This Friday, April 24th is the last day to apply to be an Official MLA Blogger at the MLA Annual Meeting.

If you are on the fence about being a blogger here are 10 good reasons why you should be an Official Blogger.

10. Snappy Official Blogger ribbons to attach to your meeting badge. Consider it one of your 15 pieces of flair.

9. You can to kill two birds with one stone. Turn the notes you already have to take for your report back at home into blog posts that will get you AHIP points.

8. Free WiFi. Stop using your laptop as a digital divining rod to find a hotspot.

7. You don't have to have a laptop to be an Official MLA Blogger. Type 2 bloggers (those without their own laptop) can post to the blog and earn AHIP points.

6. Where else can you sip Mai Tais and tan on the beach while writing about libraries?

5. It is an easy way to call attention to your award winning photography skills by enhancing your post with your MLA flickr photos.

4. Your experience might give you some great ideas on outreach, technology, and communication that you can apply at your home library.

3. What else are you going to do when you are up at 2:00am fighting jet lag?

2. If we get enough bloggers our numbers might just rival those of the knitting librarians at the conference.

1. Great way to help connect those who had to stay home with the news and information from the Annual Meeting's programs and events.


Hurry, the deadline is April 24th!Follow the blog using the following RSS feed http://feeds2.feedburner.com/mla2009

Labels: Annual Meeting, Hawaii, Technology

When I go to MLA's Annual Meeting I always ask coworkers to browse through the program (including the posters and sections) to let me know if there is anything specific they want me to try and attend or ask questions about.

This year I am also asking all of you in the blogosphere who can't attend the meeting to do the same. MLA's Online Program Planner is up and running. (Currently it seems to be missing some key events such as the Plenary Sessions, hopefully that will be resolved soon.) In the meantime you can browse the poster and section programs as well as other events and tell me what you want to know more about.


Is there a poster addressing some key issues that your library is facing? Are you interested in a certain new product from a vendor? Do you have questions about a library service or how a librarian accomplished something? Please read through the program and submit your comments below. You can remain anonymous. I only ask that if you do so, please number your anonymous posts (anonymous1, anonymous2, etc.) so that I can keep track of the questions.


Think of me as your blogger in the field. I can't promise that I will get to all of your submissions, but if I have the opportunity I will try. Relevant questions and answers will be re-posted on the MLA 2009 Official Blog.

Labels: Annual Meeting, Hawaii, MLA

Blogging:
You have just one week left to apply to be an Official MLA Blogger for the Annual Meeting in Hawaii. If you are going to the meeting and are interested in blogging, please consider applying. Your colleagues who are unable to attend will benefit from your experiences. Being an Official Blogger is a great way to get free wifi courtesy of MLA for the duration of the conference. Not traveling with a laptop? Don't worry, you can still be an Official Blogger if you don't have your own laptop. Hurry, the deadline is April 24th!


Follow the blog using the following RSS feed http://feeds2.feedburner.com/mla2009


Twitter:
The Official Blog is just one way to follow the events at MLA. A Twitter account has been set up for the meeting as well. The MLA 2009 Twitter account is mla2009. Following MLA 2009 on Twitter is very easy.

You can follow without signing up for a Twitter account. You can either go to the website http://www.twitter.com/mla2009 and watch the posts, or you can subscribe to the RSS feed at http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/15206900.rss.

If you want to interact with people, comment, or pose questions then you will need to create your own Twitter account. Simply go to http://www.twitter.com and join. Once you have joined and created a username go to Find People and type in mla2009. Click on the icon and then click Follow.

Just a few days before meeting mla2009 will "follow" all of its followers. That will allow everybody following on mla2009 to see each others posts and to view what is going on at the convention. If you plan to post about the convention please try and remember to use the hashtag #mla09 before you type. The hashtags index the thread so that it can be found and easier to follow.

Note: The Twitter website does not automatically refresh, so you will either need to hit the browser's refresh button every once and a while or you might want to look at some Twitter clients like twhril or TweetDeck which make managing your Twitter account a little easier.

