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.     

The medical matters wiki: building a library Web site 2.0

New and innovative information technologies drive the ever-evolving library profession. From clay tablet to parchment scroll to manufactured paper to computer screen pixel, information storage, retrieval, and delivery methods continue to evolve, and each advance irrevocably affects the way libraries, and librarians, work. The Internet has forever altered information and library science, both in theory and practice, but even within this context the progression continues. Though ambiguously defined, Web 2.0 offers a new outlook and new software, presenting librarians with potentially invaluable new tools and methods. This paper discusses the creation, implementation, and maintenance of a Web 2.0 technology, the wiki, as a resource tool for an academic biomedical library.     

Circulation of core collection monographs in an academic medical library

Academic medical librarians responsible for monograph acquisition face a challenging task. From the plethora of medical monographs published each year, academic medical librarians must select those most useful to their patrons. Unfortunately, none of the selection tools available to medical librarians are specifically intended to assist academic librarians with medical monograph selection. The few short core collection lists that are available are intended for use in the small hospital or internal medicine department library. As these are the only selection tools available, however, many academic medical librarians spend considerable time reviewing these collection lists and place heavy emphasis on the acquisition of listed books. The study reported here was initiated to determine whether the circulation of listed books in an academic library justified the emphasis placed on the acquisition of these books. Circulation statistics for "listed" and "nonlisted" books in the hematology (WH) section of Indiana University School of Medicine's Ruth Lilly Medical Library were studied. The average circulation figures for listed books were nearly two times as high as the corresponding figures for the WH books in general. These data support the policies of those academic medical libraries that place a high priority on collection of listed books.     

Redesigning library orientation for first-year medical students during the pandemic

Background:Prior to 2020, library orientation for first-year medical students at Weill Cornell Medicine took the form of an on-site treasure hunt competition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the orientation for the MD class of 2024 was shifted to an all-virtual format. This shift mandated a full redesign of the library orientation.Case Presentation:The Samuel J. Wood Library sought to preserve the excitement and fun of the treasure hunt in the new virtual format. The competition was redesigned as a Zoom meeting using breakout rooms, with library faculty and staff serving as team facilitators. Tasks were rewritten, shifting the focus from the library''s physical spaces to its virtual services and online resources. The redesigned orientation was evaluated using two data sources: a postsession survey of student participants and a debriefing of the library employees who participated. Student evaluations were positive, while the faculty and staff provided numerous suggestions for improving future virtual orientations.Conclusions:A successful virtual library orientation requires careful preparation, including testing the competition tasks, full rehearsal with library facilitators, and a thoughtful approach to technology and logistics. We have chosen to share the materials we developed for other academic health sciences libraries that may wish to take a similar approach to their own virtual orientations.     

读者决策的图书馆藏书采购——藏书建设2.0版

读者决策的图书馆采购开始迅速地应用在美国研究型图书馆,尤其是在电子图书采购的实践中.文章简要地回顾了图书馆藏书建设的形成以及催生这种新型模式的原因和技术环境,并描述了它的工作流程和问题.     

Cancelled requests:a study of interlibrary loan requests for items held in a medical library collection

This paper presents the results of a study to document and analyze a sample of interlibrary loan requests received from library patrons of an academic medical library for items that are actually held in the collection of the library. This category is referred to as cancelled requests. The purpose of the study was to attempt to measure the degree to which library patrons are not making the best possible use of the collection and understand why this was taking place. Suggestions are presented for steps to lower the cancellation rate.     

Use of laptop computers in an academic medical library

Who borrows laptop computers in an academic health sciences library? Why do they choose to check out laptops? In a survey, laptop computer users responded that the laptops were used most frequently to do class-related work. Laptops were most often checked out because they could be taken to a quiet area of the library or to where the user had more room to work. The majority of such borrowers were satisfied or very satisfied with the laptops and the service from the library. The majority of those completing the survey were medical school students and graduate students. The circulation of laptop computers at this academic health sciences library is a very successful and popular program.     

The academic library: Structure,space, physical and virtual use

This mixed-methods study aims to characterize the appropriate structure of the academic library in the information age according to the perceptions of the faculty members who use the library and the academic librarians operating it. Two main issues were addressed: centralization versus decentralization, and the provision of physical versus virtual services. The study population included members of the faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences in three academic institutions in Israel and academic librarians working in these institutions. Qualitative data was collected through interviews with 20 faculty members and 15 librarians, while quantitative data was collected through questionnaires filled by 191 faculty members and 50 librarians in the above-mentioned institutions. Analysis of these data reveal that faculty members generally prefer a concentration of materials—rather than decentralization—and they show a similar preference toward a faculty library model, a combined faculty/departmental library model, and a central library model. Similarly, the academic librarians prefer either faculty or combined faculty/department libraries, but their preference toward a central library model is lower than that of the faculty members. The decentralized, departmental library model was the least favored by both groups. In addition, our findings indicate that both the faculty members and the librarians appreciate the virtual services that the library provides as well as its physical presence, although fewer faculty members than librarians perceived the latter as an important role of the library. Taken together it appears that the preferred model for the academic library in the information age is of large, multidisciplinary libraries that contain materials from a variety of fields and provide comprehensive virtual services.     

