The Shimberg HSC Library: A Research and Medical Library - February 10, 2011

Shimberg HSC Library, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, MDC31, Tampa, Florida 33612-4799
http://www.health.usf.edu/library/

The Shimberg Library is categorized as both an academic and a special library. It is part of a research university, the University of South Florida (USF), and it is also a medical library, serving as a resource to all hospitals within about a 200 mile radius.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Danny L.O'Neal, M.A., AHIP, Assistant Director of Information and Outreach Services. He graduated from USF with an undergraduate degree in English Literature in 1972. He received from USF his Master's degree in Library and Information Sciences in 1994. Mr. O'Neal previously worked as a circuit designer after attending a technical school. He had not ever worked at a library before becoming a graduate assistant. After taking five graduate level classes in English Literature, he decided to take a Library Sciences course. This is when he had an 'epiphany' to become a librarian. While attending school, he worked twenty hours a week for one year at USF. He also completed a field study at Johnson & Johnson Critikon in the Town and Country area of  Tampa, Florida. This led to a job in TECO's library, where he would read seven newspapers each day, scanning them for articles regarding subjects such as coal production. He would cut out the articles, literally paste them to paper, and then copy and distribute them to everyone in the office. He finds the lack of technology at that time humorous compared to what we have today. Mr. O'Neal has been at the Shimberg library now for 17 years, choosing it because it offered a real challenge and required a certain expertise. Teaching appealed to him, too. He would be able to instruct residents and doctors in outreach at hospitals. He didn't want a public school library setting because he felt at that time it didn't offer enough stability. The Shimberg was the perfect job since he didn't want to leave the Tampa area and wanted to work in a specialized library. One day when he was interviewing the director of the library for one of his USF classes, he made a point of asking about openings. It just so happened that an opening for an assistant would be available the very next day! He had made a point of asking this question at every library he visited, and it paid off!

Mr. O'Neal is a member of the Florida Health Sciences Library Association (FHSLA), Tampa Bay Medical Library Network (TaBAMLN), Medical Library Association (MLA), Southern Chapter Medical Library Association (SCMLA), and he used to be a part of Suncoast Information Society (SIS).  He is a board member and committee member of MLA, a chair for SCMLA, and formerly chaired a committee and was on the board of FHSLA. Mr. O'Neal and his wife used to perform community service events for the Juvenile Diabetes Association events, but are currently not involved in any community service.

Mr. O'Neal is taking one Continuing Education class this year, but in prior years he took as many as three classes. The reduction was due to his activities and chair duties with his various associations. The day after our interview he was to take a one hour training in EBSCO, a search engine that would search all of their databases simultaneously.

The library building is a two-story structure with the second floor opening centrally over the first floor. Handicapped patrons have access to the second level via an elevator. Upon entering the facility, one passes an L-shaped circulation desk. To the left is an area known as the Bamboo Room, so named because of its bamboo flooring. This section was being remodelled to house an Einstein's bagel shop. However, due to the economy, this plan was abandoned. It is now a reading or study area, filled with cushy wooden purple and green library seating, a lower ceiling and bright lighting. The room next to it contains books that are circulated. The outer main lower part of the library contained an enclosed quiet computer lab with thirty computers available to only USF health students. The room leading to the lab contained five bookcases of reference books. A few more bookcases beside the information desk housed the core collection, which is duplicated online. Current journals were in a corner just past the desk. The upstairs housed indexes and journals. These can be found alphabetically by title versus a call number, due to the nature of medical information. Hepatitis, for instance, can be found under 'H'. Three conference rooms were available that included ceiling-mounted projectors and screens. Two areas were designated as quiet areas for study and research. This library is not a repository or archival library, but it does have a two special collections. One holds medical books that have been donated by various doctors over the years. The other collection is comprised of antique medical instruments. The ceremonial mace used for all medical students' graduation ceremonies is kept here as well. Almost all areas other than the Bamboo Room are covered in carpet. The walls appear to be concrete with the walls around the elevator a textured concrete. To finish the look of a medical facility, pictures and paintings by Dr. Paul Glass hang throughout. They are unique because they all have something to do with medicine. One picture, for instance, entitled 'Homage to Aaron Siskind', is a blown up slide of magnified skin and/or blood cells.

