Caffeinated Coffee and Tea Associated with Reduced Risk of Dementia

Image by Spike Summers from Pixabay

Good news for fellow caffeine addicts! A new (2026) study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found an association between drinking caffeinated coffee and caffeinated tea with a reduction in dementia risk. 

The study by Zhang et al., which followed over 131,000 people for up to 43 years, found that drinking caffeinated coffee was associated with an up to 18% reduction in dementia risk, with consumption of caffeinated tea being associated with similar cognitive benefits. According to the study, "the most pronounced associated differences were observed with intake of approximately 2 to 3 cups per day of caffeinated coffee or 1 to 2 cups per day of tea." 

For a plain-language overview of the study, you can check out these articles by Nature and The New York Times. 

Cheers! ☕

Rescheduled: MLA Collection Development Caucus Forum- Open to Non-MLA Members

 

The Medical Library Association’s (MLA) Collection Development Caucus has rescheduled its forum on collection development policies. It is now scheduled for Thursday, March 12 at 10am (PT) / 1pm (ET). Please contact gaukh@vcu.edu for the Zoom link.

The session will start with brief presentations from librarians who will talk about how their collection development policies were developed, what their policies include, and some of the challenges they faced in developing them. We will hear from:

 

• Yumin Jiang, Collection Management Department Head, University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus (Collection Development Policy)
• Robyn Gleasner, Resource Management Librarian, University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Center (Collection Development Manual)
• Liz Kellermeyer, Director of Library & Knowledge Services, National Jewish Health (Collection Development Policy)
• Ramune Kubilius, Collection Development / Special Projects Librarian, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Collections Philosophy)

 

Following the presentations, there will be time for Q&A and discussion. Kayce Gill, from Vanderbilt University and Chair-Elect of the Caucus, will facilitate the session.

 

Non-MLA members are welcome to attend and participate in the discussion. The session will not be recorded to encourage open conversation. 

 

See you there!

Call for questions: Navigating the ADA Title II Digital Accessibility Rule

The April 2026 compliance deadline is approaching. Is your library ready?

Join five MLA Caucuses (User Experience, Accessibility & Disability, Vision Science, Technical Services, and Technology in Education) for a 90-minute deep dive into the Department of Justice’s new rule impacting websites, LibGuides, databases, and instructional materials.

Event Details

 

Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Time: 1:00 PM Central / 2:00 PM ET/ 12:00 pm MT/ 11:00 AM PT

Who can participate: Anyone! MLA membership not required

Platform: Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83051394100?pwd=JM4jFRGGBteWR7bB4BDVvrX0hJa1LN.1

We Want Your Questions!  Help our expert panel address your specific "on the ground" challenges—from legacy PDF remediation to vendor accountability. Questions will be anonymized and used to provide actionable, real-world solutions.

Submit Your Questions Here Deadline to submit: Thursday, February 12, 2026 (11:59 PM PST)

See the full text of this rule at ADA.gov: https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/regulations/title-ii-2010-regulations/ 

Note: The above text was written by the MLA Multi-Caucus Planning Committee (on behalf of the User Experience, Accessibility & Disability, Vision Science, Technical Services, and Technology in Education Caucuses)

Entertaining Read: Author responds to journal's phishing email with fake paper on "pregnancy cravings for prime numbers"

Image by Kris from Pixabay

Retraction Watch published a guest post on an author's experience submitting a fake paper to a likely fraudulent journal. In addition to being an entertaining read, the post provides a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at some of the predatory tactics employed by potentially fraudulent publishers. 

Spoiler: The author's fake paper was, in fact, published, and, as noted by a commenter, is searchable in databases like OpenAlex and Google Scholar. The paper can also be helpfully summarized by AI tools such as Elicit (which isn't surprising, as Elicit, like many AI literature summarizers, crawls OpenAlex as one of its data sources). 

For a firsthand account from someone who had fallen victim to a predatory publisher, I highly recommend checking out this 2019 article from Science by Alan H. Chambers.

Thanks for reading, and hope everyone has a great Monday!

2025 WHSLA Award Winners!

Karen Hanus & Dora Davis

Submitted by Barb Ruggeri – Immediate Past President, WHSLA

On January 5th , I had lunch with Dora Davis and Karen Hanus to give them their well-deserved awards.

Dora Davis was the recipient of the 2025 Robert Koehler Award for Exemplary Service to the Wisconsin Health Science Library Association (WHSLA). Robert Koehler served as a distinguished member of the WHSLA board for nearly 38 of his 39-year membership. The award was created last year upon Robert’s retirement, and Dora is the first person to receive the award after him.

