How Physical Does the Library Need to Be?

by: James Shedlock, Director of Galter Health Sciences Library at Northwestern University COM in Library Notes

The announcement that the Johns Hopkins University medical school will close its health sciences library starting January 1, 2012 has stunned many in the library world. A posting on the Welch Medical Library website describes their new reality. As surprising as the news is, the Hopkins staff and their director, Nancy Roderer, deserve credit for making a tough but reasonable decision.

One take away from the Hopkins announcement is that it’s time to rethink our terminology about libraries. The library building may be closing but the library is still open … online. The physical library is less relevant at Hopkins but the electronic library is what users want, need, appreciate and actually use.

You may wonder if this will become more common at other medical schools. Because this is happening at Hopkins, a top ranked research-intensive medical school according to the U.S. News and World Report, I’ve already been asked by NU faculty if this is a trend. I doubt it for established medical schools, and particularly for Northwestern. Hopkins developed separate student facilities for their programs in medicine, nursing and public health and as a result, the students didn’t need to use the physical Welch Medical Library. At Northwestern, the Galter Library is one of the chief education and collaboration facilities for our students, and the medical school has invested money to make the library a versatile space for study, research, resource storage and social functions.

Filed under: Administrative Issues, Issues and Challenges , future thinking, library as place, Library Planning

Thomas Jefferson University Expands Jefferson Medical College with Delaware Branch Campus

Released: 11/22/2011 3:15 PM EST
Source: Thomas Jefferson University

Newswise — PHILADELPHIA – Thomas Jefferson University announces the expansion of Jefferson Medical College with the creation of its Delaware Branch Campus. The Campus includes three participating hospitals – Christiana Care Health System, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and the Wilmington Veterans Affairs Hospital.

The expansion was approved by The Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medical education programs leading to the M.D. degree in U.S. and Canadian medical schools.

“Together with each of the participating institutions, the expansion of Jefferson Medical College demonstrates our continued commitment to patient-centered academic excellence,” says Mark L. Tykocinski, MD, Dean, Jefferson Medical College; Senior Vice President, Thomas Jefferson University; and President, Jefferson University Physicians. “The expansion will provide Jefferson and each hospital with a platform to continue to redefine the field of medical education – training the physician work force of tomorrow in team-based, high-quality healthcare environment – with a goal of providing outstanding care for patients across a broad demographic.”

“Christiana Care has a long-standing relationship in providing top-notch medical education to Jefferson Medical College students,” says Robert J. Laskowski, M.D., MBA, President and CEO, Christiana Care Health System. “We are very excited that the expansion of Jefferson Medical College will further enhance our role in training third- and fourth-year medical students and the next generation of physicians. Our enhanced relationship will help Christiana Care provide better care to our neighbors.”

Filed under: Expanding schools, Multi-Institutional Partnerships

WILLIAM H. WELCH LIBRARY AT JOHNS HOPKINS GOING DIGITAL

Librarians at Johns Hopkins Unversity in Baltimore, MD are turning their focus to digital delivery of library materials, noting that they will be able to spend more on online materials by closing the doors on the physical facility.  As of January 1, 2010, they will be completely online.  Read more in the  The Digital Shift or Out of the Jungle: Johns Hopkins To Close Its Medical Library.

Filed under: Administrative Issues, Renovating, user experience, Virtual Library , Library Planning

In the 21st-Century University, Let’s Ban Books

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Editor | Edit

By Marc Prensky in the Chronicle of Higher Education Wired Campus

Recent news that South Korea plans to digitize its entire elementary- and secondary-school curriculum by 2015, combined with the declining cost of e-readers and Amazon’s announcement earlier this year that it is selling more e-books than print books, prompts an interesting question: Which traditional campus will be the first to go entirely bookless? Not, of course, bookless in the sense of using no book content, but bookless in the sense of allowing no physical books. My guess is that this will make some institution famous.

