MeSH® Subheading Consolidation Decision

From the Jan/Feb Technical Bulletin . . .

Last year, the National Library of Medicine® (NLM®) proposed to consolidate the 83 existing qualifiers (subheadings) in the Medical Subject Headings and create a smaller set. The goal was to make the use of qualifiers easier for the searching public. NLM distributed a background paper within the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, whose members also posted it on a number of widely seen listservs. At the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting in 2006, Dr. Stuart Nelson, Head of Medical Subject Headings, and those in attendance had a lively dialogue on the proposed changes.

Over the intervening months, NLM staff analyzed all comments, suggestions, and feedback. We considered the potential impact on the searching public, Network libraries, and the internal processes at NLM. Ultimately, in part due to budget constraints and limited resources, NLM has made the decision to retain the qualifiers in their present form. We hope to concentrate our efforts on other ways to improve searching and retrieval for all users. We greatly appreciate the many thoughtful comments received, and thank all those who provided input.

EBL Conference - Register Now!

How about a little EBL for our EBM librarians?

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN FOR THE
Evidence Based Library & Information Practice
4th International Conference
May 6-11, 2007, Chapel Hill-Durham, North Carolina, USA

The Evidence Based Library and Information Practice Conference (EBLIP4) is an exciting international event that has emerged in response to the growing interest among all types of libraries in using the best available evidence to improve information practice.

For registration, see http://www.eblip4.unc.edu/registration.html. ***Be sure to register for both the hotel and the conference as soon as possible. The Sheraton hotel is offering a special rate of US$99.00 per night for a limited period.***

The conference on May 6-9, 2007 in Chapel Hill-Durham, North Carolina will feature themed sessions on evidence-based practice in academic libraries, school library media, public libraries, health care, special libraries, and evidence-based methodology. Two days of continuing education will follow. The conference provides a forum for the presentation of high quality papers and posters as well as examples of how EBLIP is being implemented in library and information settings around the globe.

Poster abstracts are still welcome at this time. Full instructions to authors may be found at www.eblip4.unc.edu

Chapel Hill-Durham is located in the middle of the Eastern United States close to the Raleigh-Durham international airport. This central location in the Research Triangle area is only a short drive from scenic locations in North Carolina. The beaches are approximately two hours to the east and the mountains are two hours to the west. Washington DC is a 4.5 hour drive or 30 minutes by air.