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In Managing Health Sciences Libraries in a Time of Change, experienced leaders of the medical library community present insights into the current trends and issues faced by health sciences librarians and offer practical guidelines and management skills needed to create a culture of excellence.The Medical Library Association points out that “Management skills and a leader's abilities affect the culture and performance of coworkers and the effectiveness of an institution.” The last decades have resulted in a sea change for health sciences library leadership and management. In a short period of time, medical libraries have transformed from collections of print books and journals to databases of digital resources accessible from any desktop. Library services no longer must be provided face to face, but the need for virtual library services has grown in complexity and now demands a greater knowledge of technology and informatics. Reference service, instruction, cataloging, and collection development all remain as key library tasks, but they have been transformed in this digital environment. This book explores what it means to be a manager of health sciences libraries today. Chapters focus on current trends in health science library leadership; managing change; staffing issues; managing for diversity, equity, and inclusion; mentoring; accreditation and evaluation; leadership skills, and a discussion of the differences between the concepts of leadership and management.

This book brings together a diverse range of scholars and practitioners working at the nexus of health literacy work in libraries. This engaging resource presents a practical and accessible guide to meet the needs of librarians, health literacy researchers, and information and service professionals seeking to address health literacy needs in their communities. Through chapters offering multiple perspectives on the topic, the book covers specific types of literacy, such as mental health literacy and health insurance literacy, as well as timely applications, such as health misinformation. Chapters in this compilation also feature health literacy and the following communities: LGBTQ+, Latinx, Black, and Immigrants, Refugees, and Migrants. The book is full of numerous examples, thoughtful advice, and discussions addressing the challenges of working with adolescents and young adults, older adults, and parent caregivers of children with rare diseases. Each chapter starts with “Key Messages''synthesizing the main points and concludes with a proposed set of “Discussion Questions''to inspire further reflection and to facilitate health literacy conversations. Overall, the up-to-date coverage of health literacy in various contexts explored throughout the book will be beneficial to a range of stakeholders interested in health literacy work.

Virtual services have been part of health sciences libraries for a long time in various forms, including the provision of reference and research services via email or chat, availability of online instruction, access to electronic materials, and the curation of virtual research guides. But when the COVID-19 pandemic forced many libraries to close their doors and pivot to virtual services almost overnight. Moving all services remote, even for just a short time, did highlight what worked well and what did not. The situation increased visibility of these services and made patrons more aware of what was available, perhaps making them more likely to expect and use those services in the future. In some ways, the pandemic showed us ways in which virtual services could even be better than in person services for providing prompt patron services. The situation increased visibility of existing services, making users more aware of what was available, and revealed gaps and needed improvements in virtual services. In this book copublished by the Medical Library Association, librarians from academic to hospital health sciences libraries, from rural to urban areas, and across a range of service specialties provide blueprints and best practices for building and maintaining sustainable virtual services in health sciences libraries. Each chapter in this volume addresses aspects of providing virtual services in information and access services, reference and instruction, collections, and clinical services written by contributors who have been involved in this work in their own libraries. Whether you are just beginning an implementation, assessing and refining current offerings, or strategizing for sustainability and looking to the future, this book will provide practical advice, tools, and considerations for maximizing user engagement and satisfaction with virtual library services and resources.

This study looks closely at the plans of 16 academic and medical libraries for their collection of health sciences journals, examining issues such as: how many cancellations and new titles are planned for their near future? What areas are most likely to be targeted for cuts or additions? How much has and will overall spending rise or fall? What has been the impact of the pandemic on health sciences journals collections? If libraries cancel titles how do they fulfill requests from faculty members for content? What is the role of interlibrary loan? Academic social media sites? Institutional repositories? Requests for copies directly from authors? How are candidates for title elimination identified? How often are academic departments affected by the cuts able to contribute to library budgets and prevent the cuts?

The capacity to understand and communicate health information is a major international health concern. Sponsored by the Health and Biosciences Section of International Federation of Library Associations, this book highlights the contribution that librarians are making to improving health literacy and enabling citizens to be active participants in the management of their own health. Knowledge is power and the World Health Organization recognizes that health literacy, involving effective access to and understanding of health information, is essential to health and well-being in society by empowering and enabling citizens to participate in their own healthcare. The book presents inspiring studies from an international group of authors showing how libraries and librarians are partnering with diverse sectors of society including universities, hospitals, public health clinics, community-based organisations, voluntary bodies and government agencies, to help citizens understand and manage their health. It provides guidance by example to suggest how libraries can help citizens participate in their healthcare and their communities by collaborating with others to increase health literacy in society.