Flickr:
Are you going to the meeting and are you planning on taking a lot of pictures? Please consider uploading to the MLA 2009 group on flickr. This will allow us to pool all of our photos into one group so everybody can see them.

Anybody can view the photos if they go to http://www.flickr.com/groups/mla2009/

If you want to post your photos to the group here's how:

• You must have a flickr account
• Once you have a flickr account and logged in you must join the group
• Click the Groups tab and then Search for a Group. Search for MLA 2009
• Click on the MLA 2009 Group and then click "Join?"

Once you have joined the group it is very easy to post your photos to the group. The easiest way to add a photo to a group is to go to your account home page and click on your photo stream. Then click on the photo you want to send to the group. Next, click the "Send to Group" button (located above the photo, between the photo title and the photo). Then choose the group you want to send it to, and you're done!

If you are sharing photos on the MLA 2009 Group please remember to tag them all with the term mla2009.

If you aren't going to the meeting this year, we will miss you. But at least you have some options for staying in touch and following some of the activities and staying up to date. Additionally if there is anybody else on the NPC or any of the Section Programs who is doing something online that will allow folks at home to follow along to, please leave a comment.

Labels: Annual Meeting, Blogs, Hawaii, Social Software, Tagging, Technology

In the past the posters from the annual meeting have been available in PDF form on a website. Well this year MLA is introducing interactive posters.


This year, MLA is excited to have partnered with Trapeze Media Solutions, a small business out of the University of Utah, in an exciting new effort to display your poster electronically. In addition to presenting in the regular poster session, the PDF of your poster will be displayed on interactive kiosks at the conference. These kiosks will allow other attendees to view your poster throughout the conference.

The kiosks will allow attendees to browse posters, search for keywords, and even ask questions and provide feedback. When an attendee selects your poster, they will be presented with a full view. When they click on any section with the mouse, that section will zoom in and allow the attendee to read the detail. Another click will zoom the poster back to the full view. A menu allows the attendee to switch between your poster and abstract and the text from both your poster and abstract will be indexed for searching. In addition to this new way of presenting your poster online, this new service can allow for more interactivity than printed posters, so you will also have the ability to include additional functionality.



The following things can be added to posters:

• Movies, audio, PowerPoint presentations, and animations and attach them to specific parts of your poster


• Include datasets and attach them to graphs or charts on your poster.


• If a method and dataset is available, other researchers will be able to use that data and method to validate the results. Or they can use the data and their method. (Before making any dataset available, ensure that it is HIPAA compliant and allowed by your institution and IRB.)


• Additional documents can be attached to specific parts of your poster.

Wow this is like the posters are beefed up and on steroids. I really like this idea. In particular I like the idea of being able to ask questions ahead of time. All too often the poster sessions are chaotic and inevitably I never make to all of the posters I want to make it to. This allows me to contact and ask questions of all the posters I am interested in.

Labels: Annual Meeting, Hawaii, MLA, Technology

Do you have some great library promotional items and ideas? The MLA's Public Relations Swap 'n' Shop will feature samples and giveaways of successful library promotions. Consider submitting your samples of your promotional ideas with your colleagues. You don't even have to attend the annual meeting to submit your samples.

Contact Tomi Gunn at MLA headquarters for the submission form. If you are not attending the meeting but would like to submit samples, please send them to MLA headquarters by May 4.

Those who are attending the meeting and interested in learning more about promotional ideas and what type media to use, a PCI representative will also conduct a free marketing seminar, followed by a question-and-answer session. The seminar, "The Who, What, Where, When, and Why of Social and Traditional Media," will cover the best ways to use blogs, Twitter, local television, radio, and newspapers to get your messages to the right audiences.

Labels: Annual Meeting, Hawaii, MLA

Next week I am going to try a personal experiment. I am going to try and follow the HIMSS '09 conference on Twitter. I have a Twitter account and I used the "Find People" feature to find the HIMSS Twitter feed and I subscribed to it. There are over 1300 followers and 750 updates so far, and the conference has yet to start.

