2008/2009 ANNUAL REPORT
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS FOR MEDICAL SCIENCES LIBRARY

Table of Contents

A. Mission

B. Highlights

C. Summary of Library Activities

D. Statistical Overview

E. Physical Facility

F. Personnel

G. Selected Goals for 2009/2010

UAMS LIBRARY

A. MISSION

The mission of the UAMS Library aligns closely with the overall mission of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. As a major health sciences information resource and a partner in the mission of UAMS, the Library promotes the advancement of research, education and clinical care at UAMS and service to the state of Arkansas.

To help meet the mission of UAMS, the Library provides:

• a comprehensive collection of information resources
• a variety of services
• a physical facility
• the expertise of Library faculty and staff

As indicated in the statistical summary page (Section D), the Library's resources and services are heavily used by UAMS faculty, staff and students, as well as by the public. The use of the information resources and physical facility continues to increase.

B. HIGHLIGHTS

EDUCATION

Learning Resource Center - The LRC provided student access to many curriculum-based instructional programs, and provided students with online testing, email instruction and technology (such as PDA) support.

Teaching Resource Center - The TRC provided staff, state of the art equipment, and software to assist faculty in incorporating technology into their educational activities. Usage of the facility and services continues to grow.

Electronic Reserves - Eight hundred sixty-one items were provided through the electronic reserves system for 36 classes, a 5% increase over last year.

Orientations/Tours/Presentations/Classes - The Library provided tailored presentations about the Library's information resources and services to all colleges, housestaff, new faculty and students. Classes were taught on diverse topics such as PubMed, Evidence-based Medicine, RefWorks, Databases and Searching, Social Sciences Resources, and Toxicology Resources. Presentations were made on topics ranging from specific resources provided by the Library to more general topics such as scholarly communication/publishing. Library liaisons worked with all colleges and many other departments and academic units throughout the year to keep faculty and students aware of new resources and services of interest in their disciplines.

Copyright Assistance - Jan Hart provided copyright assistance to 79 individuals, made presentations to various groups, and was frequently called upon to work with other presenters to field copyright questions. She created an online module 'Copyright - Good Habits' that is available from the Library website and was accepted for inclusion in the AAMC's MedEd Portal.

Northwest Campus - Jan Hart and Dena Plaisted participated in the Northwest Campus Study Group to ensure that library resources and services are adequate and accessible to faculty and students at the satellite campus.

Electronic Health Record (EHR) Training Committee - Jan Hart and Bruce Newton (COM) chaired this subcommittee of the UAMS Stimulus Plan EHR Committee that focused on the training of health professions students to adequately and appropriately use electronic health records. The Library's involvement was critical as the proposal, Interdisciplinary Curriculum Integrating Electronic Health Records, Evidence-based Medicine, and Medical Informatics Training across the UAMS Colleges, provided an excellent opportunity to integrate library resources and services into the curricula of the colleges. Brynn Mays and Jan are members of the steering committee for the proposal and worked closely with the College of Medicine Medical Informatics Committee, which Jan chaired, to help direct COM support of the proposal.

Program Support and Service on Education Committees:

CLINICAL CARE

Clinical Information Resources - Four major point of care clinical information resources (UpToDate, Clin-eguide, ACP Pier and DynaMed), as well as many other information resources, were provided to UAMS clinicians from the clinical desktop, and three are available from off-campus as well.

ANGELS Project - Susan Steelman provided in-depth, extensive literature searches in numerous databases for each new topic and guideline renewal for the Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System (ANGELS) project.

Arkansas Childrens Hospital Contract - The UAMS Library provides a librarian and library services at ACH on a contract basis. The UAMS Library provided training and backup for the ACH librarian as needed, cataloged ACH library materials, and provided interlibrary loans and document delivery service for ACH personnel.

Sunrise System Development - Jan Hart was an ex-officio member of the Physicians IT Advisory Committee for the Sunrise System and the Sunrise Physicians Design Team in order to provide input about library resources and their possible integration into the electronic health record.