The collection size of the library is approximately 15,000 books with 3,000 separate serial titles. Circulation is approximately 200 items a month, but this does not take into account any electronic access. PubMed is the search engine used, published by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) is a database available to nursing students. EndNote, a citation manager, is available to all health and science majors of all disciplines. Circulating displays from NLM are showcased once every three or four months. Patrons that are served include faculty, students, and staff from the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, Pharmacy, and the School of Physical Therapy. A reciprocal partnership exists with the Moffitt Cancer Center library. Some of the area hospitals that are serviced include Bayfront Medical, All Children's Hospital, Haley Veterans', University Community, and Tampa General. Other hospitals are as far away as Naples, Florida, and include all of the Gulfcoast area. Orlando has a new medical library, so it services the Orlando area, but the Shimberg is still available to them. A graphic service with a graphic artist is also available to do research for conferences and presentations, for the production of such items as posters or visual displays. A document service is also included for all of these libraries, as well as a fee-based literature search system, which is available to the general public.

The Shimberg library is open seven days a week, Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sunday noon to 11:00 p.m. It is open to the public, though there are no borrowing, access or lab privileges. The reason for this is because most of the literature is not in layman's terms. Rather, consumer resources such as PubMed are recommended. Most come to search the database when they or someone they love has been diagnosed with a particular condition. Others come when they wish to know about certain prescription drugs or medical procedures. The library does not have visibility in social media. Though there is a website with a working Twitter link, they are not linked to Facebook or Flickr and the library's blog was not accessible. They are currently surveying students about the possible need, but at this point do not have any staff available to keep social media or the blog updated and running. Even AskaLibrarian is not available except through the main library. Mr. O'Neal would like to take charge of it, but already has difficulty because when he receives a call, he is often already helping another patron. Sometimes it can take him forty minutes or more to get back on a phone with a person who has a question. Other concerns that Mr. O'Neal has had with the library are the budget and the physical changes. One long-range goal is to build on an open field area that they have available. If and when this happens, the current library could be transformed into faculty offices. A single-point reference desk is desired to remain current with trends. Five or six years ago he was concerned with lack of staff computer literacy. But thanks mostly in part to the times, that has changed.

Besides Mr. O'Neal, there are 28 other library staff members on the payroll. Eleven other librarians, all with an MLIS, include the Director, Beverly Shattuck, Assistant Vice President of USFL and Assistant Director of Systems and Access Services, Rose Bland. Randy Polo is the Access Services Librarian, who also just happens to be an attorney, flip-flopping between the two jobs before realizing he was most happy in the library. He was serious, but informative and helpful, just as others seemed to be at the circulation desk and the computer lab. There is also a full-time ILL librarian available on staff. Five more staff members work the reference desk and two graduate assistants help out. The director reports back to the main campus library.

Mr. O'Neal believes that libraries will always exist, but probably in a different form. He envisions some sort of central hub or hubs of operation with most everything online, and remaining books delivered via courier. It is his hope both that the library will always remain a place that the public seeks out for its sense of community and soothing environment, as well as a source of information.

I am always impressed with new information I learn from visiting libraries. I was surprised to learn that the information in this library was filed by alphabet and not by call number. Maybe I've heard that before and have forgotten it, but I don't think so. As a 'newbie' I have never heard of a library that provides a graphic service and graphic artist. But I can see where this would be a major service requirement for the medical field. What most impressed me was the friendly and professional staff. Any information I needed was offered freely and questions were most welcome. I continued to apologize about the two hours I spent there, knowing from my own library how precious working hours are. But I was made to feel at ease when I was reassured that this is what we all need to go through to learn more about our field. I was left with no major concerns about this library and its staff, although I would agree with Mr. O'Neal about his concerns. Although I know we are in a drastically transforming profession, I share in his hope for the future of libraries.