The Medical Library Association
1898 - 1998

In honor of MLA's 100th anniversary year, NAHRS has collected the following unedited tributes, dedicated to all health sciences library professionals around the world who are the lifeblood of this profession and who have contributed to the flourishing of the Medical Library Association.

Accounts by NAHRS members of the impact MLA has made on their professional and personal lives are given below.

Esperanza Moreno. The Medical Library Association has been a major focus in my professional career as a librarian. It has always taken a practical and scientific approach in assisting the health care professionals meet their demanding roles.

It was avant garde in systematizing the plethora of published information into logical forms and computerized the data for easier accessibility. When MEDLARS became a fact, I was fortunate to have access to it back in the 1960's, we forwarded the search topics to regional search analysts and later, each community was granted one site. Now it is available to the world. I was able to visit NLM and had the opportunity to see the huge data drums which were called GRACE and which were located in the basement of NLM.

The Medical Library Association provided the training sessions, which at that time that I enrolled in it, consisted of two sessions of one week each, the fundamentals class and the advanced class held six months after the first one. Computers changed the world of librarianship. I never dreamed when I took a typing class in the eighth grade, that I would be using that basic keyboard the rest of my life. Computers have changed the world of medical librarianship and mine too, they are my favorite toy.

Each question is a challenge to find it in the database. One of the highlights of my career was when a cardiologist who performed the early open heart surgeries in our community asked to have a search done as he had heard of the service and its potential. Another one was when a professor asked for a search on his condition and told me later that the information which he shared with his physician had saved his life.

I have been able to keep up with the important issues in the field through the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association which has high standards of journalism. The publication also keeps us in touch with each other along with the MLA News. Not only does it provide information to the members, it is also a record of the accomplishments of the organization which can be mirrored by other professions. I am proud of it and know that you are too.
Esperanza Moreno
University of Texas at El Paso
500 West University
El Paso, TX 79968-0582
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Ysabel Bertolucci. I joined MLA in 1971 while in library school and it has been a major influence in my professional and personal life. Through the activities of the national organization , local chapters and sections, I have matured as a person and professional. Many of you will remember that outspoken, naive, opinionated (maybe I haven't changed!) youngster from the 1970's and find it hard to believe I can now work with consensus and "cool my jets." I have always been able to find colleagues who could advise and teach me, provide a structure when I need it, and just listen when my frustration and depression overwhelmed me. I receive most of my professional recognition from this association which has made it possible for me to continue under sometimes adverse conditions. I have met some of my closest friends through MLA, people whom I now consider family. When I meet new professionals or students, I always recommend that they join and become active in MLA, most health sciences librarians work in libraries with only one or two professionals and MLA provides a group of peers to lean on.
Ysabel Bertolucci
Kaiseer Permanente Medical Center
Oakland, California.
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Jean Gittings. The Medical Library Association has been an integral part of my professional life since I joined in 1973 after completing Library School. My first convention was in San Antonio in 1974. The Association through its annual meeting annual meeting programming and continuing education has provided me with the tools to perform my job more effectively and efficiently.

Further, it is the members who make MLA the vital organization that it is. Each year as I make my plans to attend MLA, I look forward to seeing friends that I have made over the years and also to meeting new people. The networking is extremely important to many librarians who attend MLA, both the Annual and Chapter meetings. It is nearly ten years ago that my institution announced its first merger. Through networking with MLA members, I learned from their experiences and have been better prepared to cope with the mergers we have gone through since 1988.

Finally, MLA offers an opportunity for all of us to serve. Being involved on MLA committees, Section and Chapter work enables us to make a positive impact on our profession. This is important to the future of our profession.
Jeanne Gittings, Librarian, AHIP
Trinity Medical Center
Rock Island, IL
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Judy Burnham. Congratulations and happy birthday to the Medical Library Association! The professional contacts made through MLA and the Nursing and Allied Health Resource Section have greatly enhanced my professional growth. As I have developed leadership skills, members of MLA have provided guidance and mentorship. The opportunities at the annual meeting for education and the organization publications have enhanced that development as well. Added to that are the networking opportunities and friendships made through MLA. Thanks MLA and best wishes for 100+ more years.
Judy F. Burnham
Assistant Director for Regional Services
University of South Alabama
Medical Center Library
2451 Fillingim St.
Mobile, AL 36617
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