UNM’s Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center (HSLIC) (http://hslic.unm.edu) connects the HSC community to quality information and services by delivering health resources and instruction, advancing the science of biomedical informatics and promoting health information access for New Mexicans. The library offers electronic and print collections to serve the information needs of the HSC academic programs (https://hsc.unm.edu/about/databook/index.html), as well as unique collections specific to the UNM community and New Mexico (https://hslic.unm.edu/library/spc/index.html). HSLIC provides reference services, research consultations, literature searches, interlibrary loan/document delivery, data management services, and instruction in the use of health-related resources and information literacy.
The library originated in 1947 as the library for the Bernalillo County Medical Society (BCMS). The library was used by society members, area physicians, allied health professionals, scientific workers, and UNM students and faculty, particularly in the College of Nursing.
In 1963, the BCMS library merged with UNM School of Medicine to serve the newly established medical school. Within a decade, it also became the designated library for UNM’s College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, and the emerging academic health center. While the library no longer has an administrative relationship with the BCMS, the desire to serve the broader community has been an underpinning of HSLIC’s outreach mission. The library moved into its current home in 1977.
In 2000, the library became the Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center with the founding of the biomedical informatics program, as part of an Integrated Academic Information Management System grant award from the National Library of Medicine.
HSLIC is administratively separate from the UNM Libraries and has a mission to serve the information needs of the UNM Health Sciences Center. The libraries work collaboratively to support scholarly activities for all of UNM.
HSLIC is a 40,749 square foot facility open seven-days a week, 87 hours per week. The library occupies three floors of the HSLIC building; the upper two floors are designated as quiet study areas and have a variety of study spaces. The library offers 33 student workstations, some of which are accessible to the community; 10 group study rooms; 5 individual study rooms; a lactation room; open seating for 469; a 40-seat classroom; and a 12-seat computer classroom.
Over the last decade, a number of remodeling projects have taken place in the HSLIC building. Most recently, HSLIC removed the bound journal collection from the third floor to transform the space into individual and group study areas for HSC learners. In 2018, HSLIC created a Virtual Reality Lab, which students and faculty can reserve. The VR Lab is equipped with the latest Wireless HTC VIVE Pro and features apps such as 3D Organon.
Library services are provided by 11 faculty members, 13 staff, and 8 student employees.
Service desk staff members are the primary contact for many library users providing ready reference, circulation and interlibrary loan. Reference services, including individual consultations for more in-depth requests, are available in person, by phone and email. Library education is provided in individual, small and large group settings in both credit and non-credit courses. Library faculty provide customized instruction, consultation, and support for students, faculty, or staff in academic programs across the Health Sciences Center.
HSLIC is a leader among Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) in librarian instruction and involvement in the curricula of the UNM HSC. For the 2016-2017 academic year, HSLIC ranked 2nd of AAHSL libraries for total number of sessions taught within courses, and the library consistently ranks in the top 5. In fiscal year 2017-2018, HSLIC faculty taught 10 complete for-credit courses and an additional 46 guest lectures in various curricula. Faculty librarians are active members on curriculum committees within the School of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, College of Nursing, and College of Population Health and participate in program accreditation activities. Library faculty and staff participate in the HSC’s research activities including serving on the Human Research Review Committee and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, and developing research data management plans.
HSLIC provides health information delivery, development and training throughout New Mexico. HSLIC extend the library’s reach by providing resources to New Mexico health professionals, community groups, libraries, schools and students. HSLIC has received regional and national funding for numerous outreach projects.
Over the last decade, HSLIC has increased its focus on electronic resources to increase accessibility while maintaining core print materials. In 2016, HSLIC stopped purchasing and binding print serials. HSLIC’s 2015 Collection Development Manual provides information on the scope and coverage of the collection (http://libguides.health.unm.edu/colldevmanual).
HSLIC purchases resources to support HSC students in all phases of their education, as they become health professionals. The HSC community has access to over 40,000 electronic and print monographs, 2,897 subscribed electronic serials, 65 health related-databases (linked and subscribed), as well as special collections unique to UNM and New Mexico. Access to the full-range of HSLIC and UNM Libraries resources are available through the library’s discovery layer.
HSLIC houses over 300 unique collections of enduring value, documenting the health and health care history of the state. Its signature collections include the New Mexico Medical Society, Valmora Industrial Sanatorium, and New Mexico Oral Histories.
HSLIC also hosts the internationally recognized Native Health Database, which bibliographic information and abstracts of health-related articles, reports, surveys, and other resource documents pertaining to the health and health care of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Canadian First Nations. The database provides information for the benefit, use, and education of organizations and individuals with an interest in health-related issues, programs, and initiatives regarding North American indigenous peoples.
In recent years, HSLIC has made an effort to help keep the cost of required course materials low. In 2018, HSLIC provided access to 76 percent of required textbooks for all HSC programs and 99 percent of required textbooks for the School of Medicine’s MD curriculum.
HSLIC collaborates with the HSC community in selecting new resources and endeavors to fill as many requests as possible, depending on demand and availability of funding. Requests by faculty for course materials receive a high priority.
The library receives funding annually to support library collections from UNM HSC’s instruction and general funding (includes state allocation). Other sources of funding include the HSC student fee, the BA/MD library fund, and the library’s small endowments. The library receives a portion of the state’s Government Obligation Bonds for libraries bi-annually, provided voter approval.
HSLIC purchases library resources through consortia such as the South Central Academic Medical Libraries (SCAMeL) and the New Mexico Academic and College Libraries (NMCAL), or cooperative purchasing with UNM Libraries including the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) for a number of large e-journal packages.
HSLIC’s Biomedical Informatics Research, Training and Scholarship Unit (BioMIRTS) was founded in 2000. A faculty appointment was created in 2004 to launch UNM’s first three-year, research-based training fellowship in biomedical informatics. To date, five fellows have completed the Biomedical Informatics Research Fellowship. In 2016, HSLIC collaborated with UNM’s Department of Internal Medicine to initiate a two-year clinical informatics fellowship for physicians, which is accredited through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. With the departure of the BioMIRTS Director in January 2020, the program is currently in a state of transition.