DEPARTMENTS / DÉPARTEMENTS

A word from the President

CHLA / ABSC has had a busy summer and fall. A call for
members to work on a Task Force to revise the *Standards for
library and information services in Canadian healthcare fa-
cilities* had a very enthusiastic response. At the fall Board
meeting, still to come as I write this, we will finalize the
Terms of Reference, and the group will move ahead. The
current standards date from 1995, so it is time to revisit and
revamp the document.

We have also had volunteers come forward to work on a
National Health Libraries Month program. Over the years
there has been interest in CHLA / ABSC supporting a spe-
cial one-month-a-year effort to recognize the role and ac-
complishments in the health libraries community. The Board
has great hopes that this will be a sustainable effort where
everyone in the health library community can celebrate and
spread the word about the importance of what we do every
day in Canadian health libraries.

The National Network of Libraries for Health / Réseau
national des bibliothèques pour la santé (NNLH / RNBS)
Task Force has been very busy with excellent results. A meet-
ing was held on October 5 in Ottawa, in conjunction with the
Cochrane Collaboration Conference. The NNLH / RNBS
Task Force invited members of the Cochrane Affiliate Organi-
zations to come together to gather input and to solicit ideas
for future directions. Here is part of what the invitation said:

CHLA / ABSC has proposed the development of a Na-
tional Network of Libraries for Health / Réseau national
des bibliothèques pour la santé (NNLH / RNBC) to pro-
vide the missing infrastructure and content both through
partnerships and its own initiatives. The content will en-
sure that Canadian health literature is collected, pre-
served and made available and Canadian health care
providers will have access to the most appropriate re-
gional, national and international databases, journals,
books, reports, and web resources.

The infrastructure will bring together the many initiatives
of provincial health departments, universities, associa-
tions, and regional partners delivering information to
health care professionals. It will provide personnel who
can (i) train end users to find the best information, (ii)
coordinate partnerships, (iii) build infrastructure and or-
ganize content, and (iv) plan for the future.

Patrick Ellis, Jessie McGowan, and Jim Henderson led the
group who resoundly supported the idea and provided ideas
and suggestions for a stakeholder's meeting to be held in the
spring of 2005. The Canada Institute for Scientific and Tech-
nical Information has confirmed that they are willing to host
the event. This is a great step forward and the Task Force is
to be commended for their dedication and commitment. The
Task Force will report at the CHLA / ABSC Conference in
Toronto, so plan to attend to hear the results of the stake-
holder's meeting. This is an exciting time to be involved in
health librarianship in Canada!

Also in NNLH / RNBS Task Force news, Hélène Valin,
who has served on the Task Force as a liaison with Health
Canada, advised that with the reorganization within the
Health Canada division of Information and Knowledge Man-
agement, she will no longer be able to work as a Task Force
member. Hélène has been invaluable in her help with navi-
gating through government and has been an extremely will-
ing worker. The Task Force sincerely regrets that she will no
longer be a part of the group. For her part, Hélène has urged
that the Task Force continue. CHLA / ABSC wishes to thank
Hélène for her excellent help, and we wish her continued
success with Health Canada.

As you read this, the holiday season will be fast approach-
ing, and I offer you all my good wishes for a warm and
cheery holiday season and my hopes for even greater suc-
cesses in the New Year.

Penny Logan