Did you receive your emailed invitation to our upcoming meeting on November 16, 2019? The agenda includes breakfast & introductions, a recap of 2017-2019, a Treasurer’s report, and ideas for making this a vital organization for 2020. Hope you can all come in person or virtually!
USHSL 2019 news – it’s alive!!!
Hello Members!
It’s been a terribly long time since you’ve seen a post from this illustrious group… At the end of 2018, the elected office of the Chair passed from John Bramble to me, Shawn Steidinger. And then things went silent. Consider that silence finally broken! I am looking at June for a business meeting, and I hope you will all be ready and willing to get back on the horse and meet up for a fresh start. For those chomping at the bit (more horse metaphors) and thinking “Let’s go, already!”, I love your enthusiasm! When I ran for this position, I promised action and wider, more inclusive membership, and I’m ready to make that happen. Watch for an email with suggested dates and times, and I’d like to have a virtual component as well, so we can include those who cannot travel to a physical meeting place.
In the meantime, thank you for your patience as I regroup and mount up!
-Shawn Steidinger (formerly at Primary Children’s Medical Library; currently at the Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah)
2016 Business Meeting Recap
The 2016 USHLS Business meeting was again held at John Bramble’s house on December 03 2016. Because it was a morning meeting and John likes cook with Costco, there was an assortment of hot and cold breakfast treats, coffee, tea, juice, and more. There was a ton of leftover for some reason.
There were seven members in attendance with four who sent their regrets due to conflicts. Attending member voted John Bramble to continue as chair through 2018. Of the appointed positions, Shawn Steidinger graciously agreed to continue as treasurer. May Ryan, stepped down as webmaster with many thanks from USHSL. Shirley Zhao agreed to take on the responsibilities left open by May
The meeting went as most meeting do…approval of the last year’s minutes, Treasure’s Report (thanks Shawn), get more coffee, reports on the past year’s activities, etc. Reports of note were: the Treasure’s report showed that we are doing pretty well financially, the report on the new Policies and Procedures lead by Claire Hamasu, a big effort and big step to becoming a full fledge organization, and the Marketing team reported a very active year with adding our presence to the social media world and designing cool pens to promote USHSL.
Probably the most fun at these meets are looking forward and planning what to do next. Lots of great ideas were shared. John will be developing the core benefits of membership. Things like presentation practice,resume/CV review, job interview practice, recruitment of librarians into health science librarianship, mentorship, member meet-ups, grant writing, letters of support, etc. Stacy is looking into how to spotlight members and what cool things they are doing plus put a spotlight on non-members as well. Shawn is planning activities around October Health Literacy Month and seeing about joining forces with ULA, Health Literacy Coalition, etc. Claire is working on member-meetups where library tours and social. Nena will be working with Shirley to develop content for our social media posts.Shirley was not able to come but would like to add a consumer health column to the website, monthly Facebook/Twitter chats that focus on consumer health, data, precision medicine. She’d like to see professional development resources focusing on data science and its role in health care delivery.
Social Media
To help promote USHSL and increase our interactivity, we have created the following groups:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1612782742379423/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/USHSLibrarians
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8521066
Tell other health science librarians about our social media sites, and let’s stir up some interest!
2015 Business Meeting
On November 14, USHSL members met to report on the past year and discuss plans for 2016. We reviewed activities and budgeting. Claire led an effective group activity that got us excited about projects for the upcoming year.
Thanks to John and his family for hosting the meeting in their home and providing a delicious pancake breakfast.
Claire graciously took minutes, which members only can view via Google Drive. USHSL members can access the minutes by by writing the USHSL email address (ushsl.contact@gmail.com) for viewing permission and then clicking this link.
2015 USHSL Meeting Agenda; Recruiting
Here is the agenda for our upcoming meeting on November 14:
- 9:30am – 10:00am: Welcome, Pancakes, Introduction to USHSL, Dues (new members, renewing members, adjust 2014 active/nonactive member fee)
- 10:00am – 10:10am: Introductions
(We need a quorum of 8 Members in Good Standing in attendance to continue onto agenda item #3.)
- 10:10am – 10:20am: Approval of the 2014 Business meeting minutes
- 10:20am – 11:00am: Reports
- Chair – John
- Procedures – Claire
- Treasurer – Shawn
- Web – May
Activities
— 1. Directory of members – John
— 2. Mentorship program – Darell
— 3. Member Library Tours – open
— 4. Outreach – Select and promote a “cause” (e.g. MS, autism, organ donation). Attend health fairs as a participant/exhibitor – open
— 5. Identify journals useful for members – open
— 6. MCMLA Group Site Conference – John
- 11:00am – 11:10am: Vote for Incoming Chair. This is a 3 year commitment. One year as incoming chair (duties will be negotiated and added to Procedures Manual) and 2 years as Chair.
- 11:10am – 11:55am: 2015-2016 Activities
- 11:55am – noon: 2016 Business Meeting – Pick a date and location – please bring your calendar!
- Other
- Noon, or as close to – Adjourn
Recruiting
Please think of people who would make good members of USHSL and send their names and contact information to John Bramble at ushsl@ushsl.org. Also, be sure to let John know if they are coming to the meeting so that he can plan for food and chairs.
See you on the 14th!
2015 USHSL Meeting – Save the Date!

“Come to the USHSL meeting,” says the short stack of pancakes.
After several attempts to coordinate members’ schedules, there is an agreed date for the next USHSL meeting. Please note that a delicious pancake breakfast will be provided.
Meeting Details
Saturday, November 14 2015
9:30am – noon
3821 Arroyo Road (1700 east)
Please encourage potential members to attend.
Stay tuned for the meeting agenda!
Native Voices Exhibit at EHSL
The National Library of Medicine has a traveling exhibit, “Native Voices: Native Peoples’ Concepts of Health and Illness,” on display at the Eccles Health Sciences Library from September 1-November 8, 2015.
On Wednesday, October 14 at 12:00-1:00 PM in the History of Medicine Room, there will be a presentation about this exhibit to increase awareness and invite discussion about cancer among Native American peoples. RSVP to the event here.
MCMLA Highlights
MCMLA held their annual meeting virtually this year. It was a huge success!
Did you know that MCMLA has a Twitter account, and they kept a live feed of their meeting highlights? You can view them here. Search for #MCMLA2015 to see photos such as this:

John Bramble and Claire Hamasu https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CQ0gXQ-WUAEorpC.jpg
1. 2015 MCMLA Virtual Meeting 2. Next USHSL Business Meeting
Hopefully you’ve been able to register to attend the 2015 MCMLA Virtual Meeting. It looks incredible!
For those who wanted to go but didn’t register: while the registration date is past for this year’s meeting, it might be helpful or inspiring to look at the upcoming program and make a note to plan to attend next year.
Regarding our 2015 USHSL Business Meeting, we are still trying to determine a date when all members and potential members can attend. Stay tuned.