Happy New Year to all CHLA/ABSC Members!

• Next Board of Directors Meeting February 2012

• Upcoming Board of Directors Positions – Nominations Deadline Feb. 1st 2012

• Call for Nominations for CHLA/ABSC Awards and Honours – Deadline Feb. 1st 2012

• Deadline for Applications for Chapter Initiatives Fund – Feb. 1st 2012

• JCHLA Deadline Submissions – April 5th 2012

• Call for Papers for Hamilton 2012 Conference extended to January 16, 2012

• Social Media Portal for Canadian Health Librarians: Call for Participation

• 2012 CHLA/ABSC Membership Renewals on Their Way

Please contribute a poster to the Cascade of Knowledge at CHLA/ABSC 2012. Topics will not be restricted to a theme.

One presenter will be allowed a brief (5 minute) oral introduction of their poster at the "Opening of Posters" on Wednesday June 13, 2012 at 1:30 p.m. Presenters are required to staff posters for the duration of the Opening (1:30-3:30pm). Posters will be open to viewing by conference delegates for two days of the conference (June 13-14).

Volume 32, Issue 3 of JCHLA is now available and includes:

Congratulations to the Manitoba Association of Health Information Professionals (MAHIP) on 35 great years as a Chapter of CHLA/ABSC!

Congratulations to Andrea Szwajcer for winning the Community Choice Grand Prize of the Apps for Library Idea Challenge!

Nominations are invited for three Board positions: Continuing Education (CE) Coordinator for the period of 2012 to 2014; Secretary for the period of 2012 to 2014; Vice-President / President Elect which requires a three-year commitment to the Board, from 2012 to 2015.

The composition of the 2011-2012 Board of Directors:

• Board of Directors Meetings
• Our CVHL/BVCS Representatives Rebecca Raworth and Penny Logan

• CVHL/BVCS Update

• Update from CHLA/ABSC’s Accreditation Canada Representative

• CHLA/ABSC Representative for the Cochrane Collaboration

• CHLA/ABSC New Assistant Webmaster

• Chapter Initiative Funds

• Hamilton 2012

• Upcoming Board Positions – nominations deadline Feb. 1st 2011

• Deadline for Applications for Chapter Initiatives Fund – Feb. 1st 2012

• CHLA/ABSC Hospital Librarian Merchandise – Make Great Stocking Stuffers!

The Health Libraries Association of British Columbia (HLABC) has launched a new website: http://chla-absc.ca/hlabc/

In case you missed the discussion on CanMedLib, the Hospital Librarian has returned on new CHLA/ABSC tshirts, notebooks, and playing cards.

Don't miss Canadian Patient Safety Week from October 31 - November 4, 2011. Join over 1,000 healthcare teams and organizations across the country to participate in this free event.

Open Access Week 2011 kicks off on Monday - some things you can do:

• Join the CHLA/ABSC Open Access Interest Group


• Visit the Open Access Week website for some great videos, ideas for activities, and other resources

The website for the 2012 CHLA/ABSC Conference in Hamilton, ON, June 11-15 is now live!

Visit the website at: http://chla-absc.ca/2012/

You'll find info on conference venues, speakers, the program so far, as well as a call for papers and information for presenters. To contact our conference planning committee, please email: 2012@chla-absc.ca

Andrea Szwajcer is one of ten finalists in the Apps for Library Idea Challenge! Andrea is a Clinical Librarian, Carolyn Sifton-Helene Fuld Library at the St. Boniface Hospital, University of Manitoba Health Sciences Libraries.

The latest issue of JCHLA, Vol 32 (2) is now available.

Read the current issue now!

Contents of this issue include:

• Feature article: Open access and health librarians in 2011.
• Feature article: 'We want it now and we want it easy': Usability testing of an online health library for healthcare practitioners.

Fall is in the air, school is back in session and many of us are looking for a new challenge, engaging activity, and fresh perspective on their career. The CHLA/ABSC Mentorship Interest Group offers all these things and more! We are currently accepting applications from librarians and library technicians at all stages of their career, and are in particular need of new applications in the mentor role.

Did you know that October is Canadian Libraries Month,    Health Literacy Month as well as National Medical Librarians Month (US).?

As many of you know, the University of Western Ontario’s (UWO) Librarians and Archivists (L&A) have been on strike since September 8, 2011. Both the Faculty and L&A’s are in the same association (UWOFA) but have two separate bargaining units.

The Chapter Initiatives Fund is intended to support and recognize special initiatives, activities, programs or projects undertaken by CHLA/ABSC Chapters, which further the mission of CHLA/ABSC. The Board of Directors reviews applications at each Board meeting.

Toronto public libraries have many supporters, although sadly and ironically, the current mayor is not among them.  See what physician and author Vincent Lam has to say about this in the Globe & Mail.