Applications being accepted for the new Partner Outreach Program (POP) for 2021-2026

Posted by Miles Dietz-Castel on July 1st, 2021 Posted in: Blog, From the GMR, News from the Region, Outreach, Partner Outreach Libraries, Partner Outreach Libraries, Public Health, Public Libraries

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The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Region 6 office is pleased to announce that applications are being accepted for the new Partner Outreach Program (POP) for 2021-2026 from Network members in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

History of the Program
As the previous NNLM Greater Midwest Region (GMR), the Regional Medical Library located at the University of Iowa Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, supported outreach efforts throughout the Region with the Partner Outreach Library (POL) program during the 2016-2021 grant. Academic health sciences libraries in each of the former ten states committed to perform health information outreach on behalf of the GMR. This very successful program provided health information outreach to public libraries, schools, community- and faith-based organizations, as well as unaffiliated health care providers–reaching thousands of participants throughout the grant.

What is POP?
The purpose of the NNLM Region 6 Partner Outreach Program 2021-2026 is to support health equity by providing health information access throughout Region 6 by the formation and practice of the Partner Outreach Program (POP). POP objectives include the following:

• Provide health information resources and training to underserved and underrepresented groups, including tribal communities and institutions, that are priority populations of the National Library of Medicine (NLM).
• Act as ambassadors for NNLM services and resources, communicating health information needs to the RML, and work with the RML in remediation of those needs, whether through direct training or utilizing a train-the-trainer model.
• Act as a field force in their state to identify potential partners for outreach.

Ambassador organizations will receive remuneration, training, and direction from the Region 6 office according to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), a sample of which is available online. They will be reimbursed $300 or the negotiated hourly wage per outreach activity or event; printing, travel, and incidental expenses will be covered for a total annual combined budget of $1200.

Who can apply?
For the current 2021-2026 Cooperative Agreement with the National Library of Medicine, the “new” Region 6 is expanding the previous program into the Partner Outreach Program. In addition to academic health sciences libraries, other organizations skilled in outreach to underserved and underrepresented groups are invited to participate in the program. As Region 6 has moved from ten to seven states for this grant, we are offering up to three participant organizations per state. POP ambassadors will be NNLM Network member organizations supporting a mission of health information access and health improvement of their constituents, with an expertise in community outreach and familiarity with NLM/NIH resources.

Learn More
To learn more about this exciting opportunity to perform outreach in your community, see the Statement of Purpose. An open office hour will be held on Friday, 16 July 2021 at 10 am CT / 11 am ET via live Zoom for those who may have questions about the program.

Apply
The application is available via the following link: https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/NNLMR6_POP. For first consideration, please submit application by Monday 09 August 2021. Awardees will be notified of acceptance into the program by 10 September 2021. An introductory, online meeting of accepted ambassadors is scheduled for 15 September 2021, 1 pm CT / 2pm ET.

Questions
For questions related to POP, please email Region 6 POP lead, Jacqueline Leskovec, MLIS, MA, RN, Coordinator, or the Region 6 office. Please be sure to reach out to the Region 6 office if the applicant is not currently a Network member to learn how to apply for NNLM membership.