Harrison Medical Library is a small-staff library that is part of a larger university and hospital system. A combination of budget cuts and the “everything is online” mentality keep us struggling to stay afloat and in the forefront of information services. In response, we continually reexamine and adapt our services and collections to meet the changing needs of the hospital faculty and staff.

 

Clinical Rounds
The primary service we have added is rounding. We began this service four years ago, starting with clinical rounds with the medical teams. One of our clinical librarians goes to a unit and rounds with the healthcare providers. In this role, our librarians develop a rapport with the team and are able to do quick literature searches on the spot using an iPad. More complex questions require the librarian to perform a more complete search after rounds and email the articles to the team. The success of this service led us to expand it to include our neonatal intensive care unit and our cardiac intensive care unit. This service alone has improved patient care and raised the visibility of the library among our medical staff.

 

Collaboration
Collection development also has changed in response to the pressure to keep our library relevant. We have both broadened our collections to serve more than just our medical staff and maintained or expanded access to popular items, even in the face of electronic alternatives. Our online databases and electronic publications are provided through the university, with all the libraries paying a percentage of the total cost. Through this ongoing collaboration, we are able to offer significantly more electronic resources than we could provide on our own.

 

Test Drives
Our print collection has changed to meet the current demands of our clinicians and expanded to include other hospital staff. To meet the needs of our large internal medicine residency program, we developed a test drive of a collection of pocket books for them to “try before they buy.” This enables them to save money and purchase only the ones they will truly use over and over. However, one book remains constant in our collection: The ICU Book, by Marino (3rd edition; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007). Every resident who passes through here checks out this book. We always inform them that it is available online, but they insist that the print book is much easier to use.

 

Broadened Collection
In addition, we have broadened our collection to include a variety of nonmedical items, such as cookbooks and fiction, and we have ventured into alternative formats such as audio books, CDs, and DVDs. Our cookbook collection helps to meet the needs of those with various special diets and those who are looking to cut calories and eat healthier. Relaxation CDs and exercise DVDs also promote wellness. This year we also expanded our collection to include series fiction from some popular authors such as James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, and Janet Evanovich, which has been especially well received.

 

Audio Books
To respond to frequent requests from our patrons for something to listen to on their commutes, we acquired some audio books. The titles were carefully selected through extensive research and include general fiction titles and/or memoirs that have appeared on many book club lists. Since its inception in February, it has become our most popular collection, mostly through word-of-mouth promotion. Our residents in particular use this collection frequently to help them relax during their commute or downtime.

 

Sometimes, you just have to be unconventional to enrich your presence in your hospital.