I am especially interested in following anything on the HIMSS Social Networking 101, Meet the Bloggers, and HIMSS Virtual Conference sessions.



HIMSS Social Networking 101
Facebook...Twitter...Linkedin...SharePoint...HIMSS Connect! With the numerous, and seemingly ever-growing, social networking sites available to us where does one go online to find HIMSS members? Join us for an in-depth exploration of the sites currently being utilized by HIMSS staff (and members) and learn how each provides their own unique way for you to connect online with your peers.



Meet the Bloggers
You've read their posts, you've commented on their ideas, now is the time to meet face-to-face. Join this uncommon experience and hear from bloggers themselves on what it takes to create, maintain and locate blogs regarding healthcare IT. This moderated roundtable is intended to discuss the responsibilities and dedication required to run a professional blog.



HIMSS Virtual Conference

What happens when you can't get away from work or simply don't have the budget to attend large, national conferences? Does it signal the end of learning, networking and professional development? No! Join us for a demonstration the attendee experience at a HIMSS' Virtual Conference & Expo as well as a discussion of the benefits of virtual conferences, such as: Synchronous online learning and live chat Dynamic, real-time participant movement in and out of exhibit booths and educational sessions Interactive attendee networking opportunities Vendor presentations.



The MLA has been working toward making meetings more virtual and available to those unable to attend. In 2008 the Annual Meeting had Webcast one of the Plenary Sessions, they had 10 Official Bloggers dedicated to blogging the meeting, and some some industrious fast fingered librarians started unofficially Twittering the conference which if my memory is right helped bring about the medlibs Twitter feed.



This year MLA will be trying to reach out to non-attendees again. Some of the developments that I know of are:

MLA 2009 Blog -I am still looking for more people. You know who you are, and you know you can blog. Applications are still being accepted so hurry up fill one out and blog.

MIS Top Technology Trends III Program Session - Has plans to have a virtual presenter, will be Twittering the session, and plans to accept Twittered questions.

MLA 2009 Twittered - You can follow the conference on Twitter using the MLA 2009 Twitter feed. It is an experimental method for us, twitterers will be your peers who happened to like to Twitter.



I am not sure of other plans, perhaps those who are in different areas of programing can share some of their methods to making the conference a little more available to non-attendees.

Labels: Annual Meeting, Hawaii, MLA, Social Software, Technology

CNN just published the article Traveling to Hawaii on the Cheap. It mentions, "Pleasant Holidays, one of the nation's largest privately owned travel companies, is offering vacation packages that include flight and three nights hotel stay in Oahu starting at $299." I am not sure if this is an option for anybody thinking of going to MLA.

The article states that flights from the East Coast (Boston) are about $460 and West Coast flights are under $340. Hotel occupancy numbers have hit a down turn and hotels are offering discounts on rooms as well as upgrades, free nights, and dinner coupons. "For example, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, owned by Outrigger Enterprises Group, is offering the third night free for travelers who book a stay in Waikiki this month for $159 a night. A year ago, the lowest the rate at the hotel was nearly $100 more."

For my vacation after MLA I am going to the Big Island. The Outrigger (ocean front location) has a deal for $130/night for a partial ocean view which includes wifi, fridge and breakfast buffet each morning.

There are deals to be had. If you have been waffling back and forth it appears now is the time to book.

Labels: Annual Meeting, Hawaii

Rikke Ogawa posted on Medlib-l today that there are some pretty good airfare deals right now to Hawaii. I found similar priced deals at airfarewatchdog.com.
Here are some sample fares:

• LA $335
• NY $593
• DC $499
• ST LOUIS $451
• DALLAS $503
• PHILADELPHIA $515
• CHICAGO $479
• CHAPEL HILL $523
• BUFFALO $500
• ATLANTA $533
• SEATTLE $322
• PHOENIX $327
• COLUMBUS $484
• ST PAUL $579

It is getting close to crunch time. If you were on the fence and you were waiting to see if you could get any good airfares, now is the time to jump.

Don't forget: WE NEED BLOGGERS!!!