Already, just about everything that an undergraduate needs to read is available in electronic form. Whatever isn’t there electronically, librarians, students, or professors can easily scan, as many already do.

Some colleges are already heading in this direction by requiring or handing out iPod Touches, iPads, Kindles, or Nooks, often preloaded with textbooks and other curricular materials, or by disallowing paper texts for online courses. But I suggest that it’s time to go much further: to actually ban nonelectronic books on campus. That would be a symbolic step toward a much better way of teaching and learning, in which all materials are fully integrated. It could involve a pledge similar to the one that language students and instructors at Middlebury Language Schools take to speak only the foreign languages in which they are immersed during the study program.

Filed under: New Libraries, Virtual Library , Library Planning, library services

AAHSL/AAMC afforded NLG time to gather and learn

Several group members* met to learn from colleagues during this really wonderful conference in Denver!  The Saturday workshop (What’s Happening Really: Digital Research Support, and other Hot Topics) was excellent, and I  look forward to reading the handouts and PPTs once they are posted to the AAHSL website.  Other highlights for me included:

• AAHSL Teaching and Learning Committee
• The reception at the  University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Health Science Library
• Advancing the Digital Research Enterprise
• Academic Medicine Question of the Year
• AAMC Leadership Plenary
• The Chicago Collaborative/Scholarly Communications briefing
• The AAMC Town Hall
• Developing an Informatics Program to Meet Market Need
• Two Demos of INKLING
• The AAHSL/GIR Reception and Awards Ceremony
• GEA/GSA Small Group Discussion: The iPad Initiative: Lessons Learned from Introducing Digital Tablet-Based Learning to the MD Curriculum (at Stanford)
• What We’ve Learned (so far) from the New and Developing Schools Consortium
• The bi-annual gathering of this group, including an update from Pat Thibodeau, AAHSL President and Board Liaison to the new New Academic Health Sciences Task Force.  As a result of this meeting two groups are in place; this group has evolved into DAHSL (pronounced ”dazzle”). The current list of DAHSL members is here. Also created was an official AAHSL Task Force to support New Academic Health Science Libraries (the NAHSLTF).  Members of this group are Pat Thibodeau, Board Liaison, Jacque Doyle, Nadine Dexter, Deborah Rand, David Boilard, and Barbara Shearer.

More info and photos to follow.  It was a fascinating and exhausting week, and Denver was lovely!

*Janice Swiatek-Kelley, Barbara Miller, Debra Rand, Dave Boilard, Nadine Dexter, Joanne Muellenbach, Nancy Bulgarelli, Nancy Calabretta, and me.  Barbara Shearer participated via phone.

Filed under: New Libraries, New Libraries Group (NLG) Gatherings , LCME, New Medical Schools and/or Libraries

Case Study: Experimenting with Design and a New Staffing Strategy| Library by Design

Oct 4, 2011,  By Ted Johnson

Inspired by a regional lava dome, the 55,000 square foot Prescott Valley Public Library, AZ, houses a new hybrid university, town council chambers, and public meeting space in addition to the new library. A folded corten skin and glass window wall wrap the outer shell, offering views of the surrounding community and distant mountains. The library and the university wing (a partnership between Northern Arizona University and Yavapai College) envelop the “volcanic cone” as it erupts from the site. Hiking up an extinct volcano, Glassford Hill, the design team examined the local geology and flora so that they could infuse the entire campus with those colors and textures, from the landscaping to the interior furnishings.

The purpose of the design is to evoke a feeling of adventure and wonder. From the expansive Children’s Division with its interactive wall to the Virtual Interactive Room, each space invites individual contemplation and study as well as group interaction. Small group “campsites,” a genealogy room, a computer lab, an observation terrace, and patios for adults and teens meet the needs of a diverse and changing community. The interior ceiling is lined with an irregular surface of breathtaking cedar.

Filed under: New Libraries , Hybrid libraries, library design, Library Planning

Design Guidance for Libraries, from WBDG

by WBDG Staff, Last updated: 05-26-2010, HERE.

