MCMLA 200--TriChapter Meeting

New Orleans has long been a historic crossroads of people. The Spanish, French, Acadians and Americans all came and left their mark upon the city. This fall, New Orleans lived up to its historic reputation by hosting the first-ever joint meeting of the South Central, Southern and Mid-Continental chapters. Over 400 medical librarians and exhibitors--from Savannah to Santa Fe, Wyoming to the West Indies--came together for this special event, held at the New Orleans Hilton Riverside Hotel.

A variety of continuing education courses were offered at the conference, including courses on alternative medicine, grant writing, copyright issues, ILL management systems, and palm computers.

In the Opening Session, Dr. James J. O’Donnell, author of Avatar of the Word: From Papyrus to Cyberspace, addressed the audience on the future trends in communications and information systems. In subsequent general sessions, attendees were addressed by Dr. Joanne Marshall, Dean of School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who spoke on measuring the value of library and information services, and by John M. Barry, the author of Rising Tide and The Transformed Cell, who spoke on the 1918 influenza outbreak and its impact on medical practice. General session speakers also included MLA president Carol Jenkins, and Associate Director of Operations at the National Library of Medicine, Betsy Humphries.

Between general sessions, people could choose to attend presentations from among forty-five contributed papers on such topics as consumer and patient health, instruction, information and user services, collection development, electronic resources, information technology, marketing, and administration. Attendees were also able to browse the exhibit hall where fifty exhibitors demonstrated their products and distributed literature. Among the exhibitors were ICON members Angela Arner and Joy Winkler, who promoted Health HQ.

A number of social gatherings were held in conjunction with the conference. On opening night, Elsevier hosted a welcome reception, at which ICON’s very own musician Ken Oyer provided entertainment. On Friday, October 26, Wayne Peay and Claire Hamasu, directors of the new NNLM Regional Medical Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, hosted a Mid-Continental get-together in the evening. Soft drinks and hors d’oeuvres were served. Guests were encouraged to express their opinions and ideas concerning RML services. On the final night of the conference, a Halloween costume party was held at a local Cajun restaurant.

Next year, the Mid-continental Chapter will be held in Topeka, Kansas. Topeka representatives attended the MCC Business Meeting in New Orleans on Saturday, October 27, in order to promote attendance and dazzle the audience with a special video tribute to Topeka.

--Dennis Haack
RML Coordinator
Creighton University Health Sciences Library

Return to Winter 2001 ICONnection Table of Contents