If you are going to MLA and would like some AHIP points please consider blogging about your experiences. For those of you traveling with a laptop this an opportunity to get free wifi via a wireless card courtesy of MLA, you just need to make two posts per day to the blog during the meeting.

You can find more information about blogging at the MLA 2009 Blog http://npc.mlanet.org/mla09/. The application is http://tinyurl.com/b74lbm.

Deadline is April 24, 2009. Results will be announced May 1, 2009.

Please consider blogging. There will be a lot of people on the main land looking to the blog as a method to stay in touch with the Annual Meeting's events and information.

Labels: Annual Meeting, Hawaii, MLA

Are you going to Honolulu for MLA’s 2009 Annual Meeting? If so then consider becoming an Official Blogger for the 2009 meeting. While we can’t offer an “Official Blogger” t-shirt you will receive 3 AHIP points for officially blogging on the annual meeting.
In order to provide the most coverage MLA is looking for all types of people interested in writing about the events and activities occurring at the MLA. Potential bloggers do not need to be current authors of a blog, but must have experience using and posting with blogging software such as WordPress. Those selected as Official Bloggers will be asked to commit to authoring a specific number of posts per day.
MLA members traveling with laptops can apply to be an Official “Wireless” Blogger. Official “Wireless” Bloggers will be given a wireless card which will enable them to receive wireless access for the duration of the conference. There are eleven openings to be an Official “Wireless” Blogger. Bloggers with laptops and MLA sponsored wireless cards will be asked to author at least two posts per day. Since the number of wireless cards is limited the process will be competitive. A panel of judges will consider the blogger’s experience and previous online writing work (blog posts, newsletters, wiki entries, etc.).
Those who are traveling light and are not taking a laptop to the convention or those who already have a laptop and have their own wifi solution can also be Official Bloggers. These Official Bloggers may post their entries in the Internet Café or by other means such as by cell phone or by using their own wifi provider. These bloggers will be asked to author at least one post per day.
Both types of bloggers are eligible for 3 AHIP points. Bloggers will be posting to the central MLA 2009 Blog site http://npc.mlanet.org/mla09/. Bloggers will have the opportunity to sign up on a calendar http://npc.mlanet.org/mla09/?page_id=6 to blog about specific activities. This will serve as an aid to help bloggers and members know who plans on covering what aspects of the meeting and what areas might need additional coverage. Multiple people can blog about the same event (different perspectives are always welcome) but bloggers can use the calendar to view opportunities to post on something else. Bloggers are encouraged to post on items and events related to the meeting. This can be information from vendors in the exhibit hall, a new product, poster and paper sessions, section programs, lectures, continuing education, dinners and parties, discussions, etc.

Deadline is April 24, 2009. Results will be announced May 1, 2009.

Application to be an Official Blogger can be found at http://tinyurl.com/b74lbm, for more information please or questions please contact Michelle Kraft at kraftm[at]ccf[dot]org.

Labels: Annual Meeting, Blogs, Hawaii, MLA

The 2009 National Program Committee (NPC) invites submission of abstracts for a special late-breaking poster session at MLA '09. Submissions sought include new technology trends that have recently emerged, innovative library programs, and notable projects or research that has taken place (or been completed) since the original October poster submission deadline.

Priority will be given to original submissions. Previously submitted abstracts should only be resubmitted if they include new information or results.

Authors are encouraged to submit a structured abstract and should use the late-breaking poster submission form to submit your abstract by Monday, March 16, 2009.

Twenty-five posters will be selected. Posters will be presented during the regularly scheduled poster sessions. The primary author will be notified of acceptance by email the week of March 23, 2009. The lead or presenting author must be identified at the time of submission and is expected to pay for that day's registration. Presenters will be required to staff their posters at their assigned poster session time.

Posters will be available for viewing during MLA '09. Posters and related handouts will be posted to MLANET prior to the meeting.

See the original Call for Participation (PDF) for additional information about poster boards and other information about the exhibition space. For more information about posters, see the frequently asked questions on the MLA '09 website.

