MAC Messages Number 87:
May/June 2001

This year, MLA's International Cooperation Section established a Sister Library Initiative. Two libraries, The Medical Research Library of Latvia and The Medical Library of Holberton Hospital in St. John's Antigua were selected for the project.

A generous outpouring of assistance has been made from medical librarians and medical libraries from the Mid-Atlantic Chapter:

Mid-Atlantic Chapter librarians and libraries donating books, journals, or interlibrary loans to Latvia, include:

• Margie Gacki, Memorial Hospital Medical Library, Cumberland, MD
• Linda Gorman and Oona Richardson, Johns Hopkins
• Gloria Rasband, EPS Library, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
• Carol Jenkins, Diane McKenzie, and Melanie Norton, Health Sciences Library, University of NC at Chapel Hill
• Pat Thibodeau and Joan Woodburn, Medical Center Library, Duke University , Durham, NC
• Rick Peterson and Holly Harris, Health Sciences Library, East Carolina University
• Leslie Mackler, Moses Cone Health System Library, Greensboro, NC
• Marilyn Summers and Sara Weatherman, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center
• Donna Flake, Coastal AHEC Medical Library, Wilmington, NC
• Terrance Burton, Jake Hiles, and Nancy Wasson, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
• Barbara Landreth, National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health Library, Morgantown, WV
• Dav Robertson and Ellen Leadem, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC

Mid-Atlantic Chapter librarians and libraries donating books, journals, supplies, or interlibrary loans to Antigua, include:

• Linda Gorman, John Hopkins
• Kathy Harbert, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Maryland
• Kathy Curry, Good Samaritan Hospital, Baltimore

Books, journals and interlibrary loans have also been donated by other MLA chapters. Additional accomplishments include:

For Latvia:

1. The Medical Research Library of Latvia provided a detailed listing of specific books and journal volume and issues needed. This list was widely publicized to US medical libraries in January 2001, and thus far 23 libraries have donated the equivalent of 32 large boxes of books and journals. The Cleveland Branch of the American Latvian Society provided funds to ship the materials from Cleveland and they are due to arrive in Latvia in early May.
   
   
2. The Latvian Physicians and Dentists group is in the process of raising additional funds for a series of additional shipments of books and journals to Latvia.
   
   
3. The profile of the Medical Research Library of Latvia has been raised through communicating this project to the Latvian President, the Latvian Ambassador in the US, and the American Ambassador in Latvia.
   
   
4. NLM arranged for the Medical Research Library of Latvia to have DOCLINE, and NLM staff and a member of our Latvian subcommittee taught the Latvian Librarians to use DOCLINE.
   
   
5. Many US and Canadian libraries are sending interlibrary loans to Latvia.
   
   
6. The Research Libraries Group graciously donated the Ariel software to the Medical Research Library of Latvia. This has greatly facilitated quick transmission of needed documents. Since March, 37 Ariel interlibrary loans have been received the Latvian library.
   
   
7. STAT!Ref donated their products containing 32 medical textbooks to the Medical Research Library of Latvia. Between March 7 and April 20, 118 health professionals have used STAT!Ref and viewed 13,516 documents.
   
   
8. The Latvian subcommittee has worked very closely with the American Latvian Association. The American Latvian Association published two detailed stories of this project in its two newspapers: Laiks (published in the Latvian language), and Latvian Dimensions (published in English). Several Latvians living in the US have contacted the Latvian subcommittee to offer help and to enthusiastically applaud this project.
   
   
9. A member of the Latvian subcommittee (who is from Latvia originally and speaks Latvian) traveled to the Medical Research Library of Latvia in August 2000 to better coordinate the project, provide some training, and to meet with Latvian government officials to discuss this project.

For Antigua:

1. Medical books, journals, interlibrary loans, and library supplies have been donated from many libraries.
   
   
2. AB Short of Medshare International has pledged support for shipping of resources.
   
   
3. The Antigua Consulate based in Atlanta has provided shipping assistance for library materials.
   
   
4. There are two libraries from the MAC Region that contributed books, journals, supplies or ILLs to Antigua. They are: Association of American Medical Colleges Reference Center in Washington, DC. and the Health Sciences Library, Howard University, Washington, DC.

If you would like to offer donations to either of these Sister Libraries, please contact one of our committee members.

Chair - Vicki Croft - croft@wsu.edu

Latvian Subcommittee:

Chair: Donna Flake - donna.flake@coastalahec.org

Members:

Livija Carlson - l-carl@tc.umn.edu

Leslie Mackler - leslie.mackler@mosescone.com

Eve-Marie LaCroix - lacroix@nlm.nih.gov

Antigua Subcommittee:

Chair: Avril Reid - reidavri@carec.paho.org

Members:

Barbara Ruelle - libbar@emory.edu

Janet S. Fisher - fisherj@access.etsu.edu

Members at large:

Diane Ebro - gobucks@okstate.edu

Lenny Rhine - lenny@library.health.ufl.edu

ILL successfully received via Ariel.

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