Hospitals and consumer health information in New Zealand: the role of the library

A research project was conducted with the primary objective of finding out what New Zealand hospitals are doing about providing consumer health information to patients, and specifically, the role played by hospital libraries. A database was compiled of all New Zealand hospitals, both public and privately funded. An individual responsible for consumer health information was identified at each hospital and a questionnaire sent directly to them. A 64% response rate was achieved, representing 196 hospitals. Fifty‐four hospitals reported having an in‐house Library or Information Centre for patients, but the materials and services provided varied widely. Results from this survey show that the provision of consumer health information in the hospital sector in New Zealand is ad hoc, and libraries are not necessarily involved.     

NERMLS: The first year

The Countway Library, Boston, was the nation's first Regional Medical Library under the Regional Medical Library Program of the NLM. New England Regional Medical Library Service (NERMLS) began in October 1967 and is the outgrowth of traditional extramural services of the Harvard and Boston Medical Libraries (constituents of the Countway). During the first year over 27,000 requests were received of which 84 percent were filled. Some problems of document delivery (and their solution) are recounted. Other activities were: a limited amount of reference work; distribution of a Serials List; and planning for a region-wide medical library service. Proposals call for consultation and education, regional reference service, and improved document delivery service. Emphasis is placed on the role of the Community Hospital as a center for continuing education and the need to strengthen and assist hospital medical libraries. With the Postgraduate Medical Institute, Boston, NERMLS assisted in the compilation of a small physician-selected medical Core Collection which would serve as a minimum standard collection for community hospital libraries.     

The changing status of hospital libraries 1984 to 1989: characteristics and services in Region 7 of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine.

Economic and political factors have had far-reaching effects on hospital libraries in the last decade, but quantitative evidence of these changes is not readily available. Through periodic evaluation surveys within its multistate region, the Pacific Southwest Regional Medical Library Service, the Regional Medical Library for Region 7 of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (formerly the Regional Medical Library Network) has monitored hospital library changes over the years. This paper compares data from a 1989 survey with similar information gathered in 1984. Longitudinal analysis was performed on responses from 188 hospitals that responded to both the 1984 and the 1989 survey, as was cross-sectional analysis of all responses from both surveys. Results showed a small decrease in the number of hospitals with separate library collections. Staffing patterns had changed considerably, with a drop of approximately one entire full-time salaried equivalent per library and a decrease in libraries managed by a librarian with an M.L.S. The libraries that provide all of a set of predefined core services and resources decreased from 61% in 1984 to 44% in 1989. Libraries with M.L.S. staff were more likely to have core services than those without professional staff.     

Outreach: the western New York Hospital Library Services Program, 1985-1989

The Hospital Library Services Program (HLSP) in western New York, during the period covered by its first five-year plan, 1984-1989, is recounted and described. This ongoing program is funded annually by a New York State grant and hospital participation fees. It is designed to support access to biomedical information for health care professionals through a grant program for hospitals with staffed libraries and a circuit program for hospitals without library staffing or without libraries. Hospitals participating in the grant program contribute funds and receive grants for collection development. Hospitals participating in the circuit program pay a participation fee and receive regularly scheduled, documented, circuit librarian visits; a collection development grant; and a grant for contract library services. The program contracts with the State University of New York at Buffalo's (UB) Health Sciences Library to provide computerized literature searches; interlibrary loan (ILL) of journal articles, books, and audiovisuals; and ILL referrals.     

NERMLS and the community hospital: service, education, and advice

Figures relating to the document delivery service of NERMLS are given. NERMLS has collaborated with the Postgraduate. Medical Institute in Boston to improve standards in community hospital libraries by creating a core library of books and journals and training library supervisors to work in these libraries. Institutes have taken place in the Countway Library, and guidelines for library development in community hospitals have been drawn up. Activities of Regional Medical Programs in New England are discussed, and further plans of NERMLS described.     

The Maine electronic document delivery project: a cooperative project of Maine hospital libraries and the NN/LM New England Region

The article discusses an Ariel document delivery project with seven Maine hospital libraries, the University of Massachusetts Medical School Library (UMass), and the New England Regional office of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. Funding was awarded to six network members to purchase equipment or Ariel software. UMass served as a document provider. During the test, libraries received documents from UMass via Ariel or via the Web as a PDF document. This form of document delivery was faster than standard service with better quality of delivered articles. The column describes the project and outlines possible future steps.     

The hospital library as provider of consumer health information

The health care environment of the 1990s demands that hospital libraries develop creative strategies for providing consumer health information (CHI). Librarians at the Reuben L. Sharp Health Sciences Library at Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center have developed a multifaceted approach to the problem. Using a combination of institutional resources, private funding, and cooperative arrangements with public libraries, the Sharp Library helps to serve the consumer health information needs of the southern New Jersey community.     

