Network Bulletin No. 00-13

Date: March 3, 2000

Subject: Certification and eligibility


Index term: Nurse practitioners and physician assistants





NLS is pleased to announce that nurse practitioners and
physician assistants are now recognized as competent
authority for certifying eligibility of blind, visually
impaired, and physically handicapped individuals for loan of
library materials.  Nurse practitioners and physician
assistants are qualified registered nurses who have received
additional training.

Nurse practitioners and physician assistants will henceforth
be included in the definition of "competent authority" that
appears in the Eligibility Requirements Section of NLS
applications for free library service.

NLS will update the appropriate section of the Network
Library Manual and will revise applications in future
reprintings.  As network libraries revise their own
applications, they should include this new information.

The definition of "competent authority" in cases of reading
disability continues to be restricted to doctors of medicine
and doctors of osteopathy and remains unchanged.

For further information contact:

Carolyn H. Sung
Chief
Network Division