OVERVIEW

The primary goal of effective library design and space planning is that the facility must respond to the needs of its service population. Once the needs of its service population are determined, the library building must include flexibility in the design of its interior and exterior spaces and elements in order for the library to effectively address the immediate and future needs of its design population.

Since the late 1970s, advanced technologies and alternative methods of how libraries deliver services, i.e., distance learning, electronic media, continue to develop rapidly. Before the late 1970s, housing print media was the main function of a library. Today, Internet access, electronic media, computer technology, and other forms of modern-day advancements have had a profound effect on the function and design of libraries. As a result, library design must take into account all of the issues that may affect its use in the future. Incorporating flexibility and adaptability in the design, planning, and construction of libraries is essential in order for the library to serve the immediate and future needs of its community.

The first step in the design of any library is a written building program that outlines the library’s space needs. An effective program must include input from librarians and library staff who have hands-on experience with the function of a library, its space needs, and the needs of its service population. A general rule of thumb is that the program should project the space needs of the library for 20 years. A library building consultant can also help to prepare the building program. Library design is most effective if the program is developed before beginning the schematic design phase.  Read entire story HERE.

Filed under: Physical Plant , library design, Library Planning

Planning Your Library Makeover: Small Budget, Big Impact Ideas

Julia Crawford, LEED AP, Library Designer

In recent years most libraries throughout the country have shared a common experience: their popularity has increased while their operating and capital improvement budgets have decreased. Libraries today provide essential services such as access to the Internet, media, computers, classes and information not available anywhere else – at least not without paying a fee or buying a cup of coffee. Children, teenagers and adults rely on libraries more than ever before for their learning, research, crafting and gaming needs. With their increasing popularity, many libraries could benefit from an appearance overhaul to meet the changing needs and expectations of their visitors. What are some big impact ideas that can be accomplished on small budgets during challenging times?

Many older libraries feel and look their age and even younger libraries appear older than they are due to the high rise in usage and lack of maintenance resources. Libraries often suffer from peeling wall paint, stained flooring, missing ceiling tiles, old mismatched chairs and oversized study tables that dominate the floor space. Revitalizing the largest surfaces in a space, such as the floors and ceilings, typically results in the greatest visual impact. Consider replacing the old carpet and installing new ceiling tiles in the existing ceiling grid. If replacing the floors and ceilings is not within your budget, repainting the walls a crisp clean neutral color to get rid of the outdated color may be a more feasible undertaking. Display artwork by local artists, add plantings, and revive old but sturdy wooden chairs with a fresh new stain color. Save money (and the environment) by buying used instead of new. Major bookstores that go out of business offer steep discounts on their stylish tables, chairs, display units and even light fixtures that could be used in the transformation of a library space.

Filed under: Physical Plant, Renovating , library design, Library Planning

Introducing iPads into the curriculum-from UCF

For more info, contact Nadine Dexter at the UCF Library: Nadine Dexter [Nadine.Dexter@ucf.edu]

Filed under: New Libraries

UC-Riverside, UC-Merced Turn to New Models for Med Schools

by Lauren McSherry, California Healthline Regional Correspondent

For decades, training for medical students has revolved around a large academic institution and a central university hospital, but that model might give way to different ways of doing things in California, as new medical schools look to trim costs and diversify student experiences.

“There are new models out there,” said John Prescott, chief academic officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges. “Medical schools are incredibly expensive, and it can be a daunting task to make sure you have enough funds to put together a quality medical program.”

The traditional concept of having a large medical school building on campus, along with a teaching hospital where students spend many of their waking hours is being updated, with more focus on training students in a variety of settings, from clinics and physician practices to large hospitals.

Two University of California schools — UC-Merced and UC-Riverside — already are working toward a new vision for medical schools. Both universities have turned to partnerships and new teaching models to circumvent a daunting economic climate.

Filed under: New Schools