane database on CD-ROM. This was followed by Edward Mujera
from Zimbabwe, who spoke about the way in which the Cochrane Library on CD-ROM had been
marketed and used in the medical school library in Zimbabwe. Perhaps it was reassuring to
those to whom the concept was new, that such material has its place in developing
countries as well as in developed ones.
Other sessions were concerned with, what might loosely be termed, new initiatives.
African Index Medicus (AIM) is not perhaps so new, but AHILA meets only once every two
years, so there was much to discuss. The objective of AIM is to document African
literature - material which would otherwise fall into oblivion. At country level such a
database forms a national database and, when aggregated, a database of international
importance particularly to practitioners and researchers in Africa, but also to others.
Discussions ranged around a recent evaluation of the project(1) which was complimentary
about the standards achieved in documenting articles, but concerned that more literature
should be gathered from participating countries, and the project extended, where possible,
to other countries on the continent. AIM is presently, freely available via the Internet
on the WHO web site, and it has also been incorporated into an 'anthology', CD-ROM disk of
health related matters in Africa. The aggregated database is made up of a number of
smaller databases including subsets of Medline and CAB Health, which relate to Africa. Its
considerable search capabilities were demonstrated by Margaret Crampton from NISC (2).
There was a description of the Bibliothèques Bleues or Blue Trunk Libraries (3). These
are mini-libraries with books or pamphlets relevant to all those working in remote health
centres. The trunk (which is transportable, can be secured, made of strong metal and blue
in colour) is fitted out with shelves for the books. The idea is that there should be at
least one book for each profession - doctors, nurses, midwives and paramedical health-care
workers. The French language material has been available in this form for about two years,
the English language version has just been produced. Presentations on the way in which
they have been introduced in Guinee and Zambia were made, including considerations
regarding the conditions necessary for housing it, how it is to be managed, and the
marketing necessary to ensure use. This provided much useful data and ideas for those who
seek to deploy them in the future.
The "country" reports session was perhaps the most interesting for an
outsider. Two of the poorest countries, Sierra Leone and Mozambique, both suffering from
civil war, showed what could be done with little or no finance, but much commitment and
determination. At the other end of the scale libraries in Zambia and Zimbabwe, for
instance, are automating their libraries and introducing Internet facilities, but not
without difficulty and considerable support from donors.
The Zambian local organizing committee is to be thanked for organizing the conference
which presented us with an interesting programme and an even more exciting social one,
despite the difficulties they faced. There were 120 participants from 36 countries (mostly
in Africa but a few from the USA and the UK).
Representatives from Algeria, Madagascar and Namibia attended for the first time, and I
believe all the participants are looking forward to meeting again in the year 2000, both
in London and in Swaziland.
Jean G. Shaw, Partnerships in Health Information, Phi@bath.ac.uk
1. Morrison MS. Evaluation of African Index Medicus (AIM) project, April-May 1998.
Report. Harare, Zimbabwe: WHO AFRO Health Sciences Library and Documentation Center, 1998.
2. Mumba N, Chanda KL, Rhine L. The development and use of the "Guide to Medical
Resources" website at the University of Zambia Medical Library. WHO Liaison
1998;9(2):6-7
3. http://www.who.ch (choose Information sources, then Library, then Country support,
and finally AIM)
4. NISC National Inquiry Services Centre, Grahamstown 6140 South Africa
<NISC@ru.ac.za>
6e CONGRES DE L'ASSOCIATION POUR LES BIBLIOTHÈQUES ET
L'INFORMATION DE SANTÉ EN AFRIQUE (AHILA) - Jean Shaw
(In English)
Les problèmes de santé de l'Afrique sont accablant, au point que le plus optimiste
des bibliothécaires médicaux doit perdre courage de temps en temps, spécialement quand
il affronte une nouvelle diminution de budget si souvent due à une détérioration
économique à l'échelle continentale. Les grands problèmes doivent être divisés en
petites unités traitables et c'est dans l'idée de partager les problèmes et de
suggérer des solutions que s'est tenu le Congrès. Le thème du congrès était
l'information pour la promotion de la santé. Les sous-thèmes étaient plus spécifiques
et moins orientés vers l'utilisateur final, mais la nécessité d'assurer un accès à
l'information sanitaire pour toutes les parties de la communauté sous-tendait toutes les
activités. Cinq sessions étaient consacrées à la formation continue pour les
professionnels en sciences de la santé. Certains se sont concentrés sur les besoins
formationnels en technologies de l'information et de la communication, d'autre sur
l'évolution du rôle du bibliothécaire suite à l'implantation des réseaux de
communication globaux en Afrique. Toutefois, la nécessité d'acquérir de nouvelles
aptitudes de management, particulièrement en marketing et en recherche de fonds, a
dominé la plupart des présentations et des discussions qui en ont découlé. Les
conférences étaient complétées par quelques ateliers: présentation d'un travail,
projet de recherche de fonds, HTML, EBM, D'autres sessions se sont intéressées aux
nouvelles initiatives telles les derniers développements de l'African Index Medicus. On a
aussi décrit les Bibliothèques Bleues, mini-bibliothèques sous forme de tronc
transportable, qui mettent à la disposition des travailleurs de centres de santé
éloignés et isolés des livres ou des brochures. Les rapports nationaux sont des sources
d'exemple sur ce qui peut être réalisé avec de très petits moyens, dans des conditions
difficiles (guerre, etc.) grâce à la détermination et à l'engagement. Le Comité
National d'Organisation Zambien mérite nos félicitations pour la mise sur pieds d'un
programme si intéressant tant au niveau professionnel que social. 120 participants de 35
pays dont certains hors du continent et d'autres rejoignant l'AHILA pour la première fois
s'y sont retrouvés. Rendez-vous en 2000 soit à Londres soit au Swaziland.
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Last Updated March 22, 1999 by Suzanne Bakker |
