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Annual Report
2000/2001
Executive Summary
As a nexus for the discovery and sharing of knowledge, the
Greenblatt Library ensured quality resources were readily accessible and
provided educational and scholarly support to MCG and MCG Health, Inc. The
Library remained true to its mission and achieved its purpose through numerous
major accomplishments. Following are highlights related to personnel, services,
collections and equipment and facilities.
Personnel
Post early retirement and Library restructuring,
significant priority centered on faculty recruitment. Following extensive search
and selection processes, three faculty positions were filled for the Education
and Information Services Department (E&I). These included the positions of
Head, Education and Information Services, Outreach Services Librarian and
Education Coordinator. Additionally, a new Special Collections Librarian was
hired. Two new faculty positions were created, Clinical Services Librarian and
Cataloging and Digital Information Librarian.
The purpose of Clinical Services Librarian is to provide
just-in-time, patient specific information when and where it is needed for
effective clinical decision-making and evidence-based practice. Several
promising candidates for the Clinical Services Librarian position were
identified for interviews in fiscal year 2002 (FY02). The Cataloging and Digital
Information Librarian, also expected to be filled FY02, will fill a gap in
faculty responsibilities and knowledge of standards for organizing and
maintaining the Library’s rapidly escalating electronic resources.
In its first year as a specific entity in the
organizational structure, Library Operations ensured planning and communication
among various units of the Library that provide resources and services to users.
Whereas many of the staff had worked in the Library for several years, most took
on new roles and responsibilities with the library wide reorganization. Complete
personnel and restructuring actions are reflected in Appendix A.
One faculty member was promoted. The overall staff
knowledge base was strengthened through internal and external continuous
education and professional development.
Services
Services, both new and old, centered on improving
convenience and accessibility to resources for Library users. The needs of
distance education students received a boost with the introduction of the
Universal Borrowing (UB) initiative of sharing University System of Georgia
resources throughout the state. The number of participants and types of
educational offerings increased, including an addition of evening classes.
Library faculty taught a portion of the Essentials of Clinical Medicine course
for first year School of Medicine students and taught many guest lectures in
other Schools. Self-service of checkout materials was implemented, saving time
for both users and Library staff. The services of Special Collections supported
research and publishing endeavors related to the history of the health sciences
and of MCG. The AHEC Learning Resource Center enhanced Library services to
students, preceptors, and AHEC centers throughout the state, including the
provision of CE classes and web sites.
Trends indicated an increasing interest and dependency on
electronic resources. More than 200,000 clients used the Library facility
indicating continued reliance of the Library as a gathering place for scholarly
activities, but it represents a decrease from previous years. The use of online
services showed continued growth and the number of virtual Library visits
exceeded the decline in physical Library use. Specifically the use of the
digital Library increased by 35% while the number of users who used the physical
facility decreased by 23%. The increasing complexities of database licensing and
economical access to electronic publications made the Library’s acquisition
and maintenance of quality online information services even more critical to the
success of MCG’s educational and research missions.
Collections
The Library steadily became less a repository of resources
than a dynamic facilitator of information access. The Electronic Materials
database was created on the web and electronic links were added to the online
catalog to provide an access point for the proliferating array of publishers,
aggregators, and passwords for electronic access.
The Library continued to respond to the SACS recommendation
to bring the journal collection above average in comparison to our benchmark
institutions. In the Annual Statistics of Medical School Libraries in the United
States and Canada, 22nd edition, Greenblatt Library reported 1421 unique and
non-print titles for FY99. In FY00, the Library reported 1692 titles and for
FY01 counted 1727 (see Appendix B of comparator institution holdings).
Counting journal titles in the digital era has a degree of
uncertainty and fluctuation as our consortial and aggregator partners
continuously modify electronic access. Despite a net gain of only 35 titles, we
added approximately 100 new print journal titles that were targeted to faculty
needs. The library leveraged its participation in the GETSM (University of Georgia,
Emory, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, and MCG) consortium to obtain
electronic access to approximately 100 in scope titles, many of which were new
to our collection. Some actions that depleted the total count included the loss
of a GALILEO agreement in mid year (Academic Press), the merging and cessation
of some journals, and the reduction of some government document serials.
Library vendors also addressed changing access to
information. Ovid provided better full text views through a PDF option, provided
easier export of citations, and multifile searching to provide simultaneous
access to all components of the evidence-based medicine databases. The Library
tested the mobileMICROMEDEX™ module for downloading drug information into PDAs.
A new version of the Endeavor software for the online catalog was implemented to
provide better functionality for reports, universal borrowing, search interface
and acquisitions.
Equipment/Facilities
Attention was given to improving the esthetics and study
comfort of the Library’s physical facilities. Broken chairs and study carrels
were removed, seating was rearranged, and lighting was increased. Staff room
lockers, several faculty offices and group and individual study rooms were
painted. Group study rooms continued to be in high demand.
Other facility improvements included renovation of former
Rare Books Room into the Greenblatt Conference Room, completion of HVAC upgrade
project to facilitate better temperature control, replacement of stairwells
within ADA compliant ruling, and sealing of skylights on the second floor to
prevent further leakage during heavy rainfall. Directional signs were initiated
in the parking lot from the Laney-Walker Blvd entrance to help guide people to
the Library.
Over thirty years old, with refurbishment and expansion
over twenty years old, the building continued to prove remarkably versatile as
computers and cables were converted to use spaces in new ways. However, computer
spaces became cluttered and a safety concern. With the Library furniture over 20
years old, some modern furniture was selected as a model for Library-wide needs.
This included a modular couch with tables and eight laptop computer tables for
student use. Contemporary furniture was identified as a priority of the
Library’s Development Plan.
The Library introduced a new electronic classroom for hands-on computer training. With several installation setbacks, the end result was a multi-functional classroom with cutting-edge technology to meet both instructor and student needs.