Evolution, revolution, or obsolescence: An examination of writings on the future of health sciences libraries

摘要

Health sciences libraries are facing enormous challenges. While there is significant national interest in the management of health information, institutions and, concomitantly, funding are focusing on aspects of the management of information and data that falls more readily under the domain of biomedical informaticians than librarians. While learning organizations need more knowledge management (KM), something that certainly falls into the natural domain of health sciences librarians, until recently, few librarians have embraced the new roles associated with KM. For context, comparing the means of both the materials and the personnel budgets found in the 2005–2006 [1] and 2009–2010 [2] Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) Annual Statistics of Medical School Libraries in the United States and Canada, the percentage increase in expenditures for materials was 9.0% total over the 5 years, far below the increase in cost for health sciences resources during the same period, based on past trends [3]. The percentage increase in expenditures on personnel over the same period was an average of only 1.2% per year, suggesting a possible loss of full-time equivalent employees over the 5-year period.