The Administration of Branch Libraries in a Developing Country:

Branch libraries are considered important for effective public library service to large communities. This study was aimed at investigating the administration of branch libraries in a developing country, Nigeria. A pretested mail questionnaire was used for data collection. Usable responses were received from twelve state public library services which had 66 branch libraries. The branch libraries were inadequate for the populations they were meant to serve. They were poorly funded and staffed, and had small collections. Though efforts were made to reflect the interests and needs of the branch libraries in book selection and other aspects, heads of branch libraries had inadequate administrative powers for efficient management of their units.     

The relationships of medical libraries to Regional Medical Program planning

The development of Regional Medical Program legislation is summarized and the activities of the new Division of Regional Medical Programs of the National Institutes of Health are described. The first grants for regional medical programs were activated 1 July 1966, and as of 30 June 1967, forty-nine had been awarded out of a possible total of fifty-five. The importance of excellent medical library facilities within each region, especially in all major teaching hospitals, with extensions down to the level of the community hospitals, was emphasized, and the concept of the community hospital as a learning center utilizing the most modern library concepts and teaching devices was commended. The Medical Library Association was asked whether training programs were being developed which would produce the numbers of personnel needed to staff the increased number of medical libraries of the future and whether new training programs were needed for service at the community hospital level.     

Start-Up Library: My Experience at NYU Abu Dhabi

NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), as a relatively new campus of New York University, embodies the vision of the Global Network University (GNU). In my three years as instruction and public services librarian at NYUAD, I have experienced many of the challenges and rewards that creating a new library in the Middle East and within the GNU can provide. Above all, I have learned that collaboration, innovation, and awareness of local culture are critical skills necessary for start-up libraries in new environments. It is my hope that staff members in branch campus libraries, libraries with small user populations, new libraries, and international libraries can identify with and learn from my experiences as an original staff member of the NYUAD Library.     

Outreach at a Public,Academic, Regional Library- Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Summary

Bell Library at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi has reached beyond its walls to utilize as well as to enrich the diverse community resources in our midst. In terms of distance education library support, the purpose is to compensate libraries that support A&M-Corpus Christi students living in their locales. In terms of consortium arrangements, we have played an integral part in the creation of the Coastal Bend Health Information Network, which is a unique blend of local college/university libraries and local hospitals. We have implemented the rather novel idea of having a specialized library, specifically a hospital library, outsource its library operations to our university library. When the local Art Institute of South Texas was brought under the university's organizational umbrella, Bell Library's contribution was to provide acquisition, processing, and cataloging support for Art Institute library holdings. We have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with a “sister library” in Mexico. In summary, Bell Library strives to know and cultivate community interests that parallel our own.     

Acquisition in times of financial stringency: The case study of UST Library, Kumasi, Ghana

This papers describes the economic difficulties in Ghana from 1973 to the early 1980's, culminating in a situation where libraries in Ghana, including the UST Library, were unable to acquire library materials. Books in the main library and faculty libraries became so outdated that they were unable to support current academic work. The Library was not able to subscribe to core periodicals and journals.In 1987, the PNDC government, with the help of the World Bank, instituted a policy to replace scientific equipment and to supply books and journals to higher education institutions. Under the Educational Sector Adjustment Programme (EDSAC), academic libraries in the country received books, journals, and equipment including photocopiers, microfilm/microfiche readers and cameras, and telex machines.In 1991, the PNDC Deputy Secretary for Education invited the three university libraries to review the procedures for procuring journals for tertiary institutions in view of difficulties which had been encountered in previous years.Besides materials received under the EDSAC programme, the UST library receives gifts and donations from recognized international agencies. Some of the gifts create problems when materials donated do not cover subject areas of interest to the library. The library also exchanges publications with other institutions as a means of acquiring useful items. The university's calendar and prospectus are the main publications used for the purpose. The Newspaper Registration of Ghana Act, 1963, urges publishers to deposit copies of books published in the country at the UST Library among five others. The majority of publishers flagrantly refuse to do so because the sanctions against defaulters are rarely enforced. The library also receives budgetary allocations, though not enough to purchase books locally.     

Trends in hospital librarianship and hospital library services: 1989 to 2006

Objective:

The research studied the status of hospital librarians and library services to better inform the Medical Library Association''s advocacy activities.

Methods:

The Vital Pathways Survey Subcommittee of the Task Force on Vital Pathways for Hospital Librarians distributed a web-based survey to hospital librarians and academic health sciences library directors. The survey results were compared to data collected in a 1989 survey of hospital libraries by the American Hospital Association in order to identify any trends in hospital libraries, roles of librarians, and library services. A web-based hospital library report form based on the survey questions was also developed to more quickly identify changes in the status of hospital libraries on an ongoing basis.

Results:

The greatest change in library services between 1989 and 2005/06 was in the area of access to information, with 40% more of the respondents providing access to commercial online services, 100% more providing access to Internet resources, and 28% more providing training in database searching and use of information resources. Twenty-nine percent (n = 587) of the 2005/06 respondents reported a decrease in staff over the last 5 years.

