Evaluating a historical medical book collection.

BACKGROUND: After several years of storing a large number of historical medical books that had been weeded from the general collection, the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center developed a set of evaluation criteria to determine whether the material should be kept and included in the library catalog or discarded. The purpose of this article is to share lessons learned in evaluating and processing a historical medical book collection. The authors share how we determined review criteria as well as cataloging and processing procedures. CASE PRESENTATION: Best practices for evaluating, cataloging, and processing historical library material were determined through a literature search and then reviewed and adapted for application to this project. Eight hundred sixty-two titles were selected to add to the catalog and were added to a shelving location in our offsite storage facility. CONCLUSIONS: These materials are now discoverable in the library's catalog for library users who are interested in historical research, and the materials have been processed for easy retrieval as well as preservation purposes.

Implementing and assessing a service to demonstrate public impact of faculty research in news and policy sources.

BACKGROUND: As the need to demonstrate research impact increases, faculty are looking for new ways to show funders, departments, and institutions that their work is making a difference. While traditional metrics such as citation counts can tell one part of this story, these metrics are focused on the academic sphere and often miss the wide-ranging public impact that research can have in areas such as the news or policy documents. CASE PRESENTATION: This case report describes how one library piloted and established the Policy & News Media Impact Service, where librarians generate reports for faculty members of the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center that tracks citations of their research in governmental and organizational policies as well as local, national, and international news media. Workflows of, resources used in, and faculty feedback on the service are described. CONCLUSIONS: This Policy & News Media Impact Service pilot was successful and resulted in the establishment of a permanent service that is available to all departments in the Academic Health Center. Faculty feedback indicated that the service was valuable in demonstrating the public impact of their research.

Reevaluating Point-of-Care Resources: Community Engagement in Difficult Collection Choices.

Rising collection costs sometimes necessitate tough decisions regarding cancellation of popular products. In 2015-2016, the East Tennessee State University Medical Library subscribed to UpToDate and DynaMed Plus, both clinical point-of-care products, with the understanding that one product would be canceled at the fiscal year end. The librarian team undertook a year-long community engagement campaign to inform library users about the pending product cancellation decision. Ultimately, DynaMed Plus was selected and UpToDate was cancelled. The campaign generated user engagement with the decision making, along with perceived benefits including increased awareness of the library's budget constraints, increased discussion of scholarly publishing, and greater faculty/student knowledge of evaluating evidence-based products.

Developing a Cancer-Focused Library Survey - Assessing the Current Environment and Planning for the Future.

The primary goal of this project is to understand how each National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center library, and all libraries that support cancer research, function within their institutions. Through an in-depth survey focused on three major areas (staff, content and tools procurement, and user services), the research team hopes to determine how a cancer-centric library can be successful in supporting quality patient care, research excellence, and education. Additionally, the survey will examine the necessary minimum staffing levels for librarians and information professionals based on organizational size and degree of research focus. The survey will seek out the new skills librarians will need to deliver optimal services. The survey will also explore how content libraries purchase reflects and maps to constituents' current medical and research activities. Libraries within a research intense environment have a responsibility to align with researchers and health care professionals to provide resources and services that support their workflows. Cancer libraries need to be attuned to their institutions' missions, whether that includes excellent patient care, research endeavors, or cutting-edge educational programs. The information gathered from the survey will provide data for this research team to define the vision and standards of excellence for a cancer specialized research library.

Using Subject Guides to Support Curriculum and Patient Care: A Multipronged Approach.

Even though the library subscribes to numerous valuable health science resources, many e-books are not being used by clinicians, researchers, and students. Because these resources are bundled in various packages that often do not show up in federated searches, making them more discoverable is important. At the same time, the cost of textbooks is increasingly burdensome for students. Using authoritative lists and metrics to evaluate these resources while also seeking faculty input to include the best resources in subject guides may not only benefit the faculty and students but also aid in promoting library resources.

Standards for vision science libraries: 2014 revision.

OBJECTIVE: This Association of Vision Science Librarians revision of the "Standards for Vision Science Libraries" aspires to provide benchmarks to address the needs for the services and resources of modern vision science libraries (academic, medical or hospital, pharmaceutical, and so on), which share a core mission, are varied by type, and are located throughout the world. METHODS: Through multiple meeting discussions, member surveys, and a collaborative revision process, the standards have been updated for the first time in over a decade. RESULTS: While the range of types of libraries supporting vision science services, education, and research is wide, all libraries, regardless of type, share core attributes, which the standards address. CONCLUSIONS: The current standards can and should be used to help develop new vision science libraries or to expand the growth of existing libraries, as well as to support vision science librarians in their work to better provide services and resources to their respective users.

[Quality criteria for scientific collections within medical associations: the collections of the German Urological Association fullfill high requirements]. / Qualitätskriterien für Sammlungen medizinischer wissenschaftlicher Fachgesellschaften : Die Sammlungen der DGU erfüllen ihre Anforderungen.

