Library Links on Medical School Home Pages

The purpose of this study was to assess the websites of American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC)-member medical schools for the presence of library links. Sixty-one percent (n = 92) of home pages of the 150 member schools of the AAMC contain library links. For the 58 home pages not offering such links, 50 provided a pathway of two or three clicks to a library link. The absence of library links on 39% of AAMC medical school home pages indicates that the designers of those pages did not consider the library to be a primary destination for their visitors.     

Working from Home: How We Managed Our Team Remotely with Technology

Abstract

During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the College’s library and the office of institutional research & training (OIRT), along with all departments of our college, shifted to working from home (WFH) overnight. This column shares examples from the literature regarding experiences and lessons learned from both the corporate world and academic libraries’ experiences managing teams remotely with technology. Finally, we share how the College’s academic library and OIRT transitioned to working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic with the variety of online tools we already used, but further enhanced during this experience, to communicate and collaborate effectively with our team members.     

A health education outreach partnership between an academic medical library and public library: lessons learned before and during a pandemic

Background:Public libraries serve as community centers for accessing free, trustworthy health information. As such, they provide an ideal setting to teach the local community about health and health literacy, particularly during public health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2018, an outreach partnership between an academic medical library and public library has developed, delivered, and continuously evaluated a health education program targeting public library users.Case Presentation:Health education activities were integrated into three existing public library programs: adult workshops, child and family programming, and circulating family activity kits. Prior to COVID-19, events were held at the public library, which then pivoted online during the pandemic. An interprofessional team approach combined the expertise of academic medical and public librarians, medical school faculty and staff, and medical students in developing the educational programs. Twelve in-person and five virtual programs were offered, and five circulating health education family kits were launched. Activities were assessed using program evaluation surveys of the adult and children''s programs and circulation statistics of the kits.Conclusions:This case report showcases the lessons learned from implementing a longitudinal outreach partnership between an academic medical library and public library before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The interprofessional team approach and flexibility in program design and delivery in both the in-person and virtual environments proved critical to the success of the partnership. This partnership could serve as a model for other libraries interested in pursuing interprofessional collaborations in educating local communities on healthy behavior and health information–seeking practices.     

Topics and Features of Academic Medical Library Tutorials

ABSTRACT

In a 2007 study, librarians at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Library examined freely available online tutorials on academic medical library Web sites. The team identified tutorial topics, determined common design features, and assessed elements of active learning in library-created tutorials; the team also generated a list of third-party tutorials to which medical libraries link. This article updates the earlier study, describing changes and trends in tutorial content and design on medical libraries' Web sites; the project team plans to continue to track trends in tutorial development by repeating this study annually.     

Listening to Our Users

Abstract

At Penn State, a “Tell Us What You Think” user feedback button on the Libraries home page provided a convenient mechanism for users to respond to our system migration and the changes they saw in The CAT, our library catalog. The immediate impact of the new system on our users was dramatic, and included strong criticism from a small, but vocal, minority. Within a few months, however, the complaints and comments about the new catalog moderated and the majority of the e-mail traffic coming into the library switched into questions about library services and requests for assistance.     

Social Media Marketing: Determining and Comparing View of Public Library Directors and Users

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The present study aims to determine and compare the views of directors and users of public libraries on the use of social media for the marketing of library services.

Methodology: Data collection was done through two researcher-made questionnaires, one from the viewpoints of directors and one investigating the views of users. The questionnaires’ validity was done by four libraries and Information Science professionals, and the reliability was determined by the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The statistical population of this research is made up of all directors and users of 12 public libraries of the city of Isfahan, one of the largest cities in Iran.

Findings: In users’ viewpoints, the “interaction capability” is the most important feature that social media marketing can have in libraries. From the viewpoints of the directors, “creating a true picture of the role of the library” and “informing users about library services” are among the most important reasons for the marketing of libraries in the social media. From the perspective of both groups, the Telegram is the most appropriate medium for the marketing of library services.

