MLGSCA Research Award
Doing research in health sciences libraries? Apply for the MLGSCA Research Award!

NN/LM Grant/Proposal Writing Tips & Tutorials
Also includes information about potential funding sources

LARKS – Librarian and Researcher Knowledge Space
American Library Association’s suggestions for grant opportunities

Recommendations for MLGSCA Honorary Life Membership may be submitted in writing to the Membership Committee by any MLGSCA member. The official recommendation form is available here. Please include a brief statement of the nominee's qualifications. The Membership Committee will bring all recommendations to the Advisory Council for consideration.

Any person who has been recommended by an MLGSCA member or the Membership Committee, and in the opinion of the Advisory Council has made outstanding contributions to medical librarianship, may be elected Honorary Life Member by majority vote of members of the Advisory Council. Honorary Life Member status may be revoked by a majority vote of the Advisory Council.

The following criteria will be used to guide the recommendation and selection of Honorary Life Members. Nominees shall not be expected to fit all criteria; any combination of the following accomplishments may be appropriate for Honorary Life Member consideration:

1. Significant contributions to the chapter which includes but is not limited to: serving in elected or appointed offices and/or in chapter committees, planning and coordinating chapter meetings, spearheading projects that support the chapter's mission, and undertaking efforts that ensure the chapter's future;
2. Significant contributions to the profession which includes but is not limited to: conference presentations, publications, research endeavors, instruction, and technological innovation;
3. Outstanding achievement in the profession evidenced by: honors and awards received, recognition in the professional literature, and/or educational accomplishments;
4. Notable leadership in the profession including: positions held, career growth and development, professional association participation on a local and national level; and
5. Honorary Life Membership may be granted at any stage in one's career.

The following benefits will be offered to Honorary Life Members for the duration of their tenure:

1. Complimentary lifetime MLGSCA membership;
2. An official letter of recognition at the time of appointment from the current MLGSCA President;
3. Participation in the MLGSCA email discussion list;
4. The opportunity to attend MLGSCA sponsored CE events at the “member” price;
5. Listing in the MLGSCA directory with special designation as Honorary Life Member; and
6. Eligibility for other MLGSCA Awards and Grants as applicable.
   
   Honorary Life Member appointment announcements will be made at business meetings, as well as on the blog. 

Brief Chapter History of the past 25 years of MLGSCA:

(Requested by the MLA 125-Year Retrospective Task Force.)

What is the name of your caucus/chapter?

Medical Library Group of Southern California and Arizona

What year was your caucus/chapter established?

Medical Library Group of Southern California began meeting formally in 1948 to consider organizing a regional group of the Medical Library Association.

Has your group had any name changes? If your group has changed its name, please list the names and years these changes occurred.

Our chapter was originally called Medical Library Group of Southern California. In 1974 the Arizona medical library groups were asked to join MLGSC and became official members in 1975. We then changed our name to Medical Library Group of Southern California and Arizona.

Has your caucus merged with another group in the past 5 years? If so, which group? No

Have the geographical boundaries of your chapter changed? If so, when and what changes took place (e.g., merged with another chapter)?

Our chapter’s original northern boundary was Bakersfield and in 1978 the northern geographic boundary was reestablished to include all libraries south of Fresno. San Diego has remained our southern boundary.

What are the top 3 (or fewer) moments in the history for your caucus/chapter since 1998 (500 words or less). These can include milestones, major projects, outstanding leaders, awards

MLGSCA has been recognized for innovation and excellence on several occasions, winning Chapter of the Year Award in: 2002 - Broadcasting chapter meetings and programs using video recording technology, 2011 - Use of MegaMeeting web conferencing service, 2014 - Substance Over Style: Exploring a cost-effective model for chapter meetings, and 2015 - Chapter outreach and promotion to non-medical librarians in Arizona.

For decades our chapter sponsored a manual coupon system, a method of payment developed when ILL articles were sent primarily via mail to allow for payment between hospital libraries. Seeing the benefit of an all electronic funds transfer system (EFTS), MLGSCA proactively worked to support our members’ transition to EFTS and phased out our coupon system in December 2008.

We’ve had a strong Professional Issues Committee over the years, with diverse recruitment, retention and support of our current chapter members as a goal. MLGSCA librarians partnered with San Jose State University’s School of Information to provide a regularly occurring class on Health Sciences Librarianship, exposing students to the profession and building skill sets of those interested in our field.

Tell us something fun about your caucus/chapter.

Many MLA notables are former and current MLGSCA members – Ellen Aaronson, Jo Anne Boorkman, Naomi Broering, Lois Ann Colaianni, Louise Darling, Jacque Doyle, J. Michael Homan, Marsha Kmec, Susan Lessick, Lisa Marks, Fred Roper, just to name a few!

What is one thing about your chapter/caucus that your colleagues would be surprised to learn?

We are the oldest chapter of MLA, starting in 1948. We have a dividing line between Northern California Nevada (NCNMLG) Chapter and Southern California Arizona Chapter around Fresno, but we have many members who have flowed back and forth between chapters. In fact, our chapters are so closely tied that we hold our annual chapter meeting as a Joint meeting with NCNMLG and rotate hosting responsibilities.

How has your caucus/chapter become more accessible, equitable, or inclusive than in the past?

We embraced the online meeting format early because it enabled more people to join our Advisory Council (Board) meetings. Previously, members would have to travel to one location in state of the President (Chair) for meetings. In the last year, we have made extra effort to invite the entire membership to Advisory Council meetings to promote openness and transparency within our Chapter.

What topics do you think your caucus/chapter will be addressing in 2048?

We aren’t quite sure about 25 years from now, but we are definitely thinking about our history and preserving our print and electronic archives.

Past Officers:

• List of MLGSCA Past Presidents
• 2021/2022 MLGSCA Officers
• 2020/2021 MLGSCA Officers
• 2019/2020 MLGSCA Officers
• 2018/2019 MLGSCA Officers
• 2017/2018 MLGSCA Officers
• 2016/2017 MLGSCA Officers
• 2015/2016 MLGSCA Officers
• 2014/2015 MLGSCA Officers
• 2013/2014 MLGSCA Officers
• 2012/2013 MLGSCA Officers
• 2011/2012 MLGSCA Officers
• 2010/2011 MLGSCA Officers
• 2009/2010 MLGSCA Officers
• 2008/2009 MLGSCA Officers
• 2007/2008 MLGSCA Officers
• 2006/2007 MLGSCA Officers
• 2005/2006 MLGSCA Officers
• 2004/2005 MLGSCA Officers

Do you have historical information you would like to find here? Award winners? Past officers? Please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Chapter History document (1948-1998) is currently available in PDF Form.

Please note, this is a 42 page document with lots of photos and graphics, and the PDF file is very large. It may be faster to download the file first and view it later - to do this, position your mouse over the link above and click with the RIGHT mouse button (or, for Mac users, click and HOLD the mouse button) to activate your browser's popup box of options. Choose the item marked "Save Link as" (or the most similar to this - wording varies by browser and version) and save the file to your local computer. This can sometimes go faster than bringing the file up in your browser.

MLGSCA would like to acknowledge and honor our members who have retired for their contributions to the profession of Medical Librarianship. 

If you would like your name added, please contact the Chair of the MLGSCA Web/Blog Committee to add a name:

• Your full name
• Your last position/title, company name or affiliation, city, state (and country, if outside the US)
• Years in the profession
• Retirement year