DEPARTMENTS / DÉPARTEMENTS

A word from the President

I write this in April, so by the time you read this, the
CHLA / ABSC 2005 Conference in Toronto will be over,
and Tamsin will be the new President of CHLA / ABSC. It
is downright impossible to believe that a year has come and
gone.

CHLA / ABSC has accomplished a lot in the past year. We have a new affiliation agreement with the Ontario Public Health Libraries Association (OPHLA). OPHLA has made great strides in lobbying for public health information in Ontario, and CHLA / ABSC is delighted to be affiliated with such a dynamic group. Check out the OPHLA Web site at http://ophla.ca/members.htm.

With the all-electronic journal and increasing use of the
CHLA / ABSC Web site as our primary communication ve-
hicle, the Board has created the new position of Webmaster.
Tim Tripp has agreed to serve for the first term in this posi-
tion. Many thanks to Tim for his work in polishing up the
Web site, creating the members-only section, spearheading
electronic membership renewal, etc., while in his current
role as the Public Relations chair. We are very fortunate that
Tim has agreed to continue his work as the Webmaster.

The National Network of Libraries for Health / Réseau
national des bibliothèques pour la santé (NNLH / RNBS)
Task Force continues to work overtime to get the word out
about what is such an obviously good idea. The Stakeholder
conference is set for June with Muir Gray booked as the
keynote speaker. The NNLH / RNBS group is made up of
Patrick Ellis (Co-Chair), Jessie McGowan (Co-Chair), Liz
Bayley, Charlotte Beck, Bev Brown, and Jim Henderson.
They deserve a standing ovation for their continued progress
in moving the NNLH / RNBS forward.

The Task Force on Hospital Library Standards is up and
running, and Susan Powelson, the Task Force Chair, is com-
mitted to keeping CHLA / ABSC members informed as
progress is made. Expect that this important work will be
ready for publication in time for the CHLA / ABSC 2006
Conference.

Speaking of conferences, mark your calendar for the next
CHLA / ABSC conferences:

• 2006 in Vancouver

• 2007 in Ottawa

• 2008 in Calgary

• 2009 in Winnipeg

On the national scene, this has also been a good year for the Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information (CISTI). CISTI has increased their collection by 135 titles, decreased some of their charges, and introduced reductions on document delivery charges for DOCLINE libraries. This is a remarkable achievement and will have broad impact on health libraries in Canada. Although this is not a CHLA / ABSC achievement, we are grateful that CISTI responds to and involves its constituents through the CISTI Committee on Health Sciences Information.

As this is my last opportunity for “A word from the Presi-
dent”, I want to thank the Board for their friendship and guid-
ance: Laurie Scott, Past President; Tamsin Adams-Webber,
President-Elect; Caren Mofford, Treasurer; Charlotte Beck,
Secretary; Tim Tripp, Public Relations/Webmaster/all-round
IT guy; Judy Inglis, CE Coordinator; Rebecca Zakoor, Edi-
tor; Sandra Halliday, Assistant Editor; and Joan Leishman,
AFMC Liaison. Also special thanks to Paul Clark, represen-
tative to the CISTI committee, and Elizabeth Lamont,
CHLA / ABSC representative to the Canadian Council on
Health Services Accreditation (CCHSA).

It is a difficult thing to run an association with an all-
volunteer Board. Everyone has busy lives and jobs, and it is
wonderful to have such dedicated people who find the time
to work on CHLA / ABSC objectives on top of all the other
demands on their time. All these folks deserve a round of
applause for their dedication, hard work, and devotion to the
cause.

Thank you for the opportunity to rub shoulders with these
great folks.

Penny Logan