Recap: Hospital Libraries Advisory Group Meeting

Posted by Margot M on June 9th, 2023 Posted in: Communities of Interest
Tags: Emergency Preparedness (EPP), hospital librarians, hospital library advisory group

---

On Thu, June 8, 2023, we hosted our annual Hospital Libraries Advisory Group Meeting.  Fifty-eight people registered for the meeting, and twenty-eight attended the live session. Twenty-two of the attendees participated in the breakout discussion on preparedness plans for emergencies and personal time off. The recording of the meeting is available now.

Disaster and Emergency Preparedness

The Medical Library Association discontinued the Disaster Information Specialization (DIS) in April. Anyone who was pursuing that specialization has until the end of June to submit their documentation. Despite the end of DIS, we know that preparedness is a critical task for hospital librarians. NNLM put together a set for four recorded webinars that hospital librarians can review for MLA continuing education credit.

The four webinars are:

1. Creating a One Page Plan
2. Five Steps to Improve Your Library’s Ability to Respond to a Disaster
3. Inclusive Disaster Planning
4. Ransomware Attacks: What Medical Librarians Need to Know

New webinars are in development. The plan is to host several learning opportunities in September for National Preparedness Month.

History of Medical Librarianship

From February-April 2024, Region 7 will host a book discussion on A History of Medical Libraries and Medical Librarianship by Michael R. and Jennie Jacobs Kronenfeld. Participants acquire the book in their preferred format. The hardcover is $125 and the ebook is $45. The book is available through interlibrary loan or rental. Participants can earn 4 Medical Library Association continuing education credits by participating in either an online or live Zoom discussion during those three months. Registration will open this fall.

Breakout Discussion

Attendees were assigned to breakout rooms of 3-4 people. The prompt was to discuss emergency preparedness at the department level (library), and to discuss if hospital preparedness plans included library services. Attendees were prompted to explore the role of library consortium in preparedness plans. Attendees were asked to consider similar plans for solo librarians on personal leave. After the breakout, the group briefly discussed the role of vendors and consortium.

Sarah Hosted shared a video about the Southeastern New York Library Resources Council medical information services. This is a wonderful support for libraries in that corner of New York. The Hospital Libraries Caucus Toolkit features disaster planning resources under the Library as Hub/Library as Place tab. This toolkit is useful for advocacy ideas as well.