Mission and Goals of the NN/LM MidContinental Region

The mission of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) MidContinental Region (MCR) is to advance the progress of medicine and improve the public health by: 1) providing all U.S. health professionals with equal access to biomedical information; and, 2) improving the public's access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health.

Our Goals:

1. Promote awareness of, access to, and use of biomedical information resources for health professionals and the public, with a particular emphasis on contributing to the Healthy People 2010 goal of eliminating health disparities.
2. Develop, promote, and improve electronic access to health information by Network members, health professionals, and organizations providing health information to the public
3. Develop collaborations among Network members and other organizations to improve access to and sharing of biomedical information resources throughout the nation.
4. Develop tools and conduct evaluation activities to understand how the products and services of the NN/LM and NLM contribute to improved access to health information by health professionals, and the public.

Purpose of Site Visit

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine program is administered by the NN/LM National Network Office of the National Library of Medicine. The NN/LM National Network Office has scheduled mid-contract year site visits to all of the NN/LM Regional Medical Libraries(RML). The site visits are used as a mechanism to assess the progress the RML is making, the challenges being encountered,how the RML is addressing the challenges, make recommendations to the RML, and identify how NLM can assist in addressing the challenges. It is also an opportunity to get feedback from Network members within the region.Critical areas of the site visit are the meeting with the administrators, the regional program review and discussion, and the public session.

Site Visit Team

The site visit team consists of a minimum of 4 individuals from other NN/LM regions.The composition of the team, at a minimum,includes a health professional,a hospital librarian,an academic health sciences librarian, and an Associate Director from another NN/LM RML.The team interacts with administrators, the RML staff and Network Members who are invited by the RML to participate in the site visit.

Kent Smith, MBA, Chair
Consultant, Computercraft McLean, VA
(Former NLM Deputy Director)

Javier Crespo, MSLIS
Associate Director
NN/LM New England Region

Reena Karani, MD
Co-Director, Integrated Internal Medicine-Geriatrics Clerkship
Assistant Professor
The Mount Sinai School of Medicine
New York, NY

Irene Lovas, MLS
Senior Medical Librarian
Cedars Sinai Medical Center Library
Los Angeles, CA

Nancy McKeehan, MLSL
Assistant Director of Libraries for Systems and Project Manager
Hands on Health South Carolina
Medical University of South Carolina Library Charleston, SC

NLM Staff
Sheldon Kotzin, MLS
Angela Ruffin, PhD
Barbara Nicholson, MLS

Site Visit Agenda

Mountain Time	Central Time
8:00 - 8:15	9:00 - 9:15	Welcome Introductions Purpose of Site Visit
8:15 - 9:45	9:15 - 10:45	Program Review and Questions
9:45 - 9:55	10:45 - 10:55	Break
9:55 - 10:25	10:55 - 11:25	Tour of Library
10:30 - 11:00	11:30 - 12:00	Discussion with Resource Library Directors
11:00 - 11:30	12:00 - 12:30	Discussion with Administrator
11:30 - 12:00	12:30 - 1:00	Lunch
12:00- 1:50	1:00- 2:50	Public Session with Site Visit Team (Constituents and Network Members)
1:50 - 2:00	2:50 - 3:00	Executive Session
2:00 - 2:30	3:00 - 3:30	Meeting with RML Director and Associate Director
2:30	3:30	Adjourn

Participation

We invite your participation in the site visit process to convey your opinions and thoughts to the site visit team. There are two ways to participate.

On November 19, 2008, you are invited to any of the Resource Libraries in the MidContinental Region to participate in the public session and speak to the site visit team directly.The public session will begin at 12:00 MT, 1:00 CT. Refreshments will be served and parking passes will be issued where needed. Click here to view the questions that will be discussed.

Resource Libraries would like you to notify them,if you will be attending so that they can accommodate all who want to participate in the public session. For directions to and the person to contact at a Resource Library, please click here.

A short feedback form was distributed and open to anyone in the region who wanted to comment on the resources and services of the RML and the NLM in the MidContinental Region. The form was open October 7th, 2008 through November 4th, 2008.