NAHRS Historical Highlights
1962 - 1997
compiled by Janet G. Schnall, M.S., AHIP

1960s

1962

· Nursing Group of MLA founded during MLA Annual meeting in Chicago.

1964

· 17 members of the Nursing School Libraries Group met in the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco on June 2 for a dinner meeting.

· Meredyth C. Welschmeyer, Librarian, Kaiser Foundation School of Nursing Library, Oakland, CA, presided.

· Hedwig VanDyke, Roseland Community Hospital, Chicago, presented "Tools for Nursing Librarians," followed by Mildred Grandbois, Librarian, Glendale Sanitarium and Hospital, "The Nursing Literature Index: Its History, Present Needs, and Future Plans".

1965

· Nursing Libraries Group met for dinner at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, May 31.

· 68 members and guests attended.

· Chairman: Mabel C. Brown, Librarian, Atkinson School of Nursing, Toronto Western Hospital.

· Speaker: William Kona, Librarian, Cook County School of Nursing, Chicago, "The Changing Role of the Nursing Librarian."

1966

· Nursing Libraries Group met for luncheon at the Sheraton-Boston Hotel on June 9th.

· 81 members present.

· Chairman: Thomas P. Alburger, Librarian, Mt. Auburn Hospital Medical-Nursing Libraries, Cambridge, MA,; Secretary: Jessamine N. Dietrich, Buffalo General Hospital, N.Y.

· Roundtable on: Improving our Libraries: Problems and Solutions.

· Advantages and disadvantages of integrated medical and nursing libraries were voiced.

1967

· Nursing Libraries Group met for luncheon at the Americana Hotel on June 14th.

· Chairman: Dora Louise Platt.

· Buzz Session entitled: "How May Nursing Librarians and Nursing Libraries - in all Programs- Keep Pace with Nursing Education's Changes and Trends?"

1968

· Nursing Group met for luncheon in Denver's Brown Palace Hotel on June 11th.

· Chairman: Mildred Grandbois.

· 81 members and guests present.

· Dr. Kathryn M. Smith, Dean, University of Colorado School of Nursing, presented paper, "The Nursing Literature Specialist in the Medical Library."

1969

· Speaker: Virginia Chambless, Deaconess Hospital, School of Nursing, Evansville, IN: "Audiovisuals in the Nursing Library."

· Chairman: Jean Frohlich.

1970s

1970

· Panel discussions in New Orleans on current problems in nursing libraries, such as need for definite criteria for evaluation of nursing libraries by NLN, integration with physician's libraries, and poor quality of nursing literature.

1975-1978

· CE15 Literature of Nursing taught during these years by Evelyn Bedard; Sally Harms, and Jacqueline Picciano.

1977

· Breakfast meeting held in Seattle. 60 attended. Discussions centered around exchange of serial holdings, a union list of nursing journals, ILLs and INI.

1978

· Name changed to Nursing Librarian's Interest Group.

· Jean Miller spoke on the production of a union list of serials.

1979

· CE50 Literature of Allied Health offered for first time on June 3rd in Honolulu.

· Chairman: Rosemary Buhr.

· Ann L. Clark, Hawaii Nurses Association, presented: "Continuing Education in Nursing."

 1980s

1980

· Nursing Special Interest Group Program/Business meeting on June 17th in Washington, D.C.

· Speaker: Barbara Van Nortwick, Library Director, NY State Nurses Association: "Survey of the New York State Nurses Association and its Library."

1981

· On June 3rd in Montreal, the Group agreed to change name from Nursing Libraries Interest Group to Nursing and Allied Health Resources Section.

· Agreed to dues structure of $3.00 per calendar year.

· Chairman: Cathy Siron; Secretary: Rosemary Mattox.

· Speaker: Gary S. Wolfe, R.N., Nursing Director, Dept. of Health Services, Outpatient Dept., LA: "Where Nursing Is, Where It is Going and Implications for the Medical Librarian?"

