PROGRAM SESSION CO-SPONSORED BY MH SIG
Sunday, May 7, 2000
4:00-5:30 P.M.
Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Center, Rm. 16

Calming the Dragon: The Mind-Body Connection in Healing
Co-Sponsored by: Chiropractic Libraries Section
Consumer and Patient Health Information Section
International Cooperation Section
Complementary Medicine SIG
Mental Health SIG

Moderator: Marcia M. Thomas, Library Director, Ruth R. Cleveland Memorial Library, Cleveland Chiropractic College, Kansas City, MO

Speakers:
Title: And the Dragon Lived Happily Ever After…
Author: Sharon Lezotte, Consumer Health Coordinator,
McGoogan Library of Medicine,
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha.

Title: Embracing the Dragon: Alternative and Complementary Medicine Resources, Past, Present, and Future-the Public's Desire to Know and its Impact upon the New York Academy of Medicine.
Author: Robert Lasner, Health Sciences Librarian/Coordinator of Information Desk Services,
New York Academy of Medicine,
New York.

Title: Coming Full Circle: Mind-Body to Body-Mind
Author: Dee Disardina, AHIP, Library Director,
Health Sciences Library,
Commission on Mental Health Services,
Washington, DC.

INFORMAL MEETING AGENDA

MLA Mental Health Special Interest Group Informal Meeting
Monday, May 8, 2000
5:30-7:00 P.M.
Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Center, Room 9
Co-conveners: Rebecca Abromitis & Carmen Bou Rivera

AGENDA

I. SIGN IN

II. INTRODUCTIONS

Everybody present introduced themselves stating their names and their institutional affiliations. There were 21 present at the meeting.

III. BRIEF ANNUAL REPORT OF MH SIG ACTIVITY:

Rebecca Abromitis and Carmen Bou Rivera informed the group of MH SIG activities throughout the year. We communicated through the MHLIB listserv on several issues. One of these was deciding whether both mental health librarian groups (Association of Mental Health Librarians and MLA MH SIG) would meet together instead of separately. AMHL decided that they would continue to meet separately from the MLA MH SIG.

Another topic of discussion through the listserv was the disbursement of former Section treasury. The group decided by vote tally to transfer our former treasury to the Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section to co-sponsor mental health programming at future MLA meetings.

Regarding activities conducted in preparation for MLA 2000: Peg Allen served as liaison to Section Programming, which resulted in our SIG co-sponsoring a session on Sunday titled, "Calming the Dragon." Rebecca and Carmen worked to bring together this meeting and the special presentation on the National electronic Library for Mental Health (NeLMH) .

To promote attendance we advertised through MHLIB and MedLib-l listservers, distributed flyers following the Janet Doe Lecture and before the Awards luncheon, posted signs on the MLA bulletin board, placed flyers on the Section Council Table, and placed an announcement in the daily conference newsletter (ROAR).

IV. DEVELOP STATEMENT OF MH SIG PURPOSE, GOALS, AND OBJECTIVES

In order to facilitate the development of our goals and objectives, we provided handouts with samples of other SIGs' "Purpose, Goals, and Objectives". With the help of all present, we prepared a draft of the MH SIG Purpose, Goals, and Objectives (see Home page). Also, it was suggested that we look at the former Mental Health Section Goals, which are found in the binders that contain Section business. It was reported that two former Section Presidents were contacted (Pauline Kruk and John Clark) but the binders have not been located.

V. CO-SPONSORING MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMMING FOR MLA 2001

The group proposed topics of interest for future MLA programming. Among them: (1) evolution of the ethics of mental health services (resources to address types of ethical issues you confront in your work and resources to help health care professionals with ethical issues); (2) alternative therapies in mental health; (3) issues of social support for caregivers who deal with mental health patients; (4) stress management; (5) discontent among employees working in the mental health field; (6) addressing the stigma of addictions and mental disorders; (7) how to interact with people with some form of mental illness--learn a life skills as well as a professional skill; and (8) issues for consumer mental health collections, i.e. librarians' awareness of the emotional development of patients/patrons when recommending resources (recently diagnosed patients' needs; dealing with mental health survivors, etc.)

VI. WEB PAGE DEVELOPMENT

The group expressed interest in developing a Web Page for the MLA MH SIG. Everyone present agreed that we should have one. Suggestions for content areas included: Goals and objectives, video reviews, and relevant links. We asked for volunteers to help develop the Web page and Carmen Bou Rivera volunteered to do it.

VII. SELECTION OF MH SIG CONVENER FOR MLA 2001

Rebecca Abromitis and Carmen Bou Rivera volunteered to be co-conveners for a second year.

VIII. UPCOMING ASSOCIATION OF MENTAL HEALTH LIBRARIANS (AMHL) MEETING, SEPTEMBER 22-24, 2000 IN PITTSBURGH, PA.

Bruce Gardham, President, AMHL, spoke briefly about the meeting.

IX. NATIONAL ELECTRONIC LIBRARY FOR MENTAL HEALTH (NeLMH)

Our special presentation followed. Karin Dearness and Andre Tomlin, from the Centre for Evidence-Based Mental Health at the University of Oxford, U.K., discussed the aims, current status, and future development of the NeLMH and did a visual presentation of this interesting Internet site located at http://www.nelmh.org.

X. DINNER FOLLOWING MEETING AT LOCAL RESTAURANT

The group went to dinner as a group to have an opportunity to get to know each other better and share ideas in an informal manner.