Labels: Annual Meeting, Hawaii, MLA, Technology

The deadline for the Hospital Library Section (HLS) Travel Award Grant is February 16, 2009!

If you are a member of the HLS and planning or considering going to the MLA meeting in Hawaii you should really take advantage of this opportunity. According to a recent email on the HLS-list the committee has received very few applicants.
The committee will provide 4 grants of $500 to winners. Grants will be awarded to HLS members based on the benefit to the section and financial need.

For more information and criteria go to: the http://hls.mlanet.org/ HLS web site and see Travel Award announcement: http://hls.mlanet.org/HLStravelgrant09.doc.



Personally, I think this is a great opportunity for any HLS member who is thinking about going to MLA. In previous blog posts I have lamented about the lack of funding for regular mid career librarians who have gone to at least one annual meeting. Until recently there just weren't a lot of grants out there to help fund those sort of medical librarians. With the economy and with the meeting located outside of the continental U.S. various MLA sections are really trying to provide many opportunities for librarians to get travel grants. I don't know whether other sections have had a lot of applicants, but I think it is sad that a section with 1043 members (statistics from HLS 2007-2008 Annual Report) has few applicants for the travel grant. One would hope this is because a lot of the members' institutions are paying for it. However, from the stories I have heard among various colleagues (academic, hospital, special, etc.) institutions are cutting back on travel not funding more of it.

There are still those librarians out there howling about how expensive it is to attend MLA (regardless of where it is held). Yet where are these people when there are more grants available?! I am extremely fortunate that my institution decided to fund my trip. Had they not done so or only funded it partially I would be applying for every travel grant I qualified for.

Not everybody can go every year nor afford to go every year but out of 1000+ members you would expect you would have a consistently large group of people wanting to go and wanting to get funding. We all have financial obligations but we also have a professional responsibilities and obligation to stay up to date and expand relevant skills in today's economy. MLA and its sections can help us achieve those professional responsibilities, but the individual must make a commitment too.

Labels: Annual Meeting, ContinuingEducation, Hawaii, Hospital Libraries, MLA

The 2009 National Program Committee (NPC) hopes to bring attendees at MLA '09 in Hawaii a fresh and timely update on what's hot and/or cool in our libraries. A special session, the "Speed UpDating Open Forum," will be held to get quick flashes of new ideas or useful tips and tricks on emerging topics of interest to MLA members.

The agenda for this event is a little different than others. Meeting participants will set the agenda and there will be no editorial evaluation in the selection process. Therefor the NPC will select the FIRST 12 submissions received.

This open forum will be Tuesday May 18 at 7:30am


Interested? Participants only have 5 minutes to speak and should be willing to share their stories without visuals. The only technology that will be used will be a stopwatch to keep everyone on time.



To ensure that these ideas are fresh, the NPC will have an open submission period beginning January 25, 2009. Send your topic or idea submissions to the NPC. The NPC will accept ideas until the first 12 have been received. Reminders will be sent via FOCUS. The participants will be named in the April MLA News.



What a great idea! I kind of think it is similar an oral "swap and shop" where each person quickly explains what they have done that is neat or that has worked for them. The best thing that participation is really easy (no Power Point slides, long speeches, etc.) and it looks to be interesting as well as fun.



So if you are going to MLA '09 and you or your library has done something neat, definitely submit your idea to the NPC and talk about it at the forum. Chances are you will be talking about it with your friends during the meeting, so why not spend 5 minutes talking about it so more people can hear about it too.

Labels: Annual Meeting, ContinuingEducation, Hawaii, MLA

The Hospital Library Section (HLS) is offering four travel grants of $500 each for MLA Hawaii.

Deadline is Feb 16th, 2009. Winners announced mid-March.

Criteria: Grant is to support HLS members traveling to the MLA annual meeting in Hawaii.

The grants will be awarded according to the most benefit to the section as well as need of the recipient.

A committee appointed by the chair, including the past-chair and two others will administer the grant program. The Travel Grant Committee members are not eligible to receive the grants. The travel grants will be announced as early as possible to allow time for making arrangements for traveling to the conference.