Considerations for creating library learning spaces within a hierarchy of learning space attributes

University libraries struggle to keep up with rapidly changing technology and the associated change in teaching strategy. Most administrators and librarians are often not trained to assess space needs and struggle to reassign library spaces for non-traditional library use. As such, they often embark on expensive and time-consuming feasibility studies, using (typically) hard-earned monies to complete the research or to pilot a new space. What academic research library administrators and staff lack is guidance for discovering and planning needed renovations and improvements in aging library facilities. The purpose of this research project was to develop a set of considerations that can be used by library staff to self-analyze existing academic library spaces and identify areas that can be effectively improved for student benefit. The end result is a series of hierarchical self-analysis space considerations with a structured framework based on Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The results of this research use evidence-based design to facilitate important conversations, and provide an organized quick reference checklist of various considerations for library administrators and facility managers as they navigate the world of twenty-first century pedagogy and student learning.     

Academic library performance measures and undergraduates' library use and educational outcomes

This study investigated the relationship between an institution's academic library performance measures and undergraduates' library use and educational outcomes. The sample consisted of 7,958 undergraduates attending 36 colleges and universities representing four institutional types. Regression analyses determined the relationship between academic library performance measures and library use and self-reported gains in critical thinking while controlling for undergraduates' background characteristics and college experiences. Greater utilization of academic library services had a negative relationship with undergraduate library use at two institutional types. However, undergraduates attending research universities with greater academic library resources had higher self-reported gains in critical thinking. Regressions for the four institutional types explained 25% to 32% of the variance for library use and 22% to 27% of the variance for self-reported gains in critical thinking. The results provide a better understanding of how academic library resources and services affect both library usage and educational outcomes.     

Study to assess the compensation and skills of medical library professionals relative to information technology professionals

PURPOSE: The study seeks to determine how medical library professionals performing information-technology (IT) roles are compensated and how their positions are designed compared to information technology staff in their institutions. METHODS: 550 medical library directors in hospital and academic medical libraries were surveyed. The data was then compared to survey data from other compensation studies of the IT industry. RESULTS: There is a gap in compensation between medical library professionals and IT professionals performing similar functions using information technology. Technology-intense library jobs are compensated at higher levels than more traditional jobs. CONCLUSIONS: To compete with IT salaries, managers of medical library professionals will need to be ever more cognizant of the employment practices of IT professionals in nonmedical library disciplines. It is typically in the medical library's best interest to ensure that IT-related jobs, accountabilities, and capabilities of the medical library are known and understood by others, especially in the human resources and information technology staff departments.     

The X-factor in academic libraries: the demand for soft skills in library employees

Abstract

As the need for employees with technology skills and other expertise has increased within the contemporary academic library environment, so too has the need for employees with “soft skills.” Soft skills refer to personal, learnable attributes, such as emotional intelligence, communication aptitude, persuasion facility, storytelling ability, collegiality, and even woo. While academic libraries are ever-changing, it is critical to bear in mind the importance of the human component. This article considers the need for soft skills within the contemporary academic library environment. It will draw upon successful instances of soft skills development from outside the academic library environment to synthesize new ways of enhancing library employees’ soft skills.     

学术图书馆发展的趋向分析与思考

从信息环境的网络化、用户需求的知识化、馆藏资源的同质化等方面分析了学术图书馆面临的环境巨变。通过调研国内外学术图书馆发展现状,阐述了目前学术图书馆发展的主要特征,如馆藏资源向纯数字化发展,信息服务向嵌入式知识化发展,信息组织向关联化、语义化和集成化发展,原生信息资源纳入机构知识资产管理范畴,数字图书馆员在科学数据监管中应运而生,SoLoMo成为创建下一代移动图书馆服务的理念。指出学术图书馆的发展趋向是成为以用户为中心的知识服务中心,应构建用户驱动型的知识服务范式、构建全能型的知识管理范式、构建智慧型的图书馆物理场所。同时也指出,为适应未来发展的需要,学术图书馆要倍加重视科技人员的信息需求、以用户为中心的业务布局、信息技术的应用、馆际间的协作共享和馆员素质能力的提升。     

Volunteers in the medical library: issues and suggestions for their use

The implementation of the use of volunteers in a medical library poses a unique challenge to the library administrator who must effectively utilize individuals who are often inexperienced with the highly technical informational needs of medical clientele. The benefits and difficulties of volunteer use are discussed along with specific issues that may occur--legal issues, the issue of volunteer use vs. paid employee, and the determination of the value of volunteers. A checklist of suggested uses of volunteers is included as well as an evaluation form that can be used to aid the library administrator and volunteer in evaluating the volunteer's performance and job satisfaction.     

