(via Molly Roberts, National Network of Libraries of Medicine – Greater Midwest Region)
The National Network of Libraries of Medicine – Greater Midwest Region has released its annual report for 2016-2017. This is the first year of the University of Iowa’s five-year term hosting the Greater Midwest Region’s Office. The report details progress toward the 10 goals below.
- The Hardin Library for the Health Sciences at the University of Iowa will establish a regional office for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine staffed with quality health information professionals and governed by stakeholders. Partnerships with regional network members will be established to support the mission of the NNLM including access to quality health information for health professionals, librarians and consumers during the five years of the grant.
- The GMR will continually strive to improve communications within the NNLM and NLM, and with network members and the community through a variety of communication modes, with the intent to enhance knowledge and understanding of the network’s programs and services and to ensure transparency with our peers, network members, and the community during the five years of the grant.
- The GMR staff will expand and manage the GMR network to enhance services to health care professionals, librarians, and community organizations throughout the five years of the award so that the NNLM mission continues to be met through a distributed network.
- The GMR staff will strengthen the Network National Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan within the Region in order to limit interruption in access to information throughout the Region and nationally during disasters and other emergencies during the five years of the grant.
- The GMR staff will increase the number of network members actively and effectively participating in NLM programs and services within the GMR, ensuring that a variety of users have equal access to quality biomedical and health information over the five years of the grant.
- The GMR staff will provide a Data Management Education Center (DMEC) for network members to increase the number of network libraries skilled at supporting health researchers with data management throughout the data life cycle during the five years of the award.
- The GMR staff will develop and implement outreach and education programs that reach health professionals in the Region with a focus on underserved health communities and health professionals that work in these medically challenging communities so that easy access to NLM resources can be obtained regardless of location or economic status, throughout the five years of the award.
- The GMR staff will ensure that all GMR network members have the opportunity to keep current on health sciences information topics and resources such as PubMed so that health professionals receive quality support from GMR Network libraries throughout the five years of the grant.
- The GMR staff will increase the number of public health professionals who have new skills in accessing and searching quality health information through online educational opportunities throughout the five years of the grant so that they can easily and effectively access quality information at time of need.
- The GMR staff will improve GMR consumer’s understanding of quality health information resources available on the Internet so that they make better informed health care decisions throughout the five years of the award.
To read the full report, click here.