Virtual Services In The Health Sciences Library

The handbook includes sections on information and access services, reference and instruction, collections, and clinical services, encompassing the challenges and opportunities presented by virtual services for nearly every area of the health sciences library.

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.

Widespread use and acceptance of the World Wide Web in the home and office has eclipsed many other technological advances. Next-generation applications like wikis, podcasting, streaming video, virtual reference, RSS feeds, and blogs sit on the cutting edge of changes that will—and have already begun to—transform librarianship. Medical Librarian 2.0 is a vital groundbreaking resource for understanding and implementing these technologiesin reference services. Medical Librarian 2.0 is both an examination of current technology and a resource for practical applications as well. This important collection includes informative chapters that cover the evolving spectrum of digital tools. Through detailed explorations of current technologies, as well as the ways institutions have implemented them to better serve both patrons and staff, this text provides the insight and necessary awareness required for librarians who want to stay current with these technologies and to make their services relevant to the newer generation of users. With a wealth of informative tables, diagrams, Web site illustrations, online resources, photographs, and references, Medical Librarian 2.0 is an essential resource that looks at the pervasive Web technologies medical libraries—and other libraries—are successfully adapting to both update old services and provide new ones. Contributors to Medical Librarian 2.0 discuss: • the tools and applications shaping Web 2.0 • extending these vibrant technologies into librarianship with Library 2.0 • virtual reference services in academic health science libraries • e-mail, chat, and web forms in the changing landscape of reference services • syndicated information delivery via RSS and its integration • producing, using, organizing, and distributing podcasts • challenges to and successes of streaming video in health sciences libraries • social networking, social media sharing, and social bookmarking tools • tagging, peer production, blogs, and folksonomy • open source software and content management systems like Drupal • wikis and the organizational knowledgebase • creating and utilizing blended applications and mashups • current concerns over data and security • and many other important topics! With a wealth of tables, diagrams, Web site illustrations, online resources, photographs, and references, Medical Librarian 2.0 offers readers clear examples of these applications put into practice. Medical Librarian 2.0 is an essential resource for librarians, especially those in medical settings, library science educators and students, and those looking to stay at the forefront of emerging reference technology.

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.

Building Health Sciences Library Collections: A Handbook provides readers with an accessible, in-depth reference for building their library's collection. Designed for all librarians, whether new or experienced, to aid in the bibliographic selection of a variety of materials in different formats

Information and Innovation: A Natural Combination for Health Sciences Libraries uses case studies to illustrate how various health sciences libraries have partnered with innovators by offering valuable services and creative products and spaces– especially innovators who create medical digital therapeutics devices and apps.

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.

A state-of-the-art guide to virtual reference services! This essential book provides a snapshot of virtual reference (VR) services in all kinds of library settings and discusses the issues, trends, and practices involved in offering this kind of service. The chapters go beyond descriptions of services to offer practical advice and suggestions for product selection, policy setting, technical support, collaborative efforts, staffing, training, marketing, budgeting, evaluation, and administration. Case studies, relevant Web sites, and vendor information are included. An ample selection of tables, figures, and illustrations makes important information easy to access and understand. From the editors: “The purpose of this book is to describe the state of the art in virtual reference services, by which we mean real-time, interactive reference service with a librarian, offered online via chat or videoconferencing. Significant players in virtual reference services have prepared chapters for this book. Some of these address virtual reference as a service trend. Others describe services in a variety of settings, including public, academic, and special libraries. Some focus on one aspect of virtual reference, such as statistics/evaluation, policy setting, or the reference interaction. Our intent is to provide an opportunity for reflection on the impact of virtual reference services on librarians, clients, and libraries, as well as to offer a glimpse of the future.” Virtual Reference Services: Issues and Trends addresses topics that will help institutions and VR professionals provide more effective services. Chapters focus on: the principles and concepts of continuous quality improvement (CQI) for virtual reference, such as the Kano Model of user satisfaction—and how it can help libraries improve their VR services a case study of the adoption of VR service at the Suffolk Cooperative Library System in New York, with emphasis on the benefits of maintaining a user-centered perspective to help inform decisions about procedures and services staff selection, structuring the work environment, scheduling, and other VR issues at a large university library collaborative VR services in the state of New Jersey and the development of the “Q and A NJ” initiative and the experiences of two participating public libraries the development and testing of innnovative software developed through a partnership with a high tech company statewide and regional VR collaboration in Florida, with a comprehensive and detailed overview of that state's VR initiatives post-implementation issues such as high call volume, difficult users, training and quality assessment, and service improvement a report from a medical/dental library participating in a multitype library collaborative VR service—with insights on budgeting, training, administration/coordination, morale, marketing, user reaction, and how a health sciences library contributes to (and benefits from) this kind of initiative VR services at The Boeing Corporation a model and framework for collecting and making use of statistical data in a VR service, with AskERIC's implementation as an example the nature of the user-librarian VR interaction, with an insightful analysis of chat transcripts from Carnegie Mellon University how users interact with various services offered on library Web pages, with an illuminating comparison of the use of the library Web site search tool at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale vs. the use of the VR service available on that site