Operation Medical Libraries (OML): Medical Librarians Supporting Our Troops

In 2007, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Alumni Association (MAA) was contacted by an alumna serving in the US Army to explore ways in which medical schools and hospital libraries in war-torn Iraq could be repopulated with current reference materials. The UCLA MAA sent e-mails to 2000 alumni in Los Angeles County seeking donations of medical textbooks and journals. The electronic networking created a partnership between medical schools, physicians, hospitals, and medical librarians in California. By January 2008, the project expanded to include Afghanistan. Medical librarians Lisa Marks and Ellen Aaronson kicked off a collection campaign during the 2008 National Library Week.