Program Support and Service on Clinical Committees:

RESEARCH

Research & Clinical Search Services (RCSS) - The RCSS provided free expert literature searches for research, patient care, teaching, publication and presentation purposes, etc. One-on-one or small group database training sessions were provided as well as consultations on search strategies and searching techniques. Expert searchers Brynn Mays and Susan Steelman completed 177 in-depth literature searches this year, including ANGELS, IACUC and AUP searches, and other searches requested by clinical or research faculty.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) - Susan Steelman served as a voting member of the IACUC. She reviewed each protocol's animal alternative search and attended the monthly committee meetings. Consultations or literature searches were provided for researchers needing assistance with the search under Assurance Statement 1. Susan and Brynn Mays, her back-up on IACUC, reviewed 90 searches for animal alternative protocols in 2008/09. A significant number of protocols required consultation with the researcher or, in some cases, they required full mediated searches.

IDeA Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) - Heather Smith and Fred Bassett ran the Access Grid/IOCOM teleconferencing facilities for meetings of INBRE that enabled researchers from various locations around the state to meet and consult via teleconference.

Program Support and Service on Research Committees:

OUTREACH

National Network of Libraries of Medicine/South Central Region Outreach Contract - Through an annual contract with the NN/LM SCR, the Library provided three classes and made three presentations on biomedical information resources to non-UAMS health professional groups, exhibited at one national and four state/regional professional conferences, and exhibited at five health fairs to promote awareness of National Library of Medicine and state/local health information resources.

ARHealthLINK - Arkansas Go Local - Individuals searching for information on a health condition or disease can find it at MedlinePlus (www.medlineplus.gov), a health information website maintained by the National Library of Medicine that offers free health information written for consumers. The "Go Local" feature on each health topic page enables searchers to access a list of related Arkansas services. Or, users can start at the ARHealthLINK -Arkansas Go Local home page to first identify services and then select a link to a MedlinePlus health topic for more information about a condition or disease. The UAMS Library maintains more than 2,000 Arkansas records in the system.

AHEC Support - The Library continues to support the AHEC libraries by cataloging their collections, sharing resources when possible, providing technical support, and hosting regular AHEC librarian meetings and training sessions at the UAMS Library.

DynaMed, AHECs, and Health Care Professionals - The UAMS Library developed an information portal which provides easy access to DynaMed, a knowledge-based point of care clinical information resource, and several other health information resources for all health care professionals in Arkansas. The outreach staff is currently working with the AHEC libraries to publicize the availability of the portal and these information resources, and they are working with Arkansas hospitals to establish IP verification for access to DynaMed.

Health Sciences Libraries in Arkansas - The UAMS Library hosted two Medical Library Association webcasts and invited health sciences librarians throughout Arkansas to participate, as well as to share information and plan joint activities. The outreach librarian also made five site visits to libraries throughout the state.

Program Support and Service on Outreach Committees:

UAMS COMMUNITY LIFE

The Library has contributed to the welfare of the UAMS community through service on committees that enhance the quality of the work-life of the employees at UAMS. Four Arts of UAMS exhibits and receptions were hosted by the Library. The History of Medicine Associates sponsored a fall dinner meeting with a speaker and a spring lecture on a history of medicine topic. Library staff provided various exhibits in the Library and throughout the campus. The Library received a grant with the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) to host Ecuador: Country Doctors on Rough Roads and Remote Rivers, and a film screening and discussion were held at UAMS and CALS.

Program Support and Service on Community Life Committees:

C. SUMMARY OF LIBRARY ACTIVITIES

ADMINISTRATION

Input for planning and evaluation of the Library's resources and services is obtained from many sources, including but not limited to the following: Library Advisory Committee; comments form on the Library's website; emails and other communications received from Library users; input received through the Library liaisons; and survey results from various accreditation self-studies.

Because the Library deleted three positions and shifted nearly $200,000 in personnel and maintenance funding to the journal/database budget, and received a $100,000 increase in the base budget for 2008/2009, the Library's budget was balanced without any major cuts in resources or services. Major efforts were made throughout the year to control the rising costs of journal and database subscriptions.

Several incidents occurred in the Library during the year which warranted notifying the police. Security policies and procedures were improved, and additional cameras and alarms were installed.