Health sciences librarians need to optimize collaborating with others in their institutions and beyond. An understanding of what leads to successful collaborations is beneficial and empowering. By using case studies of varieties of collaborations, Strategic Collaborations in Health Sciences Libraries provides a framework and evidence about key factors to consider when thinking about building and sustaining successful collaborations. Readers of this book are encouraged to contact the chapter authors to obtain more details than those provided in the book. This connection between experts with collaboration experience and those seeking to understand successful collaborations is the key impact of this book. - Focusing on the positive aspect of collaboration in health sciences libraries, this book encourages others to form collaborations mutually beneficial to the library and the collaboration partner. - Through case studies, readers are exposed to new ideas and ways to enhance existing collaborations. - By contacting individual authors and learning more about their experiences, readers share ideas and connect with a network of librarians with collaboration expertise.

Technological advances and the rise of collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches have changed the practice of research. The 21st century researcher not only faces the challenge of managing increasingly complex datasets, but also new data sharing requirements from funders and journals. Success in today's research enterprise requires an understanding of how to work effectively with data, yet most researchers have never had any formal training in data management. Libraries have begun developing services and programs to help researchers meet the demands of the data-driven research enterprise, giving librarians exciting new opportunities to use their expertise and skills. The Medical Library Association Guide to Data Management for Librarians highlights the many ways that librarians are addressing researchers'changing needs at a variety of institutions, including academic, hospital, and government libraries. Each chapter ends with “pearls of wisdom,” a bulleted list of 5-10 takeaway messages from the chapter that will help readers quickly put the ideas from the chapter into practice.From theoretical foundations to practical applications, this book provides a background for librarians who are new to data management as well as new ideas and approaches for experienced data librarians.

This book brings to light the current job responsibilities of the healthcare librarian, but at the same time reveals a dichotomy. In theory, advances in healthcare research promise better care and improved safety for patients. In practice, there are barriers that undermine change. The author calls attention to the underutilized healthcare librarian at a time when clinical information delivery to the doctor or nurse is equal to or more important than how wired the hospital is. This is a book for healthcare stakeholders who support evidence-based practice and for those considering entering medical librarianship. The profession is in flux as hospitals must decide whether they can afford a library and librarian or whether they can afford not to have one. - Discusses current trends in healthcare librarianship - Describes the daily job duties of a hospital librarian - Looks at barriers to hospitals practicing evidence-based medicine - Connects improved patient care to healthcare librarian services

This comprehensive textbook of health sciences librarianship provides the library student and new librarian with the background and skills necessary to handle day-to-day activities and provide quality services in a health sciences library or a more general library serving students and practitioners in the health professions. The book has 16 chapters, each authored by an experienced medical librarian and is are organized logically into 4 sections: The Profession, Collection Services, User Services, and Administrative Services, Each chapter contains photographs, figures, tables, and charts illustrating the essential concepts introduced.Overseen by a 3-member editorial board of leading professors in medical librarianship programs, this authoritative text provides students, beginning, and experienced librarians with a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art medical librarianship.

Intended for students interested in careers as health sciences librarians, this insightful book presents a current view of trends and issues in the field of health librarianship from leading scholars and practitioners.With health care reform and the Affordable Care Act driving up demand for ready access to health and biomedical information by both health care providers and healthcare consumers, health librarianship plays a critical role in facilitating access to that information. Health Librarianship: An Introduction places health librarianship within the health care context, covering librarianship within this specific environment as well as other perspectives relevant to health librarianship. The book addresses the basic functions of librarianship—for example, management and administration, public services, and technical services—within the health care context as well as issues unique to health librarianship like health literacy, consumer health, and biomedical informatics. This book is an outstanding textbook for library and information sciences classes and will also be of interest to those considering a career change to health librarianship.

Get the foundational knowledge about health sciences librarianship. The general term “health sciences libraries” covers a wide range of areas beyond medical libraries, such as biomedical, nursing, allied health, pharmacy, and others. Introduction to Health Sciences Librarianship provides a sound foundation to all aspects of these types of libraries to students and librarians new to the field. This helpful guide provides a helpful overview of the health care environment, technical services, public services, management issues, academic health sciences, hospital libraries, health informatics, evidence-based practice, and more. This text provides crucial information every beginning and practicing health sciences librarian needs—all in one volume. Introduction to Health Sciences Librarianship presents some of the most respected librarians and educators in the field, each discussing important aspects of librarianship, including technical services, public services, administration, special services, and special collections. This comprehensive volume provides all types of librarians with helpful general, practical, and theoretical knowledge about this profession. The book's unique'A Day in the Life of...'feature describes typical days of health sciences librarians working in special areas such as reference or consumer health, and offers anyone new to the field a revealing look at what a regular workday is like. The text is packed with useful figures, screen captures, tables, and references. Topics discussed in Introduction to Health Sciences Librarianship include: overview of health sciences libraries health environment collection development of journals, books, and electronic resources organization of health information access services information services and information retrieval information literacy health informatics management of academic health sciences libraries management and issues in hospital libraries library space planning specialized services Introduction to Health Sciences Librarianship provides essential information for health sciences librarians, medical librarians, beginning and intermediate level health sciences/medical librarians, and any health sciences librarian wishing to review the field. This crucial volume belongs in every academic health sciences library, hospital library, specialized health library, biomedical library, and academic library.