Results: To maintain their customers and their market position, libraries need to use more exciting tools such as social media for marketing. Library directors of this study emphasized on this fact and 79.1% of users expressed interest in receiving library information through social media.

Value: The findings of this study would help the library directors to better decide on the marketing of their library services in social media.

Type of the study: Scientific-Research     

Wired But Not Connected

Summary

The main library Web pages representing Yahoo!'s list of the “100 Most Wired Colleges” were analyzed for accessibility to people with disabilities. Forty of the pages were judged accessible using Bobby, the online automated service developed by the Center for Applied Special Technology. Frequencies of accessibility errors, recommendations, questions, tips, and browser compatibility errors are provided. The study found no relationship between accessibility of the library home pages and indicators of institutional resources, as represented by Yahoo! ranking (computer resources), Association of Research Libraries composite ranking (extent of library resources), and Carnegie Classification (range and extent of academic and research resources). Guidelines for accessible Web pages and an Adaptive PC Computer Workstation are included.     

Accessing Locally Created Subject Guides via the Library's Catalog

Abstract

For decades libraries have created subject guides to assist users in navigating their collections. These guides are universally accepted as a core library product of high value across all user groups. No longer confined to paper stashed in kiosks and on counter tops, subject guides are now available online from library Web sites and often emphasize and link to other Web resources. Typically, a link on the library's home page directs users to a Subject Guide List which offers active links to the topical guides. But are these links and listings sufficient to attract users? This article describes the results of a study to catalog selected subject guides on U.S. and British History and analyze usage statistics before and after cataloging. It appears that the library catalog is effective at exposing subject guides and should be considered an additional point of access amidst a growing number of discovery mechanisms.     

Reference Beyond the Walls of the Library: Interacting with Faculty and Students in the 21st Century

SUMMARY

The nature of research continues to evolve from accessing print publications in a library building toward retrieving information online, any time any place. Since patrons no longer need to enter a library building to access information, the social character of reference service has also changed. Demand for face-to-face reference interaction has declined, altering the traditional one-on-one venue for teaching information retrieval and evaluation. To develop new opportunities for influencing the information literacy levels of students, librarians at Northwest Missouri State University are creating outreach strategies that facilitate increased interaction with students and faculty.     

E-Mail Reference as Substitute for Library Receptionist

SUMMARY

The authors explore the historical development of e-mail reference services in general, and report on the evolution of this service in their own library. Based on evidence from their own service and from reports in the literature, they propose a connection between e-mail reference service and broader library services including circulation, interlibrary loan, and even acquisitions, through which the reference librarian receives questions traditionally directed elsewhere. The e-ref button presents an unexpected avenue of librarian-to-librarian communication, both within and beyond one's home institution. Implications are discussed.     

Still Desperately Seeking Citations: Undergraduate Research in the Age of Web-Scale Discovery

ABSTRACT

Web-scale discovery services promise fast, easy searching from a single Google-like box, pleasing users and making library resources more discoverable. Some librarians embrace the concept of giving users what they have come to expect from Google, while others are concerned that this will “dumb down” searching and undermine information literacy. In this article we explore the potential impact of Web-scale discovery tools on information literacy, focusing particularly on undergraduate research skills. We review the existing literature and present findings and experiences from two mid-sized academic libraries that have adopted EBSCO Discovery Service as their library home page portal.     

Library links on medical school home pages

The purpose of this study was to assess the websites of American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC)-member medical schools for the presence of library links. Sixty-one percent (n?=?92) of home pages of the 150 member schools of the AAMC contain library links. For the 58 home pages not offering such links, 50 provided a pathway of two or three clicks to a library link. The absence of library links on 39% of AAMC medical school home pages indicates that the designers of those pages did not consider the library to be a primary destination for their visitors.     

