Space . . .

More study space!

Installers are finishing up our 30 new study cubes on the third floor.  This is in addition to the 12 that were installed in April.  A new study table, like the ones already sitting in the middle of the third floor, will be installed between the new cubes in the next month or two.

4th floor after EPIC

The AHSC is going to be doing a campus-wide space inventory.  This may begin before the new Senior Vice President for Health Sciences arrives but will not end without his input.  It will look at the need for and possible uses for a new health education building.  The eventual use of the 4th floor will be under consideration during the inventory.  Our current plan is to install more study cubes on the 4th floor once the EPIC project finishes.  These cubes can be dismantled and rebuilt somewhere else if the university decides to make other use of the floor.

Health Education and Advanced Technology (HEAT) Building

On Wednesday Gary made a presentation to the AHSC Deans describing why it might make sense to move the library into the new building and what the new library might look like.  He joined presenters from BioComm, Simulation, Telemedicine and IPEP (Interprofessional Education and Practice.)  The vision of all of these units was remarkably similar and there are plans to meet regularly to look at a comprehensive plan for the new building.

Awards and Recognition

On Thursday the University celebrated its 25th Awards for Excellence presentation.  The AHSL was honored as Kathy Tower was recognized as a Nominee for the Awards for Excellence and Jeanette as her nominator.  As you know the AHSL Exhibits Committee was chosen from eight nominated teams to win the Team Award for Excellence. 

 

Today at our All Staff meeting we’ll be recognizing these colleagues with service pins.

Joan – 15 years, Laura – 15 years, Cindy – 35 years, Nga – 35 years

Congratulations to all!

Third floor activity

Things are going to get busy and possibly noisy on the 3rd floor next week.  We need to be able to explain to our users what is going on.  The hospital’s EPIC training will be taking place on the 4th floor from June through September, with some installation in April and May.  So we want to maximize the available study space by adding it to the third floor.  Twelve new study cubicles are being added to the SE and SW corners of the floor.  Installation will start on Tuesday and may take several days.  In addition we’ll start shifting the journal collection on Monday to make room for even more study cubicles.  I will try to keep you up to date on all of this work.  The Marketing & Promotion Committee is working on a poster for the lobby that will explain all of this to our users.

Welcome Bryan, Latest on EPIC

Welcome Bryan!

  Bryan Nugent is our newest Clinical Education Librarian.  Bryan works at the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix.  Welcome Bryan!

EPIC training project

 We’re finally starting to get a clearer picture of what will be happening on the 3rd and 4th floors to support the EPIC training.  The current plans are to use temporary walls and rented tables and chairs to create training spaces on the 4th floor.  These will all be removed when the project ends.

  We will be shifting portions of the print journal collection in order to make room for more study space on the 3rd floor.  We will get some funding to add additional study seating to the 3rd floor and I hope that you will see work starting on this in the next couple of weeks.  Be prepared for lots of people coming and going and for some noise as furniture and equipment are delivered and installed.

  The Marketing and Promotions committee is working on “talking points” so that we can give a consistent message to our users who may have questions.

Rennovation/training, print, NGLMS

EPIC training project

Plans are still not settled for the hospital’s use of the 4th floor for training.  At the moment it looks as if they will build us five new classrooms, twelve single-person study rooms and enclose the stairwell and pass-through on the north and south sides of the third and fourth floors with glass enclosures.  If this comes to pass, UAHN will be conducting training classes on the fourth floor beginning in June (construction to begin as soon as possible) and will finish up around the third week in September.

Reviewing the print collection

Use of the print collection has dropped off rapidly over the last several years.  Older, out-dated texts have never been removed from the collection.  We may be moving into a new building sometime in the next five years.  All of these facts have led us to begin looking at a change in our retention policies, a review of our holdings and a possible weeding of the monograph collection.  We are currently removing print copies of journal titles for which we have access to electronic backfiles.  Yesterday Joan, Mary H., Dave, Sandy, Jeanette and Gary met to discuss this project.  I will be passing along updates.

Next Generation Library Management System (NGLMS) Project

Joan has been working with our colleagues in the University Library to look at possible replacements for our Innovative Interfaces (Triple “I”) library system.  After carefully investigating the available next generation library management systems (Alma – Ex Libris, Sierra – III, Intota – Serials Solutions), the NGLMS Project Team recommended that an RFP not be issued at this time and instead to wait 12-18 months in order to monitor advances in the systems as well as  the how new implementations go as other libraries migrate.  In the meantime, the team’s charge was amended.  The team is now assessing what the libraries can be doing to get ready for a new system in the following areas:

        I.                        Immediate Actions

      II.                        Establishing Guidelines and Best Practices

    III.                        Interoperability

    IV.                        Reporting & Analytics

      V.                        Training & Documentation

    VI.                        Data Remediation

The assessment will be submitted to UAL Cabinet when it is completed.

Special Update

Congratulations to our AHSL Exhibits Committee!  Jeanette, Jose, Mary, Nga and Mikel were honored today with the U of A 2013 Team Award for Excellence.  The nomination and the letters of support sent to the awards committee remarked on the thought-provoking and educational nature of the exhibits that they have coordinated.  This group brought exhibits to campus that brought the community into the library and onto campus.  The exhibits have highlighted history, art, diversity, ethics and scientific progress among other topics.  The group will be honored at the Awards for Excellence Reception in the Student Union on April 25.  They also received a check for $1,500.  Congratulations to this hard-working group!

4th floor, fundraising and advice

EPIC Training Project

We are continuing to work with Facilities Management, others on campus and with UAHN to find a mutually beneficial solution to the need for training hospital staff on their new EPIC electronic medical records system.  We are proposing construction of training rooms that will be useful to us in the future as well as some additional student study space that will be necessary during the training project and very useful in the future.  It’s unclear at this point if there are any financially feasible solutions.

We have, however, allowed the EPIC project team to reserve our computer classrooms in the evenings and on weekends when we are rarely using them and when UAHN will need to train their evening shift workers.

New 4th floor study carrels

The new carrels have been delivered to the university but will not be installed until we conclude our negotiations with UAHN regarding the EPIC training space.  In either case some of the carrels will go into the SE and SW corners of the third floor.

Fundraising

Last week Jeanette and I met with all of the AHSC Development Officers.  We asked them to remember the library as they speak with potential donors.  We reminded them that donors who may not have fond memories of their College, might remember a librarian who helped them or remember enjoying a quiet place to study in the stacks.  Shaun Sommerer, VP for Development for the Health Sciences asked the group to keep their ears open for folks who might be potential donors.  We also answered some questions about access to the library and the current sources of our funds.

Advisors

Also last week we met with the Library Advisory Committee (LAC).  We heard a presentation from a representative of the AHSC Colleges who was proposing to locate a career advising center in the library.  The LAC felt the idea was worth exploring further.  The group will contact me in the near future to discuss the details of their proposal.  The LAC spent most of the meeting discussing the UAHN EPIC training needs.  The group agreed that it would be good to help UAHN as long as student study needs and library services are not compromised.