May 16th was the 13th annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), where people in organizations all over the world hosted workshops, talks, and other activities to raise awareness and promote accessibility. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to participate in the University of Washington’s GAAD 2024 event, put on by the UW IT Accessibility... Read More »

On April 30, 2024, the Network of the National Library of Medicine, Region 5 wrapped up the third year of our 5-year program. Over the last year, Region 5 staff nurtured relationships built in the pervious two years, leading to innovative collaborations with member organizations; a successful awards & funding program; and continued programs and... Read More »

The following message is being shared on behalf of the NNLM Reading Club.  We are seeking members for our newly formed NNLM Reading Club Advisory Group. Are you familiar with the NNLM Reading Club? Have you used our resources for your own book discussion or shared our resources with others? If so, then you are... Read More »

Hello!  My name is Kathryn Vela, and I am honored to serve as the Executive Director of the Regional Medical Library (RML) at the University of Washington. In this role, I am dedicated to supporting the NNLM network members in Region 5, which includes Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, U.S. Territories, and Freely Associated... Read More »

We’re excited to share this wonderful guest post contributed by Dawn Hackman, Adriana Poo, and Estella Inda, librarians at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, San José State University. Their library participated in our Region 5 program where we offered organizational members the opportunity to host the film “Laboring with Hope” to raise awareness about... Read More »

Mental health is important at every stage of life and having a mental health condition can affect physical health. You, your library, and your organization can help by providing access to resources and information, and by raising awareness to help support family members, friends, and colleagues. Below are just a few resources to consider: SAMHSA... Read More »

The Medical Library Association’s annual conference is being held in Portland, OR this year. Many of you are presenting or attending the conference since it is a little closer to home. Region 5 coordinators, Carolann and Carolyn,  are attending and hoping to view as many of your posters and attend your sessions in the short time... Read More »

Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Kathryn Vela in her role as Region 5’s new Executive Director. She joined the Region 5 team on Monday, April 8th, and we are so pleased to have her on our team! Kathryn comes to NNLM Region 5 from St. Luke’s Hospital in Boise, ID, where... Read More »

The Network of the National Library of Medicine webinar series, Social Determinants of Environmental Health, just ended. Did you miss any of the sessions or want to review them again or share them with your colleagues? The recordings are now available and you can still get the Medical Library Association (MLA) CE credits. Don’t forget... Read More »

Are you interested in the community impacts of climate change? Compelled by stories of resilience and adaptation in the face of massive environmental shifts? If so, consider joining us for our next NNLM Book Discussion beginning May 1, where you can participate either live or asynchronously. We will read At Home on an Unruly Planet:... Read More »

On March 28, the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) published a set of revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (Directive No. 15): Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, the first since 1997. This process started in June 2022, with the first convening of the Interagency Technical Working... Read More »

NNLM is providing excellent learning opportunities in conjunction with Black Maternal Health Week. We thank those work-group colleagues for sharing the following announcement with us, and hope you will spread the word with your communities. If you are interested in additional programming for your community, please consider working with us to offer a free screening... Read More »

The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM), Region 5 includes over 800 member organizations. Nationally, over 9,000 organizations are members of the NNLM. NNLM staff maintain a members directory listing our members. The members directory includes information about a member organization’s location, website, and liaison. The liaison is the NNLM’s main point of... Read More »

We’re pleased to share an upcoming learning opportunity in NNLM’s Bridging the Digital Divide: Telehealth and Libraries webinar series. Register now to join us on Wednesday, April 3 at 12 PM PT for a free webinar about Implementation of Telehealth Services in Rural Public Libraries. The webinar will be recorded. A lack of access to... Read More »

This year’s theme, for National Nutrition Month® is “Beyond the Table” and it covers several important aspects of nutrition such as food production, navigating the farmer’s market and grocery store, how to decrease food waste and more. Since 1973, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has been a leader in providing nutrition information when it... Read More »

Are you ready for Spring Cleaning? With a bit of tidying up, you can keep DOCLINE running efficiently for your library. DOCLINE® is the National Library of Medicine’s interlibrary loan (ILL) request routing system. ​The purpose of the system is to provide efficient document delivery service. ​Tutorials and the manual are available online. DOCLINE finds potential lenders for ILL requests via a routing algorithm that matches requests based... Read More »