Conclusions:

Survey data support reported trends of consolidation of hospitals and hospital libraries and additions of new services. These services have likely required librarians to acquire new skills. It is hoped that future surveys will be undertaken to continue to study these trends.

Highlights

• Data support reported trends in the decrease in the number of hospitals and hospital libraries.
• About 44.0% of hospitals had some level of onsite library service in 1989, compared with between 33.5% and 29.1% of hospitals in 2005/06.
• More electronic services and resources, such as Internet access and online materials, are being offered by hospital libraries, in addition to more traditional services
• Library staffing appears to be more unstable today than in 1989, with more libraries reporting a decrease in the number of staff.

Implications

• Hospital libraries continue to change in response to changes in the health care environment as health care administrators respond to financial pressures, library staff are downsized, degreed librarian positions are eliminated, and reporting structures change.
• MLA must continue to track the status of hospital librarians and libraries in light of the changing environment with surveys and other means, in partnership with others such as the National Network of Libraries of Medicine.

     

地理信息系统(GIS)服务在国外图书馆的实践与启示

概述地理信息系统(GIS)服务在国外图书馆的应用实践,提出筹划此项服务需综合考虑用户需求、服务内容、人员配备等因素。通过典型个例,评述此项服务在用户培训和数据管理方面的经验。结合Suny Albany和纽约州立图书馆开展GIS服务的成功因素与失败教训,对我国图书馆界开展此类服务提出若干建议。     

Resourceful blogging: using a blog for information sharing

In an effort to help raise awareness about the need for disaster planning in health sciences libraries, emergency response planners at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library at the University of Virginia considered how best to promote the idea and provide a forum for gathering and exchanging information, while maintaining control over content in order to keep the focus and the quality of the entries consistent. The blog they created has been successful in providing much-needed assistance to hospital libraries and other libraries, both large and small, as well as for individuals and other organizations worldwide.     

"Ask A Librarian": the experiences of four hospital libraries

The librarians at four hospital libraries describe the electronic reference service, "Ask A Librarian," offered at their institutions. The hospitals are vastly different in size and in number of library staff, and offer the "Ask A Librarian" service to different clientele. The article illustrates that both large hospitals with a large library staff and small hospitals with a solo librarian and some volunteers can offer this type of service.     

(3) The Philippines

Abstract

This papers describes the economic difficulties in Ghana from 1973 to the early 1980's, culminating in a situation where libraries in Ghana, including the UST Library, were unable to acquire library materials. Books in the main library and faculty libraries became so outdated that they were unable to support current academic work. The Library was not able to subscribe to core periodicals and journals.

In 1987, the PNDC government, with the help of the World Bank, instituted a policy to replace scientific equipment and to supply books and journals to higher education institutions. Under the Educational Sector Adjustment Programme (EDSAC), academic libraries in the country received books, journals, and equipment including photocopiers, microfilm/microfiche readers and cameras, and telex machines.

In 1991, the PNDC Deputy Secretary for Education invited the three university libraries to review the procedures for procuring journals for tertiary institutions in view of difficulties which had been encountered in previous years.

Besides materials received under the EDSAC programme, the UST library receives gifts and donations from recognized international agencies. Some of the gifts create problems when materials donated do not cover subject areas of interest to the library. The library also exchanges publications with other institutions as a means of acquiring useful items. The university's calendar and prospectus are the main publications used for the purpose. The Newspaper Registration of Ghana Act, 1963, urges publishers to deposit copies of books published in the country at the UST Library among five others. The majority of publishers flagrantly refuse to do so because the sanctions against defaulters are rarely enforced. The library also receives budgetary allocations, though not enough to purchase books locally.     

Impact of the Pacific Southwest Regional Medical Library Service on hospital library development

A study was designed to evaluate the progress of hospital libraries within Region 7 since the Pacific Southwest Regional Medical Library Services (PSRMLS) began in 1969. Library progress was defined as an increase in extent and types of services and resources offered. The study assessed the impact of Regional Medical Library programs on hospital libraries and compared resources and services reported in 1969, 1971, and 1984. The 1984 data were also measured against a set of core library services and resources that should be provided by a full-service hospital library. In addition to assessing the quality of PSRMLS programs and their effect on Region 7 hospital libraries, the study documented extensive growth in staffing, collection size, and services. PSRMLS programs were highly rated by the respondents, who also indicated that participation in PSRMLS programs improved specific library resources and services.     

Resourceful Blogging: Using a Blog for Information Sharing

ABSTRACT

In an effort to help raise awareness about the need for disaster planning in health sciences libraries, emergency response planners at the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library at the University of Virginia considered how best to promote the idea and provide a forum for gathering and exchanging information, while maintaining control over content in order to keep the focus and the quality of the entries consistent. The blog they created has been successful in providing much-needed assistance to hospital libraries and other libraries, both large and small, as well as for individuals and other organizations worldwide.