Organizational aspects of the virtual library: A survey of academic libraries

The virtual library is presently being investigated across disciplines, often with a strong technological emphasis. The present study takes an organizational approach by placing the virtual library in the context of the academic library, and focusing on opinions of the library directors concerning the virtual library. The problem investigated refers to the propensity of academic libraries to become organized as a virtual library, which is conceptualized in terms of four general models. Directors of academic libraries were surveyed, and the literature on changes in the library organization was reviewed. It has been found that academic libraries exhibit visible organizational changes. When the virtual library is concerned, however, library directors tend to understand it just as digital technology, are mainly supportive of such library, and demonstrate a number of limitations that prevent them from thinking of virtual libraries in more radical terms.     

Implementing RFID in a hospital library: a scoping study

This article discusses a scoping study on implementing radio frequency identification device (RFID) in a hospital library context, conducted by Joseph Norwood for his MA dissertation at the University of Brighton. The study was carried out during the summer of 2011 to support possible RFID implementation at the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals (BSUH) Trust, and the library staff were able to use the findings to good effect to create a business plan. This article also acts as the template for the new Dissertations into Practice feature, which was introduced in the March issue (Marshall, A. Health Information and Libraries Journal 2012, 29, 72). The dissertation highlighted here is very practical in nature and had immediate and quantifiable benefits for the Trust library. Future feature articles are likely to reflect the range of health-related dissertation topics which students choose and will include studies on user information behaviour, information services related to mental health and well-being, as well as the impact of technology on health-related library or information services.AM.     

A primer on developing and using course-related library Web pages

Course-related library Web pages can be designed to introduce students to an academic library Web site and provide access to information relevant to specific courses. These pages are most often developed to support a library instruction session. The author's course-related pages are designed on a template that includes the main features of the library Web site (e.g., links to the online catalog, reference information, and interlibrary loan request forms), a list of pertinent online indexes and databases, links to electronic journals, and recommended Web sites. Technical and organizational issues related to creating and maintaining such pages are discussed, as are outreach efforts and faculty/student response to incorporating this type of Web page into library instruction. A sample evaluation form and a list of selected course-related library Web sites are included as appendices.     

Information technology courses and their relationship to faculty in different professional ranks in library and information science programs

This study investigated information technology (IT) courses offered in American Library Association–accredited library and information science (LIS) programs and the role of faculty with different professional ranks in teaching those courses. More than 20% of the courses offered in 42 programs in the academic year 2002 are IT-related, and 57% of the programs require one particular IT course as part of their core requirements for the master's degree. The contents of the IT courses range widely and go beyond traditional library settings. Faculty with different professional ranks teach significantly different subject areas of the IT courses. Almost half of the junior faculty and more than half of the senior faculty are from multidisciplinary fields; others have a traditional LIS background. Junior faculty's predominant research areas are as follows: information issues; information needs, information-seeking behavior, and information services; cognitive science; systems analysis and evaluation; and information organization.     

Migration to an electronic journal collection in a hospital library: implications for reference service

This article provides a perspective on the migration to an electronic-only journal collection in a hospital library and its effect on reference services, information-seeking, and library use patterns. Bellevue Hospital Center in New York, NY is one of the first major teaching hospitals in the United States to begin a fundamental shift to a current, electronic-only journal collection. This article describes the process and develops a model for use by other hospital libraries, with commentary on the impact on reference services to library users. Key findings are that physicians, residents, and nurses have come to expect electronic journal collections and use the Internet in the hospital library to access electronic journals. Similar to many academic health sciences libraries, the reference desk in a hospital library has become more like a technical support desk. Users who contact the library have questions about access to the library's electronic resources or about searching techniques. In the future, medical reference librarians will continue to assist searchers who cannot find what they are looking for and will assist those who repeatedly get results that do not match their information needs.     

A perspective on academic library middle management in the COVID era

Middle managers in academic libraries are often the first point of contact for employees within their departments. Middle managers work as colleagues, advocates, and project managers. While the responsibilities may vary between institutions, it is essential that middle managers develop leadership skills to function effectively in their positions. In the era of COVID-19, middle managers must reconcile their own expectations of their role with the changing needs and responsibilities of those they manage. COVID-19 is a complex phenomenon that has brought many issues such as health and social inequity to the forefront. These issues should be considered in leadership techniques that are utilized by middle managers in academic libraries. When leading a department, the manager must consider the whole person. This column will discuss several leadership styles that consider the whole person and can be effective for academic library middle managers as they navigate the complexities of their positions in the COVID-19 Era.