2. M.E. & FM Library Materials

 
1)** What are these materials?   The
"M.E. & F.M. Library Materials" is the second
project that I supervise.  They contain newsletters,
medical journals, and newspaper articles which
have been placed into several three ring binders in
the reference section of many libraries throughout
B.C.  There are also videotapes, books, and any
other information on M.E. and F.M. that could be
found.

2)** Where are they located?   Copies
are located in various libraries throughout B.C.:
the Prince George, North Vancouver, Vancouver,
South Vancouver, Port Moody, Burnaby,
Guildford, White Rock, Abbotsford, Chilliwack,
Cranbrook, Creston, Nelson, and in the Okanagan
at the Vernon public libraries.  The complete set
(Issues #1, #2 and #3) containing 5,200 pages is
available at the Vancouver Public Library, 350
West Georgia Street, Vancouver [1 block south of
the Granville Skytrain station] (#665-2280), the
Guildford Public Library, 10375 135 Street,
Surrey, (#588-5015), the Abbotsford Public
Library, 32320 Dahlstrom Avenue, Abbotsford
(#859-7814) as well as the Vernon Library.   
There is a laser-quality Index to all this
information, sorted in 3 ways (date, source, and
title), contained in the library.

3)** An index to the "M.E. & F.M.
Library Materials" is located at the back of this
manual.  Video tape references are in double
quotes and book references are in single quotes. 
The video tapes and books at the libraries can be
checked out, but the reference material must stay
in the library.  This is to avoid having the material
taken and not returned, which has happened in the
past.  People with M.E. or F.M. can't afford to
miss some of the materials that are here.  These
materials, as well as the manual, will be updated
once per year.  The next issue will be completed in
the spring of 1996.  If you refer to the Index for
"The M.E. & F.M. Library Materials" at the back
of this manual:

     a)** I# - refers to which issue this item 
     came from (eg Issue #3 has **, Issue #2
     has *, no asterisks would mean it was from
     a previous issue).

     b)** Ref# - each article is given a number
     with a page reference.  An example of a
     reference number is #950802-24, meaning
     that the article is found in the "M.E. &
     F.M. Library Materials" under document
     #950802, page 24.  The article would have
     been printed in 1995 (95); August (08) and
     (02) would be the sequence it was
     referenced. 

     c)** Lib - refers to where this item can be
     found.  "B" means this article is in the
     local support group funded library.

     d)** Grade - is my personal opinion of how
     valuable this article is.

4)** Skim through.  If you are healthy or
if you are able to send an assistant to skim through
the materials in the libraries, please do so. This
enables you to focus on an area of interest, as
there is so much reading material there.  The most
updated copy of this manual will be included with
the library materials.

5)** Availability .  On a yearly basis, I
make the "M.E. & F.M. Library Materials"
available to every support group leader in B.C. (at
my cost).  Each issue contains around 1,300
pages.

     a)** Some support group leaders have been
     able to get their local libraries to cover part
     of the cost of these library materials.

     b)** The library materials and video tapes
     are only available for placement in local
     libraries, and are not intended for personal
     use.

     c)** I will post the Table of Contents and
     the Index on the Internet and ask for input
     from the millions of people world-wide on
     suggestions and articles.

6)** Access to Videos :

     a)** There are 4  8-hour video tapes
     available (these tapes were recorded on
     extended play, so you might have to adjust
     the tracking on your VCR to get a better
     picture).  These video tapes can be
     requested through the Surrey Public
     Library system from any of the branches
     located at Guildford, Whalley, Port Kells,
     Fleetwood, Newton, Cloverdale, and 
     Ocean Park.  From the Fraser Valley
     Regional Library District with branches
     located in Ladner, George Mackie (Delta),
     South Delta, White  Rock, Terry Fox (Port
     Coquitlam) Pitt Meadows, Fort Langley,
     Brookswood (Langley) Langley, Maple
     Ridge, Aldergrove, Mount Lehman,
     Mission, Clearbrook, Abbotsford, Yarrow, 
     Yale, Chilliwack,  Agassiz, Hope and
     Boston Bar. 

     b)** The materials are kept in binders in
     the reference section of the libraries under
     the Dewy decimal system, #616.74; the
     videos are kept in a separate section under
     the same number.  You can only take 1
     video out at any time.

     c)** Copying videos.  "Slow play" video
     recordings take 1 picture frame on the
     recording VCR for every 1 on the original
     tape; "extended play" or 6-hour tapes take
     1 frame for every 3 frames of original
     video.  Extended play tapes can be made
     thinner to provide 8-10 hours of recording. 
     If you copy an "extended play" tape (such
     as those in the library), make sure you use
     the "slow-play" 2 hour format to ensure no
     loss in quality.

          (1)** When copying tapes from
          VCR to VCR, do not use the
          standard cablevision cable, use a
          video/audio cable from Radio Shack
          ($8.95). This improves the quality
          of the duplication.

7)** M.E.B.C. has helped  to cover
some of the expenses with the materials located in
both the Vancouver and the Surrey libraries.  The
Board has also paid for some of the expenses
incurred putting this material together, which is
another good reason why you should be a member
of the M.E.B.C. Society, and give a donation if
you can.  I will accept donations for these
expenses, and will give anyone who wishes an
account of all receipts and expenses incurred.  
The purpose of donations is to obtain enough funds
to purchase more information such as newsletters,
videos, books, etc. and to attend more local
conferences.