MAC Messages Number 86:
March/April 2001

For the past four years, the National Medical Librarians Month (NMLM) observance, initiated by the Medical Library Association (MLA), has given health sciences information professionals an opportunity to display their talents and highlight the value of trained, professional, medical librarians. Around the world, medical librarians conduct workshops, library open houses, and other promotions to celebrate their contributions to quality health care.

Each year, in honor of NMLM, MLA conducts the Creative Promotions Award contest, which recognizes the MLA member or institution observing the month in the most creative and innovative way. This year, MLA has selected two grand prize winners instead of one winner, as in previous years.

An extraordinary NMLM celebration was planned by the Virginia Funkhouser Health Sciences Library at Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg, VA, one of this year's winners. Ilene Smith, AHIP, director of the library, reported that during the library's week-long celebration, more than 110 patrons visited the library daily compared to an average of sixty-nine for the rest of the month and that many hospital personnel had never been to the library before the NMLM celebration.

To publicize the event, the staff placed display boards throughout the hospital containing pictures of the library staff along with balloons and candy. Handouts and bookmarks were also created and displayed. Each day during the celebration, patrons were invited to enter raffle drawings with giveaways such as Chicken Soup for the Soul books, five-dollar coupons for the hospital cafeteria, and mystery books donated, signed and authored by one of hospital's surgeons. Staff used the hospital's email system to announce the daily winners of the scavenger hunt.

In honor of the event, the library also offered a "fine-free week" which helped to recover several long-overdue books. In the spirit of the Halloween season, library staff prepared approximately 140 bags of candy treats and hand delivered them to each department, unit, and office in the hospital. Using this as an opportunity to promote their library, the staff stapled a fact sheet about the library to each bag.

The second winner of this year's contest, Duke University Medical Center Library, Durham, NC, welcomed visitors to its library with a large outdoor banner which read "Celebrating National Medical Librarians Month. Once inside the library, patrons were treated to a poster display in the lobby entitled "Anatomy of a Medical Library." This display consisted of an anatomical model of a human body, with its many systems and organs used to represent the functions of various library departments. For example, the "mouth" represented marketing and publications, and administration, which "breathes life into" the library, was represented by the lungs. The lobby display also included a copy of a flyer and a "Vital Signs" report highlighting library statistics for the fiscal year. To draw attention to the display, library staff placed a sunglasses-wearing, five-foot, skeletal model in the front window of the library.

In addition, the library staff conducted weekly scavenger hunts containing trivia questions about the library. Each week during the library's month-long celebration, winners of the scavenger hunts received prizes such as copy cards and librarian web page consultation. All participants in the scavenger hunt contests were entered in a grand prize drawing for a Palm Pilot personal digital assistant. The library staff used the institution's media outlets to publicize their NMLM observance. Advertisements were placed in the library's newsletter; in the DIALOGUE, the Duke University Medical Center's newsletter; and on the front page of the Duke University Medical Center Library Website.

The two Creative Promotions Award winners will each receive $100 in "MLA Money," good toward any MLA dues, fees, or products; publicity on MLANET, in MLA News, and at the MLA 2001 "Swap and Shop" public relations exhibit.

For more information on our Creative Promotions Award winners, visit our Website, MLANET at http://www.mlanet.org/press/nml-month/index.html.

MLA is an educational organization of more than 1,100 institutions and 3,800 individual members in the health sciences information field. MLA members serve society by developing new health information delivery systems, fostering educational and research programs for health sciences information professionals, and encouraging an enhanced public awareness of health care issues.

For more information, please contact Tomi Gunn at 312.419.9094 x11; mlams@mlahq.org. This release is also available at www.mlanet.org/press/

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