A look back on the Prairie: the Manitoba Health Libraries Association / Manitoba Association of Health Information Providers (MHLA / MAHIP) chapter history project

Abstract

The Manitoba Association of Health Information Providers (MAHIP) is the provincial chapter of the Canadian Health Libraries Association / Association des bibliotheques de la sante du Canada (CHLA / ABSC). MAHIP (formerly the Manitoba Health Libraries Association or MHLA) has been in existence since 1976, and in 2011 it will celebrate its 35th anniversary as a professional association. Reaching this milestone inspired the membership to undertake a history project to better document the development and achievements accomplished throughout the life of the Association. The focus of the project was to gather and organize the Association’s documents, establish a digital repository of materials, and create a timeline that reflects the historical record of the Association. In so doing, the history project reflects a current wider interest in the history of library associations and how professional association activities parallel the growth and changing concerns of librarianship [1–4]. The MAHIP chapter history project has benefited from the examples of previously published chapter histories, including the history of the Northern Alberta Health Libraries Association (NAHLA) [5] and the useful CHLA Fact Sheet Reporting Your Chapter History: the Process [6] created by the NAHLA History Working Group. The challenges in locating, gathering, and organizing association documents and maintaining corporate memory will be familiar to many in volunteer-based organizations. MAHIP has been able to meet the challenges posed by the project, showcasing the chapter’s history and better understanding its place within the context of health librarianship in Manitoba and Canada. Methods and description