From enhanced collaborations to space advancements: technologies to bring libraries (and librarians) full circle and into the future

Abstract

Since the Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) Virtual Projects section was first announced in 2012, the virtual projects featured in the JMLA have expanded or improved library spaces, services, collaborations, connections, and future directions. Virtual projects selected by the JMLA Virtual Projects Section Advisory Committee have been both practical and responsive to library and patron needs and illustrate ways that librarians are leading their communities and services in new directions. Virtual projects highlighted in this year’s section demonstrate innovative adaptations of technology into the modern medical library that strengthen collaborative commitments and clinical and research partnerships. They also illustrate how technologies support the idea of “library as place” by providing spaces for users to explore new technologies, as well as tools for space and service planning. This year’s virtual projects fully embrace changes in learning, research patterns, technologies, and the role of the health sciences librarian and the library.