Managing Health Sciences Libraries In A Time Of Change

In Managing Health Sciences Libraries in a Time of Change, experienced leaders of the medical library community offer insights into the current trends and issues faced by health sciences librarians and present practical guidelines and management skills needed to create a culture of excellence.

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.

In Health Sciences Collection Management for the Twenty-First Century, readers learn about best practices and also the big picture and the deeper changes that affect decision making. Chapter contributors and stories about different libraries’ experiences provide unique perspectives to topics and demonstrate the thoughtfulness of today’s health sciences collection management librarians.

Managing a medical library in a climate of rapidly changing technology requires the astute manager to anticipate and then manage change. Written by medical library professionals carefully selected for their specific knowledge and experience, these essays cover fiscal management, human resources, marketing library services, technology, facilities, and strategic planning. Appendixes offer a list of skills recommended for the career health sciences professional and an annotated bibliography on space planning.

This books presents firsthand experiences and thoughts of librarians on the transformation of health sciences library spaces. They provide insights into planning, budgeting, collecting, and integrating user feedback, collaborating with leadership and architects and thriving in the good times and the tight times.

Many hospitals and health care organizations that were independent, freestanding institutions are now part of large health systems that deliver patient care in a variety of inpatient, ambulatory, and community settings. Vast changes in the U.S. health care system are reshaping how librarians provide services to physicians and other patient caregivers, as well as to medical and allied health sciences students and faculty. Twenty one experts have contributed to this groundbreaking text. Their individual chapters offer specific, practical advice on administrative issues, planning and marketing, financial management, space planning, collection development, cataloging and classification, document delivery, audiovisual services -- every aspect of managing today's ever-changing health care library. Required reading for any librarian offering health care information to professionals, faculty, or consumers.

In a time when libraries have to face constant change, this book provides examples and advises on how to lead when change is needed (for example, when quality management is implemented or when libraries have to merge or to relocate). Engaging with how constant change affects leadership in libraries and how leaders in libraries act in times of change, this book is aimed at practitioners and students of Library and Information Science (LIS) alike, and is based on both theory and expert interviews from leaders in academic and public libraries that are in the midst, or are now coming out of a process of change. Provides practical solutions for real change situations and problems in libraries Includes expert interviews Written by a professor with nine years experience as a member the management team for the German National Library of Science and Technology

Health sciences librarianship today demands a balance among computer files, human ingenuity, and print sources. The many information sources presently available enable health sciences librarians to do a better job, but that job has also become correspondingly more difficult. This professional reference surveys the various types of print and electronic resources important to the health sciences and provides valuable practical advice to librarians for meeting the information needs of researchers, practicing physicians, and other health professionals. Health sciences librarianship today demands a balance among electronic files, human ingenuity, and print sources. Thanks to computerization and telecommunications, librarians can do much more now than just a few years ago. While the tremendous growth in available resources has enabled librarians to provide more thorough information to patrons, the process of doing so has become correspondingly more complex. While librarians still need to use many traditional skills, they must also develop new ways of finding and utilizing information. This professional reference surveys the field of health sciences librarianship and provides extensive practical advice to assist health sciences librarians in meeting the information needs of their patrons. Because journal literature is the principal medium of information in the health sciences, the book begins with an examination of the roles that journals play as well as the large proportion of the library budget that they consume. The volume then discusses techniques of searching journal literature, such as print and electronic indexing and abstracting tools. Additional chapters are devoted to the selection and organization of health sciences books, and reference tools and services. Special attention is given to the electronic distribution of biomedical information. With important sources of health information now becoming available via the Internet, this book provides a point of departure to evaluate those sources. The final chapter discusses the various environments that shape health sciences librarianship, such as library settings, professional associations, and economic contexts.