As our coordinator for Professional Development, Dora Davis has devoted countless hours to surveying membership about their interests, applying for support from NNLM Region 6 to fund MLA webinars, distributing funding codes to members to attend certified continuing education seminars at no cost, tracking the funding utilization and reporting this activity at our board meetings. She also administers our Professional Development stipend program each year.

Professional Development is the leading purpose and activity of WHSLA membership and it has sustained our state professional organization thanks to her consistent efforts since 2016. In addition to this role, Dora has served as an officer and a representative of our organization to other groups. She assisted in the planning of a large in-person conference in Milwaukee in 2019 as well as virtual conferences for our state association.

Karen Hanus received the WHSLA Librarian of the Year for 2025, in recognition of outstanding leadership, achievement and commitment to the library profession. It’s unusual for a WHSLA member to receive this award twice in their career, but since Karen Hanus’s first award in 1999, her continuous active involvement in WHSLA and her success as a health science library leader makes her a unique exception! 

In their nomination, WHSLA members acknowledged her decades of service to WHSLA which included archival preservation, digitization of records, executive leadership and most recently, innovations in WHSLA asset management in her first year as WHSLA treasurer. She was also cited for essential contributions to integrating the libraries for two healthcare system mergers since 2020, consistent efforts to increase awareness of library services across the Advocate Health enterprise, and her unflagging support for her library staff. As the submission aptly put it – “she does everything with compassion, wisdom and steady resolve.”

On behalf of the WHSLA membership, I sincerely thank Dora and Karen for their leadership and service to WHSLA.

2026 WHSLA Professional Development Award

Image from here.

WHSLA is offering 15 awards of up to $575 awards to support members' professional growth.   Awards will be chosen by random drawing from eligible participants the week of February 9th, 2026.

How can I use the award?

• Continuing education
• Conference costs (registration, travel, lodging, etc.)
• AHIP Membership

Requirements

• Active WHSLA member, current on dues
• Dues paid by January 31st (no exceptions)
• Expenses must occur in 2026
• Share what you learned with WHSLA members within 3 months (WHSLA blog post, Wisdom Chat etc.)
• If using funds for AHIP membership, agree to run for WHSLA office within 2 years
• Have not won the stipend drawing in the past 3 years
• If you won more than 3 years ago, you must have completed your sharing obligation 

Deadline: February 6 at 5pm

Submit your name for the drawing here: 2026 Professional Development Grant for WHSLA Librarians  – Fill out form

Note: MLA 2026 will be in Milwaukee-we hope to see many WHSLA members there!

Dora Davis, MLIS

Coord. CME & Medical Librarian

Center for Learning & Innovation

Human Resources Division | ProHealth Care, Inc.

Predatory Publishers: Avoiding Scams ...

Image from here.

Predatory Publishers: Avoiding Scams by Working with the Society as Your Trusted Partner  by The Edocrine Society

This is a concise distillation of predatory publishing from the POV of a legitimate publisher, The Endocrine Society, who did their own investigation of a predatory journal / publisher crowding in on their own good name and reputation.

It's all good to know beforehand, in case anyone asks for help publishing in some of these dodgy journals.

Upcoming MLA Forum on Collection Development Policies: Open to non-MLA Members

 

The Medical Library Association’s (MLA) Collection Development Caucus will be hosting a forum on collection development policies on Thursday, Jan. 29 at Noon CT. 

Non-MLA members are welcome to attend and participate in the discussion. 

To receive the Zoom link contact Karen Gau (gaukh@vcu.edu)

The session will start with brief presentations from librarians who will talk about how their collection development policies were developed, what their policies include, and some of the challenges they faced in developing them. We will hear from:

• Yumin Jiang, Collection Management Department Head, University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus (Collection Development Policy)
• Robyn Gleasner, Resource Management Librarian, University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Center (Collection Development Manual)
• Liz Kellermeyer, Director of Library & Knowledge Services, National Jewish Health (Collection Development Policy)
• Ramune Kubilius, Collection Development / Special Projects Librarian, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Collections Philosophy)

Following the presentations, there will be time for Q&A and discussion.

The session will not be recorded to encourage open conversation.

See you there!

Badgerlink Access

 

Check Your Library's or School's Access

The BadgerLink user authentication system was updated on June 20, 2025. Determine if your institution still has automatic access, or if you need to take steps to get it back.

Read More

Hospital Librarian Listening Sessions Jan 27 and 29, 2026

Calling all hospital librarians!

Region 6 wants to hear from you. Here's your chance to share your comments, kudos, concerns, and questions in one of two semi-structured listening sessions. Select one or both sessions if you are available.

https://uiowa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eINFXsFEFCfqWFw

Tuesday, January 27th, 2:00 - 3:00 pm CT

Thursday, January 29th, 1:00 - 2:00 pm CT