• Approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S.a have HIV. About 13 percent of them don’t know it and need testing.
• HIV continues to have a disproportionate impact on certain populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities and gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men.
• In 2019, an estimated 34,800 new HIV infections occurred in the U.S.
• New HIV infections declined 8% from 37,800 in 2015 to 34,800 in 2019, after a period of general stability.
• In 2020, 30,635 people received an HIV diagnosis in the U.S. and 6 dependent areas—a 17% decrease from the prior year, likely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV prevention, testing, and care-related services.b
• HIV diagnoses are not evenly distributed across states and regions. The highest rates of new diagnoses continue to occur in the South.

Health Science libraries are encouraged to promote HIV testing and taking the next steps after your test to stay healthy as part of the plan to reduce the spread of HIV.  You can learn more about Ending the HIV Epidemic from HIV.gov. 

​Hello FHSLA!

I am honored to be your 2023-24 Florida Health Sciences Library Association (FHSLA) president. FHSLA was my initial go-to organization when I first became a medical librarian a little over ten years ago at Florida International University (FIU) and now the University of Miami (UM) Calder Medical Library. I am excited to begin the work with everyone to reach our annual goals.

· Continuing Education (CE): In addition to our CE offerings during our annual conference, the professional development committee is committed to bringing additional courses that will serve your professional needs. The executive board looked closely at survey feedback completed by membership, when choosing course topics. Top areas of interest include interpreting statistics, research resources & techniques, data management, instructional techniques and so many more. In addition, our strategic planning committee will be brainstorming projects that will also benefit us all.

· Committee Member Volunteers: Please look out for a ‘Call for Volunteers’ alert soon to consider serving FHSLA. This organization is dependent on your hard work to make it successful; networking and AHIP points are added incentives.

· 2024 Annual Conference: The executive board is excited to re-establish an in-person conference attendance option. There are wonderful things about coming together physically; especially during this time when we are in most need of community and support.

· Membership: For a nominal annual fee, our organization offers priceless options and opportunities. Consider sharing FHSLA with colleagues and encouraging them to join. Please renew if you have not done so already.

I am fortunate to be surrounded by such passionate medical librarians who are driven to make a difference in their libraries and communities. The executive board always welcomes hearing your ideas and feedback to move the organization forward. Thank you for the opportunity to lead this amazing organization!

Jorge E. Perez

Who:  USF Health Libraries hosted its first virtual book club!

When: February 2023 in the evening

Where: The book club was hosted on Teams. Registration was required through LibCal and 8 participants plus the librarian facilitators attended. 

Why: Librarians wanted to create a program for participants across the colleges to relax and connect. A book club seemed like the perfect event and had never been tried before. 
 
How: Advertising started 2 months prior to the event with flyers displayed in the library, email announcements, and a LibGuide on the library website.  Ten print copies of the book were available at the library and patrons were directed to other resources (Audible, public library) for copies of either print or eBooks in the selected title. Registration was capped at 30 participants with break out rooms planned for up to 10 patrons and two librarian facilitators each. 

What we learned:  We received feedback from a short post event survey. Participants were happy to have a place to relax and have an open discussion about the book. The people surveyed were excited about possible future book clubs and contributed suggestions for future titles. Based on this feedback, we are planning to host one book club each semester. Very few of the available books from our library were checked out by participants. In the future, we may include titles that are not available through our library to expand the options as we think people are accessing books through other sources. We will still plan to advertise other access options we find with our book club communications.