2022 Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) Conference

Posted by Miles Dietz-Castel on December 19th, 2022 Posted in: Blog, Conferences and Meetings
Tags: Wisconsin Library Association

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This November, academic health science librarians from the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) exhibited at the 2022 Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) conference, representing the Region 6 Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) partnership. Over the course of the three-day conference, Ebling Library for the Health Sciences and MCW Libraries worked together to advance the NLM’s goal of increasing medical and public health knowledge from their shared exhibit booth.

With attendees from all over Wisconsin, we had many opportunities to share information regarding the work that NNLM does. Many of the WLA attendees work in public libraries, so a prominent topic of conversation was helping public libraries meet community health needs. We emphasized the access that is available for everyone to NLM resources for consumer health, such as MedlinePlus. The easy access and readability of MedlinePlus was a huge draw for many public librarians. BadgerLink, Wisconsin’s online database suite that provides Wisconsin residents access to trusted resources, was also a common topic when interacting with librarians who visited the booth.

Interacting with attendees, other exhibitors, and conference organizers created an incredible sense of community, with resources being shared across many different contexts. We also had the opportunity to explore other exhibits at the conference, form relationships with other libraries, and learn about potential resources for our own libraries.

-Guest post by Emma Malinee, University of Wisconsin, Ebling Library for the Health Sciences