University of Arizona Health Sciences Library partners in $10 million National Library of Medicine cooperative agreement
The University of Arizona Health Sciences Library is partnering with the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah to expand outreach to communities through regional and national programs in nine states.
The University of Utah was awarded a $10 million grant by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), which is part of the National Institutes of Health. The five-year cooperative agreement award supports Eccles’ role as the Regional Medical Library for Region 4 and the Network of the National Library of Medicine Training Office.
Yamila El-Khayat, outreach librarian at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Library, was appointed to be the communications specialist and coordinates data science programs for Region 4. Region 4 encompasses Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
El-Khayat's primary work will focus on increasing communication channels across the region to enhance collaborations and partnerships. In addition to improving access to reliable health-related knowledge throughout the communities, her efforts will include working with diverse and underserved communities and building relationships with key stakeholders throughout the region to improve programming.
In the area of data science, El-Khayat's work will involve implementing a data science support program, which will be designed to engage a diverse workforce, support data-driven health research, and promote data literacy for communities across the nine states.
"Yamila brings a demonstrated and successful community engagement experience to this long-term collaboration," said Jerry Perry, associate dean of the University of Arizona Health Sciences Library. "We are excited to partner with the NLM and the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library where Yamila can share her knowledge, incorporate her outreach expertise, and connect with underrepresented communities in Arizona and the entire Region 4 network."
Read the National Library of Medicine’s announcement to learn more about the cooperative agreement.