Toward a User-Centered Academic Library Home Page

ABSTRACT

In the past decade, academic libraries have struggled with the design of an effective library home page. Since librarians' mental models of information architecture differ from those of their patrons, usability assessments are necessary in designing a user-centered home page. This study details a usability sequence of card sort and paper and online survey methods conducted at the Auraria Library, which serves the University of Colorado Denver, the Metropolitan State College of Denver, and the Community College of Denver. The three top complaints about the existing Web page included information overload, lack of visual cues and guidance, and difficulty getting to what students knew was the heart of the library's Web page: online resources. Using qualitative and quantitative data from the card sorting sessions, the Web librarian, under the direction of the Web Advisory Committee, was able to create a more user-centered home page. Unique to this study are the use of undergraduate students in creating test instruments and a means of gathering information about what students value most in their library's home page.     

Campus Book Delivery at the University of Oklahoma

Abstract

At the University of Oklahoma, we began campus or home delivery of items from our library as well as those from other libraries. We have added more services over the years in response to requests from our users. In doing so, we found room for improvements. This paper addresses some of the issues we encountered.     

Designing Search: Effective Search Interfaces for Academic Library Web Sites

ABSTRACT

Academic libraries customize, support, and provide access to myriad information systems, each with complex graphical user interfaces. The number of possible information entry points on an academic library Web site is both daunting to the end-user and consistently challenging to library Web site designers. Faced with the challenges inherent in designing online search interfaces and the ever-growing amount of resources available online, Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries sought to explore how to build effective search interfaces that, at the same time, support a wide variety of computer users and provide comprehensive access to assorted collections of electronic resources. Over a nine-month period, the libraries designed, implemented, and tracked the usage of two different search interfaces on their home page. Each interface allowed users to choose between four different search targets. In this case study, the authors discuss the complexities of designing search interfaces, outline findings from the nine-month study, evaluate the effectiveness of the two interface designs, and talk about future research in these areas.     

FROM THE LITERATURE: Terry Henner,Column Editor

ABSTRACT

In spring 2015, a 45-question survey was e-mailed to 585 medical students at the University at Buffalo (UB) in order to gauge their use of library spaces, resources, equipment, and services at UB’s Health Sciences Library and plan for a library space located within a new medical school building. Students’ self-reported use of the library during the academic year is presented along with the features they would like to see in their ideal library space. The responses generated in the survey are a barometer of current use and will be used in the planning process.     

From Novelty to Necessity

Abstract

Handheld computers are quickly becoming a ubiquitous tool in medicine. Factors that have spurred the rapid adoption of this technology in medicine include convenience and ease of use, mobility, and the enormous library of medical applications now available. Health sciences libraries in both hospitals and academic medical centers are actively promoting and supporting PDAs as a natural extension of their services. Medical libraries have quickly adopted this technology to deliver medical information in a non-traditional way. This paper discusses approaches being used to incorporate PDAs into library services and examines the impact of those approaches on the medical reference librarian.     

PART VIII: THE ECONOMICS OF INFORMATION ACCESS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

Traditionally the distance clinical laboratory science students visit Winston-Salem State University three or four times during the course of the semester. These visits are usually for orientation and testing purposes. While the students are aware that there is a library on campus, they are not familiar with all of the library's electronic resources that they have access to from their home computers. The distance and health science librarians decided to collaborate to design an informational CD-ROM specifically for these students.     

Mentorship programs in academic libraries

Abstract

Academic librarians new to the profession, or seasoned with mid-career changes, have questions and challenges as they progress in their professional careers. Often, librarians need answers and guidance beyond a supervisor and may seek help from their peers. These mentor-mentee relationships can happen either informally or formally, within their home library, or across the profession. Many academic libraries have mentorship programs in place, but mentorship is not a standardized practice and seldom is a one-size-fits-all program. The library and information science (LIS) literature contain articles that describe and analyze the value of these mentorship programs from a variety of interesting angles.