Why is that? To increase awareness and action towards a common goal: a #PeriodFriendlyWorld. A world where the taboos and stigma surrounding menstruation are history. Where everyone has access to quality menstrual products, period education and period-friendly toilets. But Menstrual Hygiene Day is more than an awareness day. Today, more and more of us are... Read More »

Congratulations to the 2024 Movers and Shakers from Library Journal from Region 6. Each year, the Library Journal selects a group of nominees on a variety of topics.  This year’s Movers and Shakers are advocates, innovators, community builders, educators, change agents, and ban battlers. Jenay Dougherty Undergraduate Engagement Librarian, University of Iowa Libraries Zachary Stier... Read More »

May 12 – 19 is National Women’s Health Week!  National Women’s Health Week is a reminder to focus on women’s health. Despite significant advancements in research, women still face disparities in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of various health conditions. The term “women’s health” encompasses a broad range of physical, mental, and social aspects of... Read More »

Embarrassment, a lack of public awareness, and miscommunication can mean that for many women, menopause is endured in silence, perhaps feeling hopeless, confused, or “crazy” and not seeking the support and resources available to them. Stigma surrounding menopause can not only impact a woman’s wellbeing and quality of life, but potentially it can put her... Read More »

It’s May and time for The Medical Library Association’s annual conference being held in Portland, OR this year. Linda Walton and Erica Lake from Region 6 will be at the conference and hope to attend your sessions and view your posters. We always look forward to seeing the impact Region 6 members have on the profession.... Read More »

Exciting news: we’ve expanded our offerings to include seven classes eligible for Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) credit, all free of charge. Here’s a list of the classes eligible for CNE: PubMed Essentials On-Demand Assessing Health Education Materials: clearing the way to easy-to-read health materials  (On-Demand) LGBTQIA+ Health Information & Resources (Moodle) Health Literacy on Demand... Read More »

The societal taboo surrounding menstruation, often referred to as period stigma, is a widespread issue transcending cultural, economic, and geographical divides. This natural biological process, experienced by half of the world’s population, has historically been obscured by secrecy and cultural taboos. Various factors, such as cultural norms, religious beliefs, and societal expectations, have perpetuated myths... Read More »

Registration is now open for the NNLM National Update at MLA 2024. In the past, NNLM Day at MLA featured presentations from various regions, offices, and centers. This year, we’re streamlining to a single national update. Join NNLM Project Director, Martha Meacham, as she shares NNLM’s achievements over the past year and outlines future plans. This online... Read More »

During my master’s program at the University of Missouri, I discovered health sciences librarianship through a professional development award given by NNLM Region 3. After that experience, I knew that I wanted to learn more, but I had already exhausted my program’s courses in health and medical librarianship. As a resident of Minnesota, I reached... Read More »

Tuesday, April 9th is National Library Workers Day, a day for everyone to recognize the valuable contributions made by library workers. We wanted to help celebrate some librarians from Region 6 who have received a 2023 Movers & Shakers recognition from Library Journal. Katie Clausen | Movers & Shakers 2023—Educators In addition to being a... Read More »

The theme for National Library Week 2024, “Ready, Set, Library!,” promotes the idea that in our always-online world, libraries give us a green light to something truly special: a place to connect with others, learn new skills, and focus on what matters most. Find your crew at your library’s author talks, workshops, and book clubs.... Read More »

My dream of a Telehealth Room at our library began when I read an article on the Pottsboro Area Library’s Telehealth Space in Texas in the May 2021 issue of American Libraries. I greatly admired the concept of telemedicine at a public library. That was during the pandemic, when our library was closed to the... Read More »

The NNLM Book Discussion program offers librarians, health professionals, and public health workers a unique opportunity to explore health issues affecting their communities while enhancing their health information services and outreach. We recently received feedback about the direct impact of participating in these discussions on health information outreach in public libraries. Shirley Taylor, Library Director... Read More »

Join us March 5-April 2 for the NNLM’s Social Determinants of Environmental Health Webinar Series! This series will feature experts in social determinants of environmental health, who will present on environmental health disparities and populations disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards, share informative resources, and discuss interventions to reduce environmental health disparities. This webinar series explores... Read More »

February is American Heart Month and throughout the month, there are reminders on how we can make the effort to be heart healthy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP) encourages all of us—especially women—to listen to our hearts and speak up for our health. According to... Read More »