COLLECTION MANAGEMENT

The Library's print collection of journals and books contains approximately 150,000 volumes, and online access was provided to 4,513 journals, about 5,000 books, and 34 databases. Seven hundred and sixteen print books were added during the year, nearly 600 books were cataloged for departmental libraries (a 40% increase), 633 books were cataloged for the AHEC libraries, and 1,559 out-dated books were removed from the Library's collection. At the end of the fiscal year, the Library had 40,203 volumes of books, 762 fewer than last year. Seventeen new online journals were added, and twelve journal and four database subscriptions were cancelled. Negotiating licensing agreements with vendors of online resources is becoming an increasingly complicated and frustrating process, and prices for information resources continue to rise at a rate of nearly 10% annually, despite our efforts to control costs by joining library consortial purchasing groups and working individually with various vendors of information resources.

Comprehensive online journal backfiles were purchased for Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA, Nature, Critical Care Medicine, Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Obstetrics & Gynecology, and eight psychiatry journals. These online backfiles provide much more efficient access for UAMS users, and they enabled the elimination of the print volumes and the conversion of the stack space to other uses. Bound journal backfiles are also removed when the journal backfiles become available for free on PubMed Central. Over 5,000 bound journal volumes were removed from the UAMS Library collection during the past year.

DOCUMENT ACCESS SERVICES & SYSTEMS

Document Access Services maintains the equipment and physical space for accessing information resources, provides access to the Library's print book and journal collection, provides interlibrary loan service for items not owned by the Library and document delivery service for print items owned by the Library, and provides support for varied systems throughout the Library. Since most of the current journals and many books are available online only, over 100 computers are available in the Library for accessing the collection, and one-third of the computers are replaced each year. Library staff members provide prompt support to students, faculty and staff when problems arise with software, printing or networking. Journal articles not owned by the Library but needed by UAMS personnel can usually be delivered electronically to the requestor's desktop within 4 to 24 hours of request. The Library continues to be a net lender of journal articles on DOCLINE, and consistently has the best "fill rate" of the 14 academic health sciences libraries in our five-state region. The ILL staff members are considered experts on ILLiad, DOCLINE and EFTS use, and are often consulted by ILL staff from other libraries and the vendors of EFTS and ILLiad. The Library received many interlibrary loan requests from outside of our region which generated revenues to help support library activities. Printing and overdue fines revenues increased about 30%.

The Library worked to strengthen the relationship with UAMS IT by collaborating on several academic projects and committees. The move of the Library's servers and two IT staff to UAMS IT resulted in some temporary loss of access on several occasions, but staff worked persistently with IT to remedy problems. The Library's computers in the UAMS_Library domain were consolidated into the UAMS domain, but continue to be managed by Library personnel. Library faculty and staff serve on the following IT groups/committees: Academic Affairs Technology Action Group (AATAG); IT Coordinating Committee; and the IT Leadership Group.

HISTORICAL RESEARCH CENTER

One hundred in-depth reference requests were handled by the HRC staff. The digital collection of historical materials (www.library.uams.edu/HRC/hrcinfo.aspx#collections) continued to grow at a steady rate, four exhibits were prepared for various venues, and three oral histories were completed. Several archival collections of personal papers were processed by Edwina Walls Mann, the former head of the HRC who works on a volunteer basis, and the backlog of unprocessed collections is shrinking. Library staff spent considerable time working on plans to acquire, organize, preserve and provide access to the Dr. Gazi Yasargil collection of materials and artifacts, and working with the Arkansas State Hospital to assess their archives collection and develop plans for processing it. The History of Medicine Associates support group for the HRC awarded funding for two research awards for projects adding to the recorded history of the health sciences in Arkansas, and sponsored the fall dinner meeting and the spring history of medicine lecture.

LEARNING AND TEACHING RESOURCE CENTERS

Many curriculum-related instructional resources were provided to students in the Learning Resource Center or remotely through the Library's Citrix server, which was upgraded this year. Access to nearly 600 AV and computer software applications was also provided. Students received instructions for using UAMS email and support for using technology applications, such as PDAs, and they have access to a 24/7 computer lab. Also, 523 online tests were provided to a total of 4,105 students, a 28% increase over the number of tests administered last year. Webcams and software were installed on each testing workstation for better monitoring of testing activities. With the growing popularity of online testing and the growing number of students in each class, finding enough space for testing is becoming increasingly difficult.

