Transcript Librarians, Libraries and Disasters – Why?  NLM Long Range Plan: Ensure…effective use of libraries and librarians when disasters occur. [demonstrate] how libraries and librarians.

Librarians, Libraries and Disasters – Why?
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NLM Long Range Plan:
Ensure…effective
use of libraries and librarians when disasters occur.
[demonstrate] how libraries and librarians can be part of the solution
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Events of the last decade have focused national attention on disasters
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Attributes of the profession: service-oriented, motivated to connect
people and information
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Skills of the profession: collect, organize, disseminate quality
information crucial to disaster work and public health emergencies
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Library buildings, computers, Internet access can help communities reconnect and re-build
National Library of Medicine
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ◊ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Who benefits from disaster information outreach?
Communities planning for and responding to disasters
 Healthcare providers and the public health workforce
 Hospitals and other healthcare institutions
 Emergency planners and responders
 Government agencies with disaster responsibilities
 Academic programs and researchers
 Military and civilians providing international humanitarian
assistance
 Patients & families
 People with special needs
Librarian using WISER to identify sarin gas for ED director during a drill.
Who are Disaster Information Librarians?
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Disaster Information Specialist Pilot Project participants
Library liaisons to academic programs in emergency
management, public health, and related.
Faculty teaching and researching on libraries and disasters
Those who went through a disaster, whose experiences laid the
foundation for this program.
NLM and Regional Medical Libraries staff
Directors and staff of disaster libraries
Informationists – subject specialists
Hospital librarians
Learning Resource Center, National Emergency Training Center, Emmitsburg, MD
What are Disaster Information Specialists doing?
CASE STUDY: H1N1 outbreak
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Forwarded critical info to hospital and government decision makers
Provided clinicians with latest treatment guidelines
Directed the public to trusted health information sources
Maintained quality, timely information on Web sites and publications
Provided references on vaccinations, risks to children and pregnant
women, public health measures to control the spread, epidemiology
and more
What are Disaster Information Specialists doing?
When it’s quiet…
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Collect, organize and disseminate disaster materials from noncommercial sources, peer-reviewed literature, social media
Expand collections of disaster-related resources
Support hospital emergency planning activities
Teach responders about REMM, WISER
Participate in disaster drills
Host community preparedness events
Support researchers’ information needs
Network with local emergency operations, public health
Update Web sites, blogs, and library guides on disaster topics
National Library of Medicine
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ◊ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Disaster Information Specialist Program
The program supports librarians so that they in turn can
support their communities.
Major components of the program:
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Identify roles for librarians in all phases of disaster work:
preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery.
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Encourage librarians to participate by building a
community of practice and a culture of preparedness.
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Develop training and certification.
National Library of Medicine
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ◊ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Identify roles
Experiment with new activities at selected pilot sites and
learn from experiences in earlier disasters.
Stitt Medical Library
National Naval Medical
Center
New York University
Uniformed Services
Univ of the Health
Sciences Medical
Library
Building a community of practice,
a culture of preparedness
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Health information guides on specific events: Haiti earthquake,
H1N1, Gulf oil spill
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DISASTR-OUTREACH-LIB e-mail discussion list and weekly news to
400+ subscribers in 45 states and 10 countries
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Monthly calls on current disasters, public health emergencies
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Preparedness for impact on library buildings, staff or services - a
major focus of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine
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Partnerships for mutual aid at the national level (National Network of
Libraries of Medicine) and local level (Bethesda, Sarasota)
National Library of Medicine
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ◊ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Develop Training and Certification
Assess the need for a national training curriculum and
certification program.
Develop a specialty area in the MLA CE program for the
role of “Disaster Information Specialist” to prepare
librarians to fill a key role in assisting organizations with
planning for and responding to all types of emergencies.
Proposed by Ruth Holst, President-elect
Medical Library Association
Future…Develop continuing education training about
disaster information topics for all participants in disaster
medicine and public health preparedness.
National Library of Medicine
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ◊ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Core competencies, training, and education
for a new discipline
Disaster medicine and public health preparedness [DMPHP] seeks to
engage all health professions in efforts to prepare for, respond to and
recover from serious mass casualty events. DMPHP…does not belong
to any single specialty, profession or discipline –it belongs to
all.…DMPHP is unique in that it can be considered an avocation, at
least in part, of all health professionals....
-forthcoming in June 2010 issue of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
This new discipline is supported by:
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The National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (2009)
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Public Health Preparedness and Response Core Competency Development Project
(2010)
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AMA report Education in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness During
Medical School and Residency Training (2009)
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Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 (2007)
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Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act (2006)