1982

· Cathy Siron, first editor of NAHRS Newsletter.

· Members: 52.

· NAHRS officers for 1983-84 will be elected by mail ballot for first time so all Section members have opportunity to vote.

· Chairman: Margaret Moore Ovitsky; Secretary/Treasurer: Dorcas McCormick.

1983

· lst contributed papers session at MLA Annual Meeting ,Houston, May 30, sponsored by NAHRS (organized by Jackie Picciano); Rosemary Mattox, moderator: BSN or BS: Implications for the Nursing School Library; The Clinical Nursing Librarian and Nursing Education; CINAHL List of Subject Headings: A Nursing Thesaurus Revised.

· Members: 65.

1984

· Formed Strategic Planning Committee.

· Members: 69.

1985

· Allied heath CE course inactive.

· Publications Committee formed.

· Section offered 1st award (presented with a plaque) to Virginia Henderson, R.N., Ph.D., founder of the Interagency Council of Library Resources for Nursing ,editor of the Nursing Studies Index, to honor her for outstanding achievement in field of nursing information.

· Membership increased 42% this year.

· Dr. Barbara J. Steven's presentation on "Leadership and the Librarian." 75 attended.

· Chairman: Dorcas McCormick; Secretary/Treasurer: Ava K. Fried.

1987

· Issued a new Nursing and Allied Health Resources button in Portland to provide NAHRS with a sense of unity and identity; 2 1/4" diameter, apricot color, name in black text.

· Members: 84.

1988

· Program in New Orleans: The Future of Information Access Systems for Nursing and Allied Health, May 22; Peg Allen, Moderator.

· Members: 88.

1989

· In Boston, May 22, awards ( framed certificates and donations to libraries where they worked) presented at conclusion of program to:

· Mildred Grandbois: librarian at Glendale Adventist Medical Center from 1956 to 1968; instrumental in development of CINAHL. She and her library staff constructed first subject heading list created especially for nursing.

· Lois Miller: first librarian at the American Journal of Nursing Company in 1949; motivating force behind the International Nursing Index. Drafted first thesaurus. First nursing librarian elected to MLA Board of Directors.

· Mary Pekarski: with Virginia Henderson and Mary Ann Garrigan, founded the New England Regional Council of Library Resources for Nursing; librarian at Boston College School of Nursing.

· Established Honors Committee and a Research Committee.

· Program on nursing history and libraries; included speakers on sources of nursing history, nursing archives, and the history of the development of nursing literature and its bibliographic control.

· Members: 148.

1990s

1990

· Dues increased to $10.

· Members: 160.

1991

· Strategic Planning survey reports the top 2 concerns of membership are communication and education.

· Program in San Francisco: Pathways to Information Access/Literacy in Nursing and Allied Health: The Librarian as Facilitator.

1992

· Editorial Board appointed for newsletter.

· Annual program on accreditation and library support for nursing and allied health.

1993

· Program focuses on innovative delivery of information to allied health professionals.

· Newsletter masthead redesigned to better reflect membership and purpose of the Section.

· NAHRS becomes the 6th largest Section of MLA.

· New CE course on Allied Health Professions.

· Appointed Task Force on Bibliographic Access for Allied Health Literature.

1994

· lst Librarian of the Year Award to Peg Allen.

· New policy and procedure manual created to provide continuity for NAHRS committees.

· Program in San Antonio: Emerging Roles, Enduring Values in Information Services to Nursing and Allied Health Clienteles.

1995

· Annual program in Washington, DC: The International Language of Nursing and Allied Health.

1996

· Members: 301, an increase of 73% since the early 1990's.

· NAHRS Web site developed by Ellen Hall and Nelia Wurangian. http://salus.med.uvm.edu/~ehall/nahrs/nahrs.htm.

1997

· In Seattle, NAHRS celebrates its 35th anniversary with a party, a NAHRS Historical Highlights scroll, and a newly designed gold pin.