The Medical Library Association Guide to Managing Health Care Libraries.

In 1983, Hospital Library Management [1] was published. It was quickly accepted as the de facto standard for hospital librarians. Many dog-eared copies of that text still adorn offices of hospital librarians. Seventeen years have passed. In the intervening years, health care and health care institutions have seen dramatic changes influenced by advances in medicine, biotechnology, politics, regulatory agencies, rising costs, managed care, hospital mergers and closures, and consumer activism. These same influences have had an impact on the librarians serving in these health care institutions as well. An update to the 1983 volume has been eagerly awaited. The wait is over and this book, The Medical Library Association Guide to Managing Health Care Libraries, not only updates the original upon which it is based but surpasses it in breadth of coverage, organization, and usability.

Twenty-one authors contributed to the sixteen chapters in the volume. Based on the quality of material contained in the book, the authors are obviously experts in their subject areas. For example, Salzwedel and Green, the authors of chapter four, “Planning and Marketing,” bring together expertise in marketing (Salzwedel) and hospitals (Green). Bandy, who has actually developed a patient and consumer library, is the author of the “Health Information for Patients and Consumers,” and LaBree, who has actually built a hospital library, contributes the chapter on space planning. It is fascinating to read the information about the authors toward the end of the volume. The depth of their expertise is evident, and Holst and Phillips, who edited the book, are to be commended for their selection of the authors.

The editors ably oversaw the continuity and fluidity of the chapters. Participating on the Editorial team for the 1983 book undoubtedly helped Holst produce this landmark work. The layout of the book is elegant and extremely user friendly. Every one of the sixteen chapters contains an outline overview of the chapter, text, conclusion, references, and additional readings. The outline at the beginning of the chapter is a very effective way of orienting readers to the chapter. Additionally, there are more than eighty figures included in the book. A list of these figures is included in the front of the book, after the table of contents. These figures include everything from space-planning estimate worksheets to bibliographic records to interview questions for applicants. These examples may be the most useful part of the book for librarians, who are sometimes called upon to develop materials with which they have never worked. Finally, the book is well indexed, so that information can be easily found.

As mentioned earlier, there are sixteen chapters in the book. The chapters consist of “Libraries in Health Care Settings,” “The Health Care Environment,” “Administrative Issues,” “Planning and Marketing,” “Quality Improvement,” “Financial Management,” “Human Resources Management,” “Space Planning,” “The One-Person Library,” “Information and Educational Services,” “Information Resources,” “Collection Development,” “Access to Library Resources,” “Document Delivery,” “Managing Audiovisual Services,” and “Health Information for Patients and Consumers.” There is no extraneous information; the writing style is cogent and crisp. The chapters flow one into each other and are grouped around administrative or management issues, services, resources and access, and special services.

The first two chapters in particular should be required reading for library students or new hospital librarians hoping to understand the complexities of health care libraries and the current health care environment. Current librarians in all settings would benefit from the refresher course that these two chapters, “Libraries in Health Care Settings” and “The Health Care Environment,” offer. The first of these two chapters by Holst, gives critical background information regarding libraries in health care settings. It encompasses standards from organizations such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and others. Trends and challenges are also addressed, and some historical perspectives are woven into the discussion. In chapter two by Foster and Warden, the authors set the historical framework for health care in the United States and the development of libraries in that environment. Different hospital settings, standards and measurement indicators, and current environmental trends are also discussed. Reading these two chapters not only is an excellent beginning for the volume but is also a solid resource for readers hoping to gain an understanding of the background and issues affecting hospital libraries today. Other chapters in the book are just as useful. It is equally easy to read the book from cover to cover, as it is to delve into it for a specific purpose or topic.

Readers can use the book on a need-to-know basis. Academic librarians will find that there is valuable information in many of the chapters addressing administrative issues. For example, in the “Planning and Marketing” chapter, steps in the planning process are well outlined. These steps can be used whether for service planning, strategic planning, or even project planning. The information is sound and useful. A refresher course on all the mysteries of quality trends and measurement is found in the “Quality Improvement” chapter. Also, who would not benefit from being reminded of sound hiring practices? This refresher is found in the “Human Resources Management” chapter. The “Space Planning” chapter provides food for thought for large and small libraries alike.

The Medical Library Association Guide to Managing Health Care Libraries is a gem. The editors and chapter authors are to be congratulated on a job well done. With today's rapidly changing health care and information environments, this reviewer hopes that it will not take seventeen years for this volume's successor to be written. However, like its predecessor, the quality of this volume also suggests that it will stand the test of time.