The Teaching Resource Center provides expert staff, high end equipment, and a variety of software applications to assist faculty in incorporating technology and applications into their educational activities. Faculty use of the equipment, software, and expertise of the staff of the TRC increased this year to 1,066 (a 13% increase). In addition to the construction of two staff offices next to the TRC for better support of the activities of the TRC, the TRC was renovated and rearranged during the year, providing a more efficient and effective work space for faculty using the Center. Due to construction of the 3^rd floor offices and TRC renovation, the Access Grid/IOCOM room was unavailable for several months. When available, the use of the facility for meetings and remote collaboration continued to increase. New video camera equipment was purchased and TRC staff worked with the HRC staff to begin video recording of oral histories of individuals important to the history of UAMS and the health sciences in Arkansas. The number of Friday@Noon presentations on new software, devices and other educational topics significantly increased, as did the number of attendees at these sessions. Staff worked with the Office of Educational Development and Academic Computing to successfully develop and implement plans to assist faculty and students using Blackboard as the environment and versions of the software changed dramatically.

REFERENCE

The most astounding change in reference services was the huge increase in the use of the Research and Clinical Search Services, with an increase of 40% over last year due mainly to a large increase in IACUC searches. The two expert searchers worked well beyond regular hours to support this increase in activities indicating that additional reference librarians to assist researchers and clinicians would be warranted. This is especially true as quite a few of those researchers who were assisted by librarians in their IACUC protocols have come back to the librarians for additional assistance or have referred others to our services. Susan Steelman was included as an expert searcher, a collaborator, and trainer in the use of library resources in the CTSA grant for UAMS. Susan Steelman and Brynn Mays collaborated on the GME/OED collaboration to increase publications by residents.

The library liaisons have found opportunities within the colleges to give presentations, training classes, orientations and tours to the students and the faculty in their assigned colleges. Each college received an orientation to the Library. Jan Hart and Brynn Mays have worked steadily with the Medical Informatics Committee of the College of Medicine to increase the inclusion of library resources into the curriculum. Reference librarians also provided support for the activities of the Outreach librarian.

Work-life balance has long been an interest for our librarians and staff. With assistance from Heather Smith, Brynn Mays and Susan Steelman developed, implemented, and analyzed the results of a nationwide survey on work-life balance which was completed by over 500 Medical Library Association (MLA) members. A poster about the survey project won the 1^st place research award at the MLA annual meeting. Consideration of work-life balance issues, high costs related to commuting to work, and the effects on the environment led to some flexible time and flexible location work plans. Though this effort was initiated with reference librarians, several other members of the staff took advantage of the four ten-hour day options, which have been a success for those whose positions allowed this flexibility.

E. PHYSICAL FACILITY

The Library occupies 44,000 square feet in the Ed II building and has 1,500 square feet of storage space in the Distribution Center. The Library contains a variety of study areas, soft seating areas, stacks, staff offices/work spaces, the Learning and Teaching Resource Centers, a classroom with 12 workstations and an instructor station; a testing room with 11 workstations; a 24/7 computer lab; a videoconferencing room; and a lounge with vending machines. Several improvements were made to the facility this year. Two staff offices were built on the 3^rd floor to provide better staffing and a more functional arrangement for the TRC and better space for archives processing on the 5^th floor; electrical outlets were added in several areas on the 1^st floor and the south end of 3^rd floor for student use; artwork was added throughout the public areas on the 1^st floor, and new doors were ordered for the History of Medicine room so the room could be included in the 24/7 study area. Several other plans for renovations were put on hold because of the campus-wide spending restrictions.

The 24/7 study area, which occupies over ½ of the public space on the 1^st floor, is accessible for students and residents when the rest of the Library is closed. Usage of the area more than doubled this year from 3,828 to over 8,000 uses. The space not only gives students a comfortable and relatively safe place to study when the Library is closed, but also gives the Library more flexibility about closing earlier during bad weather and holidays. This space has definitely been a win/win situation for library users and the Library.

The Historical Research Center, which contains the archives for UAMS, materials and artifacts on the history of the health sciences in Arkansas, and some general history of medicine resources, is out of space and needs to expand. In conjunction with discussions about the donation of the Yasargil collection to UAMS, a plan was developed to acquire additional space for the HRC in the old Arkansas State Hospital property. If the additional HRC space is acquired, the move of the HRC would free up a significant amount of space in the Library to be converted to badly needed student study space.

