SELZER RECEIVES AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SERVICE

Ada Seltzer, professor of academic information services and director of UMC’s Rowland Medical Library, has received the 2007 Michael E. DeBakey Library Services Outreach Award for Outstanding Service to Rural or Underserved Communities.

DeBakey is the founder of the Friends of the National Library of Medicine. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is the world’s largest and most prestigious repository of medical archives. To honor the pioneering surgeon’s support of the library, the Friends established this award and presents it to librarians who meet the award criteria.

Janice Kelly, executive director of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Southeastern/Atlantic Region based at the health sciences library at the University of Maryland said, “I think Ada won this award because of her sustained and indefatigable commitment to information outreach for health professional and the public in Mississippi.” 

“I was very surprised; shocked, actually,” Seltzer said. “This is so good for the state, the Medical Center and the library.” 

The Mississippi Health Sciences Information Network (MisHIN) and Consumer Health Education Centers (CHECs) are two achievements that led to Seltzer’s selection for the award. MisHIN serves as the state’s resource center for health care practitioners by providing access to and delivery of health sciences information over the internet. “For physicians in rural Mississippi where they were previously underserved in obtaining vital information, this network brings it right to their office,” Seltzer said. 

The CHEC facilities similarly serve the public good, as they offer consumers ready and easy access to a quality, comprehensive collection of health information with pamphlets, books, leaflets, booklets, health periodicals, videotapes and computers for Web access. Two CHEC facilities exist now at the Jackson Medical Mall and the UMC Hospital and Clinics – Holmes County in Lexington. “We just received notice about funding to open yet another in Clarksdale,” Seltzer said.

For all the good these programs do, they will not be around long if more Mississippi physicians do not take advantage of what Seltzer considers invaluable opportunities. “MisHIN offers more than $1 million of licensed health information resources,” she said. “Funding for this can only be maintained through health provider support via network membership.” Seltzer hopes both programs will continue to expand. 

There is a registration fee and process for membership to MisHIN http://mishin.library.umc.edu. To access CHEC, logon to chec.library.umc.edu. 

—Dani Edmonson (6-11-07)

2007-06-08 00:00:00 17011