I am pleased to present the Health Sciences Library’s third annual Year in Review Report, for 2011-2012. In this year's report, read about how our Allied Health liaison librarian is helping new and prospective students find scholarship, fellowship, grant and award money or how librarians are helping implement electronic health records in primary care practices in North Carolina. Learn how the physicians and nurses providing patient care at UNC Hospitals said using library resources and assistance from librarians helped them save time and make better patient care decisions. You may be surprised to learn about the library’s role in the popular radio program, Your Health, as one example of our community outreach. These few examples illustrate the diversity of our library’s services.
Funding cuts potentially impact our library’s overall value to users. Overall expenditures are lower than they were five years ago . We have fewer filled staff positions, affecting our ability to provide the most timely, accurate information services possible. We have cut back on spending for collections, affecting our ability to meet users’ information needs. Despite these ongoing challenges, the HSL has had excellent performance and innovative new approaches in many areas.
This will be the last annual report of the Health Sciences Library that I present, as I plan to retire from the University on June 30, 2013. It has been my distinct pleasure and privilege to guide one of the greatest health sciences libraries in the country for the past 26 years. What makes us great? We have made ourselves an indispensable part of the lives of our many users. You have told us that we help you be more successful as teachers, learners, researchers, consultants, problem solvers, authors, and care givers. This is due to our excellent staff, collections, location and space, and to the enduring strong support of campus leadership and our committed donors. I am proud to have played a part in making that so, and will always have HSL in my heart. In April, 2012, we began a new joint strategic planning process with the other libraries on campus. This new plan is sure to provide the foundation for excellent work together in the future. I am very confident that the HSL, under new leadership, will continue to flourish and excel.
Sincerely,
Carol Jenkins, Director, UNC Health Sciences Library