F . PERSONNEL

The Library has 14 librarian faculty positions including the ACH librarian, and 23 (20.65 FTE) paraprofessional staff. Nancy Clark (30 years) and Barbara Graggs (5 years) were recognized for their years of service to UAMS. Debra Miller was hired to replace Abby Holt as the Liaison Librarian. Rachel Gyore, outreach librarian, resigned in September and the position has not yet been filled. Mary Hawks retired as the head of the Collection Management Department in May after 24 years of service. Louise Montgomery was hired to replace Lily Liu as the ACH librarian. Recruitment of a web services librarian began last fall and an excellent candidate, Jon Goodell, was hired to begin in August.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

The Library faculty and staff participated in national, regional, state and local organizations to further the profession of library and information sciences, and to ensure that the UAMS Library investigates and implements the best practices of academic health center libraries. Relationships supported by the professional organizations listed below provided opportunities for consortial purchases and reciprocal agreements that helped mitigate the impact of the rapidly rising cost of journals.

National Professional Activities

Medical Library Association - Mary Ryan served as the President of the Medical Library Association of the United States and Canada (MLA) for 2008/2009, and she was a member of the MLA Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Susan Steelman served as the MLA Chapter Council Alternate from the South Central Chapter, and was appointed Chair-Designate of MLA's David A. Kronick Traveling Fellowship Jury. Brynn Mays served on the MLA Webcast Planning Committee for Finding Work-Life Balance: Strategies for You and Your Institution and Mary Ryan was one of the webcast speakers. Susan Steelman and Brynn Mays won the 1^st place award for research posters at the MLA annual meeting.

Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries - Mary Ryan served on the AAHSL Board of Directors.

Regional Professional Activities

South Central Chapter of the Medical Library Association (SCC/MLA) -Susan Steelman and Brynn Mays served on the SCC/MLA Chapter Website Redesign Task Force, and Susan served on the SCC/MLA Bylaws Committee. Dena Plaisted was co-chair of the 2008 SCC/MLA Annual Meeting Program Committee. Rena Sheffer won the 3^rd place award for research posters at the SCC annual meeting.

South Central Academic Medical Libraries Consortium (SCAMeL) - Mary Ryan served on the SCAMeL Board of Directors, Dena Plaisted continued to chair the SCAMEL Interlibrary Loan Committee, and Mary Hawks served on the SCAMeL Collection Development Committee.

National Network Libraries of Medicine, South Central Region (NNLM/SCR) - Dena Plaisted continued to serve on the NNLM/SCR Document Delivery Committee and the Technology Committee. Susan Steelman served on the Emergency Planning and Preparedness Committee. Mary Ryan chaired the Arkansas Regional Advisory Committee.

State and Local Professional Activities

ARKLink - Dena Plaisted and Mary Hawks were members of the Resource Sharing Committee of ARKLink, a consortium of 46 academic libraries in Arkansas.

Arkansas Library Association and Association of Library Paraprofessionals - Several staff members participated in the Arkansas Library Association and Association of Library Paraprofessionals conferences.

Council of University of Arkansas Research Libraries - Mary Ryan worked with other UA library directors in the Council of University of Arkansas Research Libraries to maximize access to information resources in the libraries. Several other UAMS librarians were members of various subcommittees of the Council.

G. SELECTED GOALS FOR 2009/2010

• Develop a new 3-5 year strategic plan for the Library
• Review and enhance the Library website
• Promote access to information resources for unaffiliated health professionals throughout Arkansas
• Strengthen outreach programs, including relationships with Arkansas hospital librarians
• Continue to improve study space for students
• Use technology to provide greater access to the Library's training and support programs
• Implement a revised emergency preparedness plan
• Develop conflict of interest guidelines for the Library faculty and staff consistent with the UAMS guidelines
• Develop and implement a plan for reducing the impact of the Library on the environment
• Acquire additional space for the HRC and process the Yasargil and State Hospital collections
• Fill three vacant faculty positions - Head of Collection Management, Expert Searcher, and Reference/Assessment & Marketing Librarian
  
• Request the reclassification of five classified positions for which job descriptions have changed significantly in the past few years
  
• Work with the UAMS Stimulus Committee on Electronic Health Records and the Health Information Technology Committee to ensure that students are trained in use of EHRs, evidence-based medicine, and medical informatics.