Timeline for HSL & Global Health

20052004 2007 2008 20092006 2014Malawian librarian visits HSL

HSL applies for Global Health Information Specialist

(denied, but…)

Susan Swogger visits Malawi. Ruth Mwenda visits HSL.

Stanslaus Ngadaya visits HSL.

Ongoing (and has been, for a while):Guides, tutorials, websites, multimedia

presentations, purchasing materials & databases, literature reviews, consults, send books AND

ADLIn the hopper currently• Elsevier Grant• Confucius Grant• Increased IGHID participation • NIH Challenge Grant• University of Tikirit• Globalization of core SPH

curriculum• Triangle Global Health

Consortium

UNC Project Malawi (IGHID)

Global Access to Health Information: The UNC Medical Library in MalawiSusan Swogger,1 Mamie Sackey Harris,1 Myron S. Cohen,1 Irving Hoffman,1 Bernard Chilombe,2 Innocent Mofolo,2 Francis Martinson2

1The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , 2UNC Project-Malawi

The Health Sciences Library (HSL) at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill serves five health affairs schools—dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health—as well as a robust health-care system. HSL also coordinates library services to the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (AHEC). In 2008 HSL crafted a new vision to adapt to the changing needs of its constituents by playing an integral role in UNC’s growing global presence.HSL’s vision for 2020 is to be a leader in the global health information network and an essential campus and community partner which is working to improve the health and well-being of the people of North Carolina, the nation, and the world.

The UNC Health Sciences Library UNC Project -Malawi

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been conducting research in Malawi since 1989, and in 1999 established UNC Project-Malawi in the capital city of Lilongwe. In 2003, UNC Project built Tidzewe Centre, a new state-of-the-art research, care and training facility on the grounds of Kamuzu Central Hospital. To meet an increasingly urgent need for better access to current health information and research, the Health Sciences Library partnered with UNC Project to build a medical library as a central part of the new center. The NIH Fogarty International Center's AIDS International Training and Research Program (5 D43 TW 001039) provided initial support.

The UNC Project Library

Internet Access: Internet access is slow, expensive, and often unreliable

Accessibility: Available online resources are poorly organized and difficult to access for the average user

Resource Availability: Local library print resources are severely limited, out-of-date, and of inferior quality

Logistical Support: Transportation and shipping difficulties make print resources scarce

Human Resources: Availability of trained staff and access to technical support is poor

Needs Assessment

Core Services

Locally-hired reference librarian Up-to-date and organized print reference collection

focused on clinical medicine, infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, epidemiology, and maternal/child health

Small, current print journal collection with an emphasis on infectious diseases

Four computers with open high-speed internet access through a dedicated VSAT

An array of organized online resources and research tools

Key Partners

UNC Project-Malawi faculty and staff: Provide facilities, administration, and primary users

Kamuzu Central Hospital: Provides local support, users, in-country connections

UNC Health Sciences Library: Provides technical support, professional library expertise, collection development assistance, and training

N.C. Area Health Education Centers: Provide structure and security of electronic resource interface for UNC employees in Malawi

UNC Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases (IGHID): Provides administrative support and funding

Other local medical institutions & schools: Provide users, connections to local medical community

Factors for Success

Funding: IGHID continues to provide support, largely from grant overhead

Technical Support: HSL commits professional staff time for ongoing remote support and regular travel exchanges between the U.S. and Malawi

Human Resources: Interaction between HSL development collections librarian and Lilongwe library staff

Logistical Support: IGHID manages transport of and payment for new library materials

Electronic Resource Support: The AHEC Digital Library provides infrastructure and ability to offer multiple levels of access to electronic resources

Benefits Beyond UNC Project

Provides a much-needed clearinghouse for local medical and epidemiological data and reports not otherwise collected in one place

Current and well-maintained health research library is essential to the growing number of Malawian health practitioners earning master's and doctoral degrees

Library resources support growth of an increasingly functional health-care system, building positive local perception of the UNC Project

HSL – From Local to Global

The partnership with the UNC Project Library has enabled HSL to collaborate with libraries around the world more effectively and thereby better support UNC’s global research and outreach interests. Providing this kind of support requires strong local and institutional partnerships, such as the collaboration with IGHID.

It also requires establishing new international partnerships. HSL has effectively done this in several ways:

Ties Between Senior-Level Leadership: Top administrators from IGHID & HSL serve on each other's advisory boards

Cross-campus Collaboration: HSL pursues possibilities of joint grant proposals with IGHID and other UNC units dealing with global health

Internal HSL Global Health Taskforce: Shapes HSL’s commitment to global health research

North Carolina Outreach UNC and HSL strengthen local health care by

providing opportunity for global connections HSL houses the AHEC digital library, which

promotes health education and research across North Carolina and provides the infrastructure for secure extension of resources to global research partners

Continuing Challenges

Funding: Stable funding specifically for library services Human Resources: High turnover of trained staff Internet Access: Slow and intermittent internet access

despite dedicated VSAT

Tidzewe Centre (Photo: Susan Swogger)

Using electronic resources at UNC Project Library (Photo: Susan Swogger)Levels of access available to UNC Project Library Patrons

General PublicEnhanced current health information

resources for practitioners, engagement with UNC Project

Local MedicalPractitioners and Students

Free Internet access, all other benefits of library

UNC Project EmployeesAccess to most UNC resources via ADL

authentication, all other benefits

UNC Facultyand Students

Full access to UNC resources, print

reference and journal resources, and access

to local librarian

Surveying the Global Health Efforts of Health Sciences Libraries Emily Vardell,1 Carol Jenkins,2 Mellanye Lackey,2 Karen Crowell2

1The University of Miami, 2The University of North Carolina

The Health Sciences Library (HSL) at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill serves five health affairs schools—dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health—as well as a robust health-care system. HSL also coordinates library services to the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (AHEC). In 2008 HSL crafted a new vision to adapt to the changing needs of its constituents by playing an integral role in UNC’s growing global presence.HSL’s vision for 2020 is to be a leader in the global health information network and an essential campus and community partner which is working to improve the health and well-being of the people of North Carolina, the nation, and the world.

The UNC Health Sciences Library

Investigate how academic health sciences libraries are evolving and expanding as global health information leaders. To inform planning of HSL’s own global health activities, we conducted and analyzed a survey to gather baseline data.

Objective

Methods

The library distributed a survey to the AAHSL library directors via Survey Monkey. Results were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Results

• 44 AAHSL directors (35%) responded.• Libraries increased global health involvement (61%) in correlation with their

institutions' global health involvement (77%), even if library budgets did not increase (71%). •Library efforts concentrated on collection development, curriculum planning, remote access, liaison services, and outreach. •Concerns focused on budget, materials/resources, communication difficulties, and staff time. •Libraries' roles change in areas of: partnerships, purchasing of resources, training, budget, barriers to access, and librarians as liaisons.

Next Steps

• Explore nontraditional library services• Share methods of securing institutional

support• Build capacity in the library for global

outreach, including cultural competence, collections, IT, etc.• Provide sustainable global health

information services

Conclusions

In our investigation of health sciences libraries emerging as global health information leaders, we determined that, despite budget and time constraints, libraries are increasing their involvement in global health initiatives.

Respondents’ most frequent wordshttp://www.wordle.net/gallery/wrdl/774206/Global_health ‘Increased involvment’ broadly includes more staff, materials, or time, etc

devoted to new projects.