Judging Criteria:

Financial Need:
Already recieive total funding = 0 points
Receives partial funding up to $1000 = 1 point
Receives partial funding up to $750 = 2 points
Receives partial funding up to $500 = 3 points
Receives no funding from other sources = 4 points

Benefits of Conference Attendance to Section:
Poster presenter = 1 point
HLS officer or committee chair (except Chair and Chair-elect) = 2 points
Speaker at HLS sponsored session = 3 points
HLS Chair, Chair elect, other elected (voting ) members of the board = 4 points.

Those who apply will be awarded points based on both sets of criteria. An individual can accrue multiple points for the benefit to the section criteria. For example: a committee chair who is also a speaker at an HLS sponsored session would be awarded 5 points.

If/when objective points do not result in a conclusive winner, the the committee will use their best judgment.

HLS members applying for the grant should send an email to cboss[atsign]meridianhealth[dot]com identifying the applicable criteria and explanation. Requests can be submitted for financial need only, according to the above process, or a combination of points for financial and HLS contribution criteria.

For more information go to: http://www.hls.mlanet.org/HLStravelgrant09.doc

Labels: Annual Meeting, Hawaii, Hospital Libraries

I have been planning on attending the MLA Conference in Hawaii. It won't all be fun in the sun, I am on a few committees and I plan on presenting. My library had originally told me they would support my trip, just like they did when I attended the conference in Chicago. Unfortunately yesterday an email was sent out to all hospital employees detailing some ways that the hospital will be tightening its financial belt in these tough economic times. One of those ways is to halt travel. "Travel should be limited to trips that are critical to our organization's mission." Uh oh.

So I immediately did what any librarian would do, I jumped on to the computer and started looking for travel grants. Fortunately I found quite a few grants that might work. Unfortunately it is too late apply for most of them. It is either past the deadline (MLA grants) or it will take too long to get funding, as is the case for the NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings grant, the process takes approximately 6 – 9 months from the application receipt date.

For me this has nothing to do with the fact that the conference is in Hawaii. Aside from airfare, the cost to go to the conference in Chicago and Hawaii are fairly close. Basically, I wouldn't be able to attend an MLA conference in any city (except Cleveland) without institutional support. I value that institutional support, without it I would not be able to be as active in the profession as I am. Note, there are no MLA grants for mid career librarians who have attended the conference before, even if it was 20 years ago.

Now I am looking for money in other places. CNN recently published an article, "Unusual and Legal Ways to Make Money" where a woman was paid $1,200 for 27 inches of her hair that she sold on HairTrader.com. That won't work, I just cut my long hair last month.

I have made commitments that require my attendance at the annual meeting. I agreed to them before the change in my organization's travel policies. I will stand by my commitments. Short of finding any money in the walls of my 90 year old house (note to all contractors I will split it with you 50/50 to avoid the legal craziness), I will just have to go with the tried and true method of trying to sock away a little each month to go. Easier said than done when there are life commitments, as anonymous points out.

For those of you going, how are you paying for it? Please share, because I am sure that the information will benefit more than just me.

Labels: Annual Meeting, Hawaii, MLA

(reprinted from MEDLIB-L)
Is MLA '09 in Your Future?
Let us know! Planning for MLA '09 is well underway, but 2009 National Program and Local Assistance committees still need your help. Please take five minutes to help the committees finish planning programs and events with our quick survey. We greatly appreciate your time and feedback. The survey deadline is December 15, 2008.

Labels: Annual Meeting, Hawaii, MLA

The dealine to submit a paper or poster for MLA 2009 Annual Meeting in Hawaii is October 6, 2009. That is less than two weeks away!

For more information go to http://www.mlanet.org/am/am2009/call.html

(courtesy of MLA)
Papers:
Contributed papers can explore the newest ideas, best practices, and fusion-related themes. Consider what is best in local practices, valid research results, current trends, use or development of innovative technologies, and future projects that highlight what is best about health sciences libraries and information centers and the role librarians and information professionals play in making health information available to all. Handouts and electronic presentations from the paper presentations will be posted to MLANET. Plan to submit your abstract, using the structured abstract guidelines at www.research.mlanet.org, by Monday, October 6, 2008.

