October 2018 Topic
In preparation of the mid-cooperative agreement review, we posed the following questions to Resource Library Directors
What are the most successful elements of the NNLM SEA Program?
- Small Grants
- Network with Colleagues
- Awards Program
- Professional Development Opportunities
- Responsiveness of NNLM SEA staff
- Disaster preparedness response
- MLA Chapter Support
What are the biggest changes and challenges facing academic health sciences libraries?
- Funding
- Visibility
- Reporting Structures
- Reimagining space and programs to meet user needs
- Resource licensing to unaffiliated members
- Time/Funds for professional development
- Expanding roles/opportunities with inadequate staff
- Budget
What should be the roles and responsibilities of NNLM SEA Resource Libraries?
- Be leaders and assist other libraries
- Sharing of expertise
- ILL of materials
- Host in-person training opportunities
- Build local mentoring networks for library staff unable to travel
- Provide funding and training
- Outreach/health information resources
- Connect local entities to NNLM
- Resource for technical information/support
What changes to the overall RML program should be considered?
To the NNLM SEA program?
- SEA is pretty responsive. Concern about the national focus on public libraries.
- More cross-promotion of education across regions and from NLM.
- Better ways to connect DOCLINE with efforts like RAPID and other consortia.
- Having SEA ensure that state-wide resources are a choice shown in LinkOut in PubMed for those not affiliated with academic libraries.
- Dedicated outreach to state societies to encourage open access to indexed publications where not already available.
- Increased budget for the NNLM SEA which serves a huge part of the US population but doesn't have the proportional funds to reflect that.
- Fewer staff at NNLM/SEA
- While webinars and communication is good, SEA staff needs to get to know areas
- Staff no longer travel to outlying areas
- Fewer staff at RML's
What outside impacts or challenges are affecting resource libraries?
- Difficulty in recruiting quality librarians
- Trend spotting. AI. figuring out what to leave behind. Alignment with institutional priorities. Value proposition.
- Increased internal focus on operations and less focus on external efforts unless grant funded with overhead cost recovery.
- $$$$$$$$$
- Hospital Mergers
- Loss of hospital librarians
- Local hospitals closing/lack of Medicaid expansion