The Medical Information Services Program (MISP) is a pool of funds provided by the New York State Library and administered through each of the nine Regional Library Councils (3Rs) in the state. (See http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/misp/guidlin.htm). Funds may be used by the 3R's for the provision of medical and consumer health information services for all types of libraries and library systems.

The purpose of this program is to:

• improve access to health information to benefit the residents of New York State, 
• make the resources of the NN/LM network directly accessible by libraries in the reference and research library regions, 
• encourage the full use of local and regional health information resources before accessing other resources in the NN/LM, and 
• facilitate referrals to the most appropriate locations.

The major participants in the program include the New York State Library, the New York Academy of Medicine (as the NN/LM Region 1 - Regional Medical Library), the NN/LM Region 1 Document Delivery Providers, and the nine Reference and Research Library Resources Systems in New York State. Document Delivery Providers (DDPs) in Region 1 have agreed to accept health and medical information requests from any library or library system located in New York State. The most recent list of Resource Libraries and Regional Medical Libraries can be found at http://nnlm.gov/members/adv.html . Requests should be related to patient care, consumer health, research in medicine or the education of health practitioners.

There is a fee for all interlibrary loan requests (loans and/or copies) for medical materials from the National Library of Medicine or Document Delivery Providers. All requests will be charged in accordance with the prevailing NLM guidelines (at this writing, $11 per transaction, with additional charges permitted for, but not limited to, special services such as rush services). Libraries may use state Medical Information Services funds to pay for medical and health interlibrary loan services. In all cases, libraries must keep an accurate accounting of requests and charges. RRLC is required to compile the information and submit it to the state on an annual basis.

Each NY 3Rs handles the Medical Information Services Program for the libraries and library systems located within its region. The MISP Program is included in RRLC's Five-Year Library System Plan of Service. RRLC is responsible for administering the program according to an allocation plan approved by the state. Each member library is awarded an amount of money for medical interlibrary loan needs. In most cases, libraries receive a lump sum payment from RRLC each year or have the funds deposited in their EFTS accounts. Libraries then pay for medical interlibrary loans using the IFM through WorldCat Resource Sharing or directly from their EFTS accounts. Some libraries elect to pay on a per-use basis. Smaller libraries or those that are only occasional users may submit invoices to RRLC for payment.