Posters or Electronic Demonstration:
The 2009 NPC also invites proposals for best ideas expressed as a poster or electronic demonstration. The range of opportunities for self-expression is unlimited. Consider the use or development of innovative technologies, local best practices, valid research results, current trends, and future projects that highlight the power of partnerships, the best about health sciences libraries and information centers, and the roles that librarians and information professionals play in making health information accessible to all. Posters will be available for viewing during MLA ’09. Posters and related handouts will be posted to MLANET prior to the meeting. Plan to submit your abstract, using the structured abstract guidelines at www.research.mlanet.org, by Monday, October 6, 2008. Posters should not repeat information submitted for papers.

Are you working on a project that would make a good poster or paper but you aren't completely finished to have the results or the conclusion yet? Will you have the results by February 16, 2009? If so then please consider submitting a paper or poster based on your project. Authors of accepted papers or posters have the option to input the results and conclusions sections, not to exceed 150 words, to add them after acceptance no later than February 16, 2009.

Labels: Hawaii, MLA

I am forwarding the National Program Committee invitation to the 2009 MLA Annual Meeting in Honolulu Hawaii as a reminder to North American librarians as well as other librarians around the world to attend. For some people who live in other parts of the world such as China, Japan and Australia, Honolulu is closer than if they were to attend an MLA meeting on the mainland of the United States.

(forwarded from the NPC)

On behalf of the Medical Library Association's National Program Committee (NPC) we invite you to participate in MLA's 2009 Annual Meeting and Exposition, May 15-20, 2009, in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

The meeting promises to be one of the most important gatherings of medical librarians and related health information professionals. MLA's programming and exhibition hall have grown in size and scope, attracting over 2,300 attendees. Interest has already been expressed from librarians and information professionals from China, Korea, Japan, and Malaysia.
MLA'09 will be your opportunity to explore new trends and paradigms in today's professional environment. Programming will focus on your concerns ranging from work-life balance and environmental issues to the impact of social networking, scholarly communication, space planning, curricular design, and strategic initiatives.

The NPC encourages international attendees to submit an International Poster abstract, which is due early December 2008. To submit an abstract, request a letter of invitation and view other important meeting information please see http://mla.hawaiiconvention.com/index.cfm

If you have not attended an MLA meeting and would like to see a session from MLA'08 see http://mlanet.org/am/am2008/events/plenary_webcast.html

The tropical island of Oahu, known as the gathering place, is the ideal global setting for MLA'09. From the moment you arrive you will be energized by fusions of floral air, breathtaking natural beauty and the warmth, charm and sincerity of Hawaii's people and aloha spirit. The theme "iFusions" connects our island to the fusions of events, opportunities and technologies that we face in today's explosive information world.

We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Hawaii for an enjoyable and professionally rewarding experience.
Best regards,
National Program Committee

Labels: Hawaii, MLA

It is never too early to get your Nenes in a row for Hawaii. The MLA '09 Meeting schedule is available to glance at. It has been adjusted so that attendees have more open time in the afternoon to plan their own activities. You may want to consider visiting the USS Arizona Memorial, shopping for gifts, learning to surf (yours truly is planning on trying that), or just simply sipping your BOC (beverage of choice) and watching the surf.

Don't forget if you want to participate and present a paper or poster, you must submit your structured abstract at http://www.research.mlanet.org by October 6, 2008.

After the meeting you want to do a little touring around Hawaii but you don't know where to start, where to go, or what to see? You might consider going on a cruise of the Hawaiian Islands. MLA has arranged for discounts on a post meeting boat cruise touring some of the other islands. For more information go to:
http://www.mlanet.org/am/am2009/hawaii/cruise.html?focus_20080807

For more information about the meeting, travel tips, sight seeing, etc. don't forget to go to MLA '09 Wiki and MLA's website.

Labels: Annual Meeting, Hawaii, MLA