Quality criteria are necessary for the evaluation and rating of scientific collections of medical associations and are necessary for their development in order to argue within the scientific community or with other relevant actors.

Got value? Journal collection analysis is worth the effort.

This article presents a case study of the efforts of librarians at a pediatric hospital system to cut journal costs while increasing value for patrons. First, the worth of the libraries was proven to system leaders using a cost-benefit analysis. Then, librarians used a survey of library users and analysis of usage patterns to reevaluate the number and format of individual journal subscriptions. The results included cutting substantial costs and unpopular resources, adding more relevant resources, and garnering the respect and support of hospital leaders.

International perspectives and initiatives.

This article introduces a new column which will explore the way different regions and nation states are dealing with the challenges of managing health information. The intention is to draw together trends which are relevant to both health science librarians and health informatics professionals. This inaugural piece maps out the territory. It provides a rationale for the column, along with evidence of current initiatives to articulate a global perspective on the application of communication and information technologies to health information.

Collection policy management for the Kuopio University and Kuopio University Hospital, Finland: detecting the needs of users and developing high-quality collections.

BACKGROUND: This article discusses the collection policies of a university library in a modern digital environment. A brief description of national collection policy decisions in Finland is provided. The rapid evolution and growth of scientific publication places new demands on building a collection in a health and bioscience orientated university, and it requires an evidence-based approach to support effective service processes. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to identify the needs of the university's students and staff. METHODS: Usage statistics were surveyed and analysed. RESULTS: Both usage statistics and user surveys indicate that the library use is divided half-and-half between the traditional use of printed material and library premises and the modern use of digital materials via the Web. The former is mainly the way that the students and hospital staff use the library, and the latter can be viewed as the researchers' way of using the library. Librarians and information specialists act in this as service providers and/or guides and tutors to the end-users. These results, however, must be validated with a longer timescale data collation and analysis, both of which are an ongoing process within the library. CONCLUSIONS: It is important that requirements and needs of the library's users are monitored regularly and acquisition policies are updated frequently. It also seems that the needs have changed quite dramatically in response to modern ways of disseminating publications, but this supposition will require further study.

The increasing globalization of health librarianship: a brief survey of international trends and activities.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Throughout his career, Leslie Morton was interested in international developments in health librarianship. In memory of the work he did in this field, the authors examine current developments in international health librarianship and describe some current themes. PROCEDURES: The authors draw from their combined experience in international activities and the published information available from selected library associations and related organizations. FINDINGS: Although many of the major health library associations around the world are tackling agendas specific to their own country, issues of international concern are emerging in common. These are grouped around globalization, partnerships and co-operation, electronic access, especially open access, and working with the developing world in a number of different ways. Of course, the basis of all of these initiatives is to improve the health of the population by providing the best possible access to materials. CONCLUSIONS: Professional associations can provide a useful institutional infrastructure for addressing issues of international interest. Librarians should encourage their associations to develop these international initiatives and to seek out new and innovative ways to work together across international boundaries.

Trends in academic health sciences libraries and their emergence as the "knowledge nexus" for their academic health centers.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to identify trends in academic health sciences libraries (AHSLs) as they adapt to the shift from a print knowledgebase to an increasingly digital knowledgebase. This research was funded by the 2003 David A. Kronick Traveling Fellowship. METHODS: The author spent a day and a half interviewing professional staff at each library. The questionnaire used was sent to the directors of each library in advance of the visit, and the directors picked the staff to be interviewed and set up the schedule. RESULTS: Seven significant trends were identified. These trends are part of the shift of AHSLs from being facility and print oriented with a primary focus on their role as repositories of a print-based knowledgebase to a new focus on their role as the center or "nexus" for the organization, access, and use of an increasingly digital-based knowledgebase. CONCLUSION: This paper calls for a national effort to develop a new model or structure for health sciences libraries to more effectively respond to the challenges of access and use of a digital knowledgebase, much the same way the National Library of Medicine did in the 1960s and 1970s in developing and implementing the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. The paper then concludes with some examples or ideas for research to assist in this process.

Systematic reviews need systematic searchers.

PURPOSE: This paper will provide a description of the methods, skills, and knowledge of expert searchers working on systematic review teams. BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are very important to health care practitioners, who need to keep abreast of the medical literature and make informed decisions. Searching is a critical part of conducting these systematic reviews, as errors made in the search process potentially result in a biased or otherwise incomplete evidence base for the review. Searches for systematic reviews need to be constructed to maximize recall and deal effectively with a number of potentially biasing factors. Librarians who conduct the searches for systematic reviews must be experts. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Expert searchers need to understand the specifics about data structure and functions of bibliographic and specialized databases, as well as the technical and methodological issues of searching. Search methodology must be based on research about retrieval practices, and it is vital that expert searchers keep informed about, advocate for, and, moreover, conduct research in information retrieval. Expert searchers are an important part of the systematic review team, crucial throughout the review process-from the development of the proposal and research question to publication.