A new grant will put Iowa on the map with one of the leading health-science libraries in the world.

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine recently awarded the UI Hardin Library a five-year grant to serve as the Regional Medical Library of the greater Midwest region, according to a press release by the UI.

“We’re really excited to have the Regional Medical Library here at Hardin Library,” said Elizabeth Kiscaden, who will serve as the new assistant director of the new regional library. “It’s been a goal of our institution, and we are really excited about our proposal.”

The library will receive $6.5 million in funding from the network to establish the regional office, including six full-time staff positions, according to the release.

The National Library of Medicine is a network of eight competitively selected Regional Medical Libraries in their respective regions. The national organization is also the world’s largest medical library and a component of the National Institutes of Health.

With the funds, the regional office aims to expand the network and collaboration efforts among network members, which include health-care agencies and other medical libraries in the Midwest, Kiscaden said.

Through member collaboration, she said, the libraries aim to strengthen the emergency and response plan.

“The intent of that [plan] is to limit interruption if there is a disaster,” she said. “For example, if there was a tornado in Ohio, the plan would have these other libraries step in and serve the information of that group if their collection was decimated.”

Linda Walton, the new director of the Regional Medical Library at Hardin, said the emphasis in building alliances with network members is to give people access to quality and filtered biomedical-information that is evidence-based.

“So people know that these tools are available,” she said. “They are free to everyone because they are from the federal government, and our job is to help people understand that these resources are out there, how to use them, and to help them make better decisions about their health care.”

Besides building relationships with network members, the regional library at the UI will also develop partnerships with other groups such as education programs, health professionals, and students, Kiscaden said.

“For example, one of the things we are doing is collaborating with the UI College of Public Health on a series of classes on health information literacy designed for public-health professionals,” she said.

Kiscaden said she hopes the new Regional Medical Library will get renewed after the five-year period is over.

The new library currently has two job positions that will be open until April 20 at midnight. These positions include the community outreach librarian and a health outreach librarian.

Christopher Childs, the community outreach librarian for Hardin Library, said the grant provides a tremendous opportunity for the Hardin Library.