Managing Health Sciences Libraries in a Time of Change: (Medical Library Association Books Series)

About the Book

Selected as a 2025 Doody’s Core Title

In Managing Health Sciences Libraries in a Time of Change, experienced leaders of the medical library community present insights into the current trends and issues faced by health sciences librarians and offer practical guidelines and management skills needed to create a culture of excellence.
The Medical Library Association points out that “Management skills and a leader’s abilities affect the culture and performance of coworkers and the effectiveness of an institution.” The last decades have resulted in a sea change for health sciences library leadership and management. In a short period of time, medical libraries have transformed from collections of print books and journals to databases of digital resources accessible from any desktop. Library services no longer must be provided face to face, but the need for virtual library services has grown in complexity and now demands a greater knowledge of technology and informatics. Reference service, instruction, cataloging, and collection development all remain as key library tasks, but they have been transformed in this digital environment.
This book explores what it means to be a manager of health sciences libraries today. Chapters focus on current trends in health science library leadership; managing change; staffing issues; managing for diversity, equity, and inclusion; mentoring; accreditation and evaluation; leadership skills, and a discussion of the differences between the concepts of leadership and management.

About the Author :

Claire B. Joseph has over 30 years experience in health sciences libraries. She is the Medical Library Director at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside, NY. Claire is the author of The Medical Library Association Guide to Developing Consumer Health Collections, published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2018, and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet. Claire continues to be active in MLA, its Caucuses, and Chapters; she has served as Chair of three MLA Caucuses (CAPHIS, Hospital Libraries, and NAHRS) and one MLA Chapter. (New York—New Jersey).
Priscilla L. Stephenson was Chief, Library Service for James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Florida at the time of her retirement in 2022. During her 40 years as a health science librarian, she directed both VA and public hospital libraries and served as Head of Reference Services at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center Library. She has published and presented at professional library meetings and edited columns for the Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet (2002-2022) and Medical Reference Services Quarterly (2012-2023). She was awarded MLA’s Lois Ann Colaianni Award for Excellence and Achievement in Hospital Librarianship in 2013 and was named a Fellow of the Association in 2019.

Review :
Managing Health Sciences Libraries in a Time of Change is a practical reference work focusing on the current needs of a new or seasoned manager. This book would be ideal as an introduction to library leadership and management for those in graduate classes. Highly recommended for those considering or currently engaged in a health sciences library management role. It is well known that the way an organization is led and managed affects its culture, the productivity and effectiveness of its employees, and its success as an institution. Health care is not exempt from this fact, nor are health science libraries. This well-written text packs a large amount of information into a slim volume and, in the process, gives a good glimpse into what a well-run, successful health sciences library is and does. The ten chapters cover the essential topics a new or current manager needs to know to stay current in the role. Of special note is chapter 2, which discusses the current trends facing medical libraries today, especially the trend toward digital and virtual operation and away from print and in-person, and the loss of accreditation requirements for a medical library. Other chapters cover leadership skills, personnel issues, accreditation and evaluation of the library itself. This book contains information that would be useful for anyone in a library leadership role, whether it is an interim role, filling in for an absent leader, or an appointment to a permanent leadership position within a library organization. Highly recommended. Graduate students, faculty, two-year technical program students, and professionals. Traditional libraries take note: Medical and health sciences libraries are leading the way through the transition of library collections and services in the electronic resources age and the transformation of libraries within our academic institutions, health programs, and academic medical centers.Managing Health Sciences Libraries in a Time of Change is a must-read for those leading and aspiring to lead these special libraries.