Biological and Medical Sciences Libraries Section

Minutes of the Meetings held in Jerusalem

12 August 2000

Members present:
Ysabel Bertolucci, Rick Forsman, Ingegerd Rabow.

Guests:
Tovah Reis, Larry Woods.

Chair Ysabel Bertolucci called the meeting to order at 2:40 p.m. She reviewed highlights and successes of the 8th International Congress on Medical Librarianship held in London in July. Noteworthy aspects included options for low-cost housing, excellent program content, and the effective use of online paper submission and review. BIREME staff are already gearing up for the 9th ICML to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazel in 2005.

Renee Bush provided a written report on the Blue Shield Project and continues to work on this for the Section. Those present at the Section meeting confirmed the desire to support the project with high quality health information.

Lucretia McClure has offered to revitalize the Section newsletter. The Section also needs to attract new, active members. Forsman will investigate how institutions become supporting members of sections. Although we wish to foster communication through online and open access, some members and interested individuals will still require printed information. The Section will explore closer cooperation with EAHIL, the well organized British medical librarians, BIREME, WHO, MLA, and others. Becky Lyon has been assigned as the National Library of Medicine (U.S.) to the Section, and we will work with her and the success U.K. online project to foster access to consumer health information.

The Section would like to help libraries in developing countries establish relationships with relevant foundations, but not action has yet occurred in this area. The health sciences library at the University of Iowa (U.S.) is interested in putting together Web site templates to assist developing libraries in bringing up their own Web sites. Larry Woods of the IFLA Information Technology Section will provide more information that can be shared with our Section members.

Plans for the 2001 IFLA meeting in Boston are in good shape. The Tufts University computer lab will be used to offer a hands-on workshop in searching for consumer health information, with a trainer from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. Bertolucci will approach the Public Libraries about cosponsoring the consumer health workshop and assisting with publicity The National Library of Medicine and the IT Section will assist in finalizing plans for a program session on the use of telemedicine. We wish to showcase the technology, not just offer speakers, but will need to cover the high costs of AV/IT services through the convention center. Reis recommended requesting an appropriate room early. The group considered possible speakers, with Forsman and Woods to follow up with NLM. The group also talked about potential tours of the libraries at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital, and decided to suggest to the Division II Coordinating Board that a useful program for Boston could focus on SPARC, HighWire Press, and other efforts to prevent price inflation for online materials.

The Section needs to draft topics and goals for the next four year Medium Length Programme. This will need to be finalized in Boston. Those present discussed: Whether the Section might contribute to resolution of the pricing crisis in health information; What other IFLA sections might be partners for selected issues/topics; The possibility of adding an international slant to HealthWeb in the U.S. (Woods will contact project staff at Northwestern Univ.); and Strategies for recruiting strong committee members.

1. MLA Executive Director Carla Funk raised the possibility of providing some special recognition of the Section during the 2001 meeting in the U.S.
2. At the second meeting of the Division II Coordinating Board, Section officers were encouraged to check attendance records and remove any Standing Committee members who are not abiding by their promise to fulfill requirements of attendance at IFLA meetings. Forsman will perform this check in September.
3. Also at the second divisional meeting, CB members enthusiastically accepted the Section suggestion for a Boston program related to the pricing of electronic resources.

Respectfully submitted,

Rick Forsman
Secretary