Canadian Health Libraries Association

• Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada

• ABSC

• CHLA

Before the formation of the CHLA/ABSC, Canadian health science librarians belonged to the Canadian Group of the Medical Library Association, CG MLA, an official group of the Medical Library Association. The Group's annual meeting was held during the annual meeting of the Medical Library Association. Its purpose was to permit Canadian members of the MLA to meet on an annual basis to discuss issues unique to Canadian health science librarians and to be listed in the MLA programme. In June of 1975, the Ad-Hoc Committee to Study the Organizational Status of Canadian Health Librarians was established to review the organization of Canadian health science librarians and to recommend a system to improve communication between such libraries and to provide a means of communication with Provincial and Federal governments. The committee was chaired by David S. Crawford of McGill University and had the following members: Philippe Lemay, Head of the Health Sciences Resource Centre at the Canada Institute for Science and Technological Information, CISTIJ Alan Macdonald, Head of the Kellog Health Sciences Library at Dalhousie University, Richard Fredericksen, Head of the Health Sciences Library at Memorial University and Chair of The Canadian Group of the Medical Libraries Association, Dorothy Sirois, Head of the Montreal Children’s Hospital Library and a member of l'Association pour l’avancement des sciences et des techniques de la documentation, ASTED, Section de la Santé Executive, Martha Stone, Head of the Library of Health and Welfare Canada and Sheila Swanson, President of the health sciences section of the Canadian Association of Special Libraries and Information Services, CASLIS.

Questionnaires were sent to 920 individuals. In June, 1976 the Canadian Group of the MLA, accepted the report resulting from the survey which underlined the need for a separate Canadian organization. The Report was also accepted by the meeting of the Health Sciences Section of CASLIS at its 1976 meeting held in Halifax. The Health Sciences Section of CASLIS then voted to dissolve. The CG MLA agreed to dissolve in 1980 as a Bi-lateral Agreement had just been signed between CHIA and the MLA. The first constitution of the CHLA/ABSC came into effect in October, 1976.

The Executive consisted of a President and six additional elected members. The Annual General Meeting of the Association was to be held in the same city and close to the annual meeting of the Canadian Library Association. Letters Patent were issued to the CHLA/ABSC by the Ministry of Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada, on December 5, 1979. The CHLA/ABSC published its Newsletter from 1977-78. The journal is now entitled Bibliotheca Medica Canadiana, and is published four times a year. The Directory contains pertinent information for its members, for example the CHLA/ABSC mandate, by-laws, list of presidents, current committees and published reports.

The Osler Library is the official repository of the CHLA/ABSC archives.

Presidents of CGMLA
1973-74 C. William Fraser
1974-75 Ann Nevill Manning
1975-76 Richard Fredericksen
1976-77 Richard Fredericksen
1977-78 M. A. Flower (Babs)
1978-79 Anna R. Leith
1980-81 David S. Crawford

Presidents of CHLA

1976-77 David Crawford
1977-79 M. A. Flower
1979-81 Martha B. Stone
1981-83 Ann Nevill Manning
1983-84 Barbara Greeniaus
1984-85 David S. Crawford
1985-86 Diana Kent
1986-87 Dorothy Fitzgerald
1987-88 Jan Greenwood
1988-89 William Maes
1989-90 Donna Dryden
1990-91 Catherine Quinlan
1991-92 Ada Ducas
1992-93 Jennifer Bayne
1993-94 Bev Brown
1994-95 George Beckett
1995-96 Lea Starr
1996-97 Susan Murray
1997-98 Lois Wyndham
1998-99 Marthe Brideau
1999-00 Liz Bayley
2000-01 Patrick Ellis
2001-02 Jessie McGowan
2002-03 Cathy Rayment
2003-04 Laurie Scott
2004-05 Penny Logan
2005-06 Tamsin Adams-Webber
2006-07 Linda Slater
2007-08 Susan Powelson
2008-09 Dianne Kharouba
2009-10 Marlene Dorgan
2010-11 Orvie Dingwall
2011-12 Miriam Ticoll
2012-13 Jeff Mason
2013-14 Charlotte Beck
2014-15 Lee-Anne Ufhdz