Library A Week

Provena Central Illinois Region Medical Library

2011 no. 21

Library Profile

Library Name: Provena Central Illinois Region Medical Library Location: Urbana and Danville Type: Special Mission: Provena Health, a Catholic health system, builds communities of healing and hope by compassionately responding to human need in the spirit of Jesus Christ. LTLS Directory Page: http://www.lincolntrail.info/xmn.html Member Since: 1976 An interview with Elissa Cochran.

What is unique about your library?

I am the librarian for both of Provena’s medical libraries in Urbana and Danville. There are some days that I work at both facilities. We are able to share resources between the libraries. We, of course, serve the hospital and staff of Provena, but we also serve the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Internal Medicine Residency Program.

What are the primary goals and objectives of your library?

Our goal is to support patient care, educational, informational and research needs of the staff and affiliated physicians/students.

What cooperative efforts are you currently doing?

Most of my cooperative efforts are through the Provena Health system, working with the other libraries and librarians. There are 6 hospitals, 5 of which have medical libraries including: Joliet, Aurora, Elgin, Danville and Urbana. We have a system-wide OPAC making it easier for us to share resources. We are always working on system-wide electronic purchases. I am also a member of HSLI and take advantage of purchasing through the consortium.

Tell us a story about your library.

So much of the research I do for the physicians is for patient care. Many times I get requests that have an urgency to be filled. I have even gotten calls from the ER with questions. It makes me feel that I have really helped our mission and made a difference in the lives of our patients.

If money were no object, what services would you add?

I would definitely purchase more electronic databases and resources. It would also be nice to have an extra person to aid in the day-to-day responsibilities.

What is popular in your library?

I have started a Table of Contents (TaCo) service that is very popular. When the current issue of print journals comes in, I copy the Table of Contents and send it out so staff can see what new research is being published. I get many requests for subject searches related to medical conditions, treatment, best practices, etc. We also use I-SHARE and LTLS to access resources that we do not own.

How does your library use online tools to connect to your users?

Email has become my main vehicle in shared service. No matter which facility I am at, email allows me to respond “virtually” to staff requests.   I developed a website (which is on our intranet) that allows patrons to request literature searches, book/journal purchases, training, tours, and more. I use the system-wide OPAC to connect to the other Provena medical libraries.

Request a visit to your library If you would like to set up a special date for us to visit your library contact LTLS Consultant Michelle Ralston Library of the Week is published by Lincoln Trail Libraries System, 1704 W. Interstate Dr., Champaign, IL 61822 217-352-0047  -   ltls@lincolntrail.info Executive Director: Jan Ison, Editorial and Design Team: Michelle Ralston and David Lottes