# Northern Lights Health Libraries Association

Northern Lights Health Libraries Association (NOLHLA) is made up of 12 staff members from nine institutions. Our members are located in Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, and North Bay and represent hospitals, colleges, universities, health units, and special libraries in the region. We meet four times a year and use videoconferencing technology to overcome geographic barriers.

Two hospitals in the region experienced milestones which impacted on library service. The North Bay General Hospital merged with the North East Mental Health Program in the Fall of 2010 and moved to a new hospital facility in January 2011. The new hospital changed its name to North Bay Regional Health Centre. Librarian Bonnie Brownstein was hired on April 18, 2011 (http://www.nbgh.on.ca/).

Sault Area Hospital (SAH) moved into its brand-new building, and the Health Sciences Library has a beautiful new location. The bright, comfortable and spacious room features a wall of windows looking out into a garden courtyard, shelving for all resources in one room, and an office for the librarian (http://www.sah.on.ca/).

At the end of March, SAH also said goodbye and happy retirement to Linda Johns, the clerk for the library for more than 15 years. Linda's touch will be felt long into the future in the goodwill and professionalism she generated for the library.

During January 2011, we scheduled a workshop to provide membership with an update on the Canadian Virtual Health Library initiative.

Northern Lights Health Libraries Association archives and documents relating to our former association Sudbury

Health Libraries Association (SHLA) were organized chronologically and scanned to create PDF files. The digital archives date back to 1992. Documents of historical interest include

* 1983 memo proposing regional health care library;

* Live Internet access (for Internet FTP, Telnet searching, Archie, WAIS and Gopher);

* Workload measurement (cataloguing (typing and filing cards));

* Formation of Inter-Hospital Library Committee to prepare framework for planning and coordination of hospital library services.

## In September 2011 the following executive was elected

President: William Land, Sudbury Regional Hospital

Vice-President: Kim Aslett, Sault Area Hospital

Past President: Jami van Haaften, Sudbury Regional Hospital

Secretary: Bonnie Brownstein, North Bay Regional Health Centre

Treasurer: Julie Rancourt, Collège Boréal

### Jami Van Haaften

Health Sciences Library
Sudbury Regional Hospital
Tel: 705-522-6237 × 2600
E-mail: jvanhaaften@hrsrh.on.ca