PLA Announces New Meeting on Consumer Health and the Public Librarian

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 2000
FROM: BRENDAN DOWLING
PLA COMMUNICATIONS ASST.
312-280-5021

The Public Library Association (PLA), the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and the Medical Library Association (MLA) are sponsoring “The Public Library and Consumer Health: Meeting Community Needs through Resource Identification and Collaboration.” This two-day conference will be held January 10–11, 2001 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Washington DC, immediately preceding the ALA 2001 Midwinter Meeting.

The conference will provide librarians and library staff with an introduction to health information resources, collection development, and training in searching health and medical information databases. Examples of collaborative projects that public libraries can model will be presented. Grantwriting assistance will be offered, and specific opportunities for public libraries to apply for funding to support their consumer health education projects will be presented. Librarian attendees will also earn credit toward the new Consumer Health Librarian Credential to be offered through the MLA.

Dr. Tom Ferguson, adjunct associate professor of health informatics at the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, will provide the keynote address on Wednesday, January 10. Dr. Ferguson is editor and publisher of The Ferguson Report, an e-mail newsletter about online patient services, and author of Health Online: How to Find Health Information, Support Groups and Self-Help Communities in Cyberspace.

In conjunction with this event, the National Library of Medicine will offer tours of its facility at 8600 Rockville Pike in Bethesda, Md on Friday, January 12. This presentation will include a videotaped overview of NLM programs and services, a computer search of the vast MEDLINE® database, and a walking tour of the library and its current exhibition. Transportation will be provided from the conference hotel.

Registration information will be sent to PLA members in September.

Garvey Elected PLA Vice-President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 2000
FROM: BRENDAN DOWLING
PLA COMMUNICATIONS MGR
312-280-5021

Toni Garvey, City Librarian at Phoenix (Arizona) Public Library, has been elected Vice-President/President-elect of the Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). She assumed office at the end of the 2000 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois.

Garvey brings a wealth of experience in the library world to her duties as PLA President-Elect. Prior to the Phoenix Public Library, Garvey was Director of Library Services at Loudoun County Public Library (Leesburg, VA.) She also held a number of positions at Tucson-Pima Public Library (Arizona), working in areas as diverse as Children’s Services and the Pima County Adult Detention Center.

When asked for plans for her presidency, Garvey remarked:

I am particularly interested in the endowment that was approved at this year’s annual conference, which will enable PLA to enhance continuing education efforts for its members. I will also use this time [of my presidency] to focus on the youth of our communities. I think it’s imperative that we invite young people to work with us to develop meaningful opportunities for them in our libraries.

Active in ALA since 1987, Garvey has served on several PLA committees as well as been active in several other ALA divisions. During this time she has also been involved with several other professional groups, serving on the Board of Directors for Libraries for the Future and the Executive Board of Urban Libraries Council. Garvey earned both her master’s degree in library science and her bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo.

For more information, contact the PLA office, 50 East Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Telephone: 800-545-2433, ext. 5PLA.

2000 PLDS Statistical Report Now Available; Includes Results of Children’s Services Survey

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 2000
FROM: BRENDAN DOWLING
PLA COMMUNICATIONS ASST.
312-280-4028

Designed to aid and enhance the public library planning and evaluation process, the “Public Library Data Service Statistical Report 2000” is now available. The current edition will help library managers identify top performing libraries, compare service levels and technology usage, and provide documentation for funding requests. Also included are the results of a special survey on children’s services.

The data contained in this year’s report was collected from more than 700 public libraries. Categories include financial information, library resources and per capita measures, annual use figures, and technology in public libraries. Library identification is also provided.

The “Statistical Report 2000” (ISBN 0-8389-8080-5) is available from the Public Library Association, 50 East Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611; telephone 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5PLA. Price is $75 with discounts for ALA and PLA members.

PLA is a division of the American Library Association.