Building new twenty-first century medical school libraries from the ground up: challenges, experiences, and lessons learned
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2019.493Keywords:
Twenty-First Century Medical School Libraries, Born Digital Medical Libraries, Allopathic Medical Schools, Osteopathic Medical SchoolsAbstract
The twenty-first century library at a newly opened medical school often differs from those at traditional medical schools. One obvious difference is that the new medical school library tends to be a born-digital library, meaning that the library collection is almost exclusively digital. However, the unique issues related to building a library at a new medical school are not limited to online collections. A unique start-up culture is prevalent, of which newly appointed directors and other library and medical school leaders need to be aware. This special paper provides an overview of best practices experienced in building new medical school libraries from the ground up. The focus is on the key areas faced in a start-up environment, such as budgeting for online collections, space planning, staffing, medical informatics instruction, and library-specific accreditation issues for both allopathic and osteopathic institutions.References
Association of American Medical Colleges. 2018 Update: the complexities of physician supply and demand: projections from 2016 to 2030 [final report] [Internet]. Washington, DC: IHS Markit; Mar 2018 [cited 13 Sep 2018]. <https://aamc-black.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/85/d7/85d7b689-f417-4ef0-97fb-ecc129836829/aamc_2018_workforce_projections_update_april_11_2018.pdf>.
Whitcomb ME. New and developing medical schools: motivating factors, major challenges, planning strategies [Internet]. Part 3. Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation; Oct 2009 [cited 13 Sep 2018]. <http://macyfoundation.org/docs/macy_pubs/JMF_2018_NewandDevelopingMedSchools_Part3_webPDF.pdf>.
Shearer BS, Klatt C, Nagy SP. Development of a new academic digital library: a study of usage data of a core medical electronic journal collection. J Med Libr Assoc. 2009 Apr;97(2):93–101. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.97.2.005.
Shearer BS, Nagy SP. Developing an academic medical library core journal collection in the (almost) post-print era: the Florida State University College of Medicine Medical Library experience. J Med Libr Assoc. 2003 Jul;91(3):292–302. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC164392/.
Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Accredited MD programs in the United States. [Internet].The Committee; 2018 [cited 13 Sep 2018]. <http://lcme.org/directory/accredited-u-s-programs/>.
Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. Colleges of osteopathic medicine, Jul 2018 [Internet]. The Commission; 2018 [cited 13 Sep 2018]. <https://osteopathic.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/current-list-of-colleges-of-osteopathic-medicine.pdf>.
Schmidt J. Promoting library services in a Google world. Libr Manag. 2007;28(6/7):337–46. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01435120710774477.
Ludwig L. Health sciences libraries building survey, 1999–2009. J Med Libr Assoc. 2010 Apr;98(2):105–34. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.98.2.004.
Nelson PP. Current issues in the design of academic health sciences libraries: findings from three recent facility projects. J Med Libr Assoc. 2003 Jul;91(3):347–51. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC164398/>.
Allee N, Blumenthal J, Jordan K, Lalla N, Lauseng D, Rana G, Saylor K, Song J. One institution’s experience in transforming the health sciences library of the future. Med Ref Serv Q. 2014;33(1):1–16. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2014.866444.
Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries. Annual statistics of medical school libraries in the United States and Canada. 40th ed. Seattle, WA: The Association; 2018.
McGowan JJ. Tomorrow’s academic health sciences library today. J Med Libr Assoc. 2012 Jan;100(1):43–6. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.100.1.008.
Lindberg DA, Humphreys BL. 2015—the future of medical libraries. N Engl J Med. 2005 Mar 17;352(11):1067–70. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp048190.
Forsman RB. Administration and management in health sciences libraries. Vol. 8. Bunting A, ed. Current practice in health sciences librarianship. Scarecrow Press and the Medical Library Association; 2000.
Kronenfeld MR. Trends in academic health sciences libraries and their emergence as the “knowledge nexus” for their academic health centers. J Med Libr Assoc. 2005 Jan;93(1):32–9. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC545117/>.
Liaison Committee on Medical Education. [Internet]. The Committee; 2018 [cited 13 Sep 2018]. <https://www.aamc.org/members/osr/committees/48814/reports_lcme.html>.
Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Implementing a system for monitoring performance in LCME accreditation standards [Internet]. The Committee; 2016 [cited 22 Oct 2018]. <http://lcme.org/wp-content/uploads/filebase/white_papers/CQI-Guidance-Document-10-16.docx>.
American Osteopathic Association. Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation [Internet]. The Association; 2018 [cited 13 Sep 2018]. <https://osteopathic.org/accreditation/>.
American Osteopathic Association. Accreditation standards [Internet]. The Association; 2018 [cited 13 Sep 2018]. <https://osteopathic.org/accreditation/standards/>.
Eldredge JD, Heskett KM, Henner T, Tan JP. Current practices in library/informatics instruction in academic libraries serving medical schools in the Western United States: a three-phase action research study. BMC Med Educ. 2013 Sep 4;13:119. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-13-119.
Association of American Medical Colleges. Core entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for entering residency: curriculum developers guide [Internet]. The Association; 2014 [cited 13 Sep 2018]. <https://members.aamc.org/eweb/upload/Core%20EPA%20Curriculum%20Dev%20Guide.pdf>.
