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Apr
16
Posted by Javier Crespo on April 16th, 2021
Posted in: Blog
It’s official. The National Library of Medicine has announced the institutions operating under the Network of National Library of Medicine program. Seven institutions have been selected to serve as Regional Medical Libraries (RMLs) and four institutions selected as National Coordinating Offices in the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM). The agreements begin May 1, 2021. We, the National Public Health Coordination Office, are one of those Offices. We’ve been renewed to continue the work of the Public Health Digital Library; our work will also be expanding in overall public health engagement.
The NNLM is considered NLM’s “field force” of trusted ambassadors with more than 8,000 organizational members representing libraries, community-based and community health organizations. Participating departments in the PHDL program are NNLM members!!
Regional Medical Libraries coordinate the operation of a network of organizations to carry out regional and national programs. RMLs ensure a continuity of quality service for core programs of the NNLM, and cooperatively design, implement, and evaluate innovative approaches to advance the health information needs of health professionals and a diverse public. Each National Coordinating Office, like ours, performs a unique set of functions, but all serve to support and inform the work of the RMLs.
Last June, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) published the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the 2021-2026 Regional Medical Libraries (RMLs), the central component of the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM). Our home library, the Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, submitted for and has been awarded the Regional Medical Library Region 7 program as well as the National Public Health Coordination Office.
Among other objectives, each RML is expected to:
For the 2021-2026 cooperative agreement period, seven Regional areas are defined:
Region 1: Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The RML will be University of Maryland at Baltimore Health Sciences and Human Services Library.
Region 2: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The RML will be Medical University of South Carolina Medical University of South Carolina Libraries.
Region 3: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. The RML will be University of North Texas Health Science Center Gibson D. Lewis Library.
Region 4: Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. The RML will be University of Utah Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library.
Region 5: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States in the Pacific. The RML will be University of Washington Health Sciences Library.
Region 6: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The RML will be University of Iowa Hardin Library for the Health Sciences.
Region 7: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The RML will be University of Massachusetts Medical School, Lamar Soutter Library, in Worcester.
NNLM Offices and Centers serve the NNLM program and are defined as:
The NNLM Web Services Office will develop and maintain reliable Web services for NNLM public and internal needs. Awarded to University of Maryland at Baltimore.
The NNLM Training Office will plan, create, share, deliver, coordinate, and evaluate an instructional program and educational materials based on key NLM products and services for a variety of audiences. NTO will assess and ensure a standard of high-quality for NNLM instructors and instructional content. Awarded to University of Utah.
The NNLM Public Health Coordination Office will enhance the public’s health by expanding NNLM’s engagement with the diverse public health workforce through access to licensed literature (aka, the Public Health Digital Library program), coordinating training on NLM resources, and facilitating partnerships with public health institutions. That’s us here at University of Massachusetts!
The NLM Evaluation Center will collaborate with RML, Office, and Center (ROC) staff to develop strategies and standardized approaches for evaluating outreach and education services. Awarded to Northwestern University’s Galter Health Sciences Library in Chicago.
For more information, please refer to the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Organizational Handbook, https://nnlm.gov/national/guides/network-national-library-medicine-nnlm-organizational-handbook.
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