Guidance for setting up a library service for new medical schools in the UK

This guidance has been drawn together by the UHMLG committee in collaboration with librarians across the UK who have experienced setting up library services at new medical schools.

The guidance is not exhaustive and will be updated as required. It could be relevant for any institution establishing library resources and support in a new subject area or for staff new to subject support work or supporting a new subject area.

Preparation / Physical Library Services / Skills & Support / Internal Actions / External Actions / Resources & Budget / Equality, Diversity, Inclusion / Suggestions for developing support and help / Useful Links

Preparation

  • Create a project plan for the library – timescales, resources, services required etc.
  • Liaise with the Medical School / Faculty.
  • Try and get representation on the main university/faculty project planning group.
  • Ask questions and share information.
  • Will the library be involved in the course development and validation processes? Supporting documentation may be required around services, facilities and resources.
  • Review iteratively throughout set up and after opening.
  • Find out how many medical students the institution will have each year / overall.

Physical Library Services

What physical library services and study space will be required?

  • Opening hours – do you have 24-hour library / study space access on campus for students to study 24/7? Many medical school universities offer 24/7 access to study space.
  • NHS v HE resources and library provision collaboration – does this need to be factored in for your organisation?
  • NHS/joint libraries – depending on local arrangement you may need different set ups for NHS staff v university / placement students.

Skills & Support 

What skills and support will medical students require and who will provide and deliver these?

  • Support – what is required and who will deliver this? Will there be a dedicated subject / academic liaison type librarian for medicine?
  • Information skills / information literacy /research skills – who will deliver sessions? Ideally librarians and embedded within the curriculum.
  • Critical appraisal skills – will the faculty or library support and teach this?
  • What digital literacy skills are required and how will they be delivered?
  • Employability skills and support / preparation for the workplace – who will support? 
  • What other skills are required for the curriculum and workforce? Where does the library fit into this? Who teaches/supports these may depend on local arrangements?
  • Develop online support and guidance / librarian tutorials etc.
  • Reading lists development and support.

Internal Actions

  • Liaise and collaborate with the medical school / faculty and engage with key members of staff.
  • Liaison is central to the process of understanding the curriculum and supporting teaching and learning through resources and library sessions.
  • Keep the rest of your library service informed with developments and the needs of medical students.
  • Plan how you can link with the online learning environment (VLE / MLE) the medical students will be using.

External Actions

  • Network and gather information across the sector.
  • Benchmark and audit services, facilities, and resources against other medical schools to help inform what resources may need to be purchased.
  • Talk to / visit other medical schools and libraries especially your “partner”, “buddy” or “grandparent” medical school. 
  • Make connections with and visit your local NHS librarians. 
  • Use mail lists e.g. LIS-UHMLG, LIS-Medical etc. 
  • Engage with publishers for new resources, set up visits, trials etc. 
  • Join UHMLG – free, and includes membership of JISC lis-uhmlg bespoke mailing list.

Resources & Budget

  • Budget – do you know what budget you will get for library resources specifically for medicine? Will you get this each year? A one-off budget for books while useful is not always helpful for resources requiring ongoing subscriptions.
  • For some resources increased student numbers may affect costs, licences and JISC banding so check or seek advice.
  • Audit and check what resources are already available at your institution (including anatomy resources). You may already have some relevant resources if your institution teaches health courses, and these can be promoted to the medical school.
  • Review resources once purchased to check fitness to the curriculum, teaching, learning and value for money, accessibility etc.
  • Check out other medical school online library guides (medicine, anatomy etc.) and online reading lists. 
  • Develop the library collection – decide what print and online resources are required: books, journals, databases, other resources, anatomy and physiology resources etc). 
  • Find out what is available open access / free to support medicine. 
  • Will any resources be bought by the medical school? This may bring access issues and queries.
  • Cost out and prepare a budget and list of resources required – you might want to think about having different bands (Gold, Silver, Bronze) and state the minimum required to adequately support the medical curriculum etc.
  • UCAT resources – do students require materials supporting the application to medical schools e.g. internal transfers within the institution.
  • Materials to support revision – / OSCEs / SBAs / exam support – these may be outside the remit of library resourcing but students may ask for them.
  • Keep statistics and review regularly / yearly once the course starts.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Remember to include resources (purchased and open access / free) that cover the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) agenda.

There are a growing range of resources available including open access materials e.g. Mind the Gap.

Wellbeing resources

Will any resources or space be needed to support student wellbeing? You may already have resources that medical students can make use of.

Suggestions for developing support and help

  • Create an online subject guide for medicine and others as required.
  • Develop support and help / guidance on information literacy or digital literacy / research / evidence-based practice etc. – online guides? Dependent on local needs and what is already available within your institution.
  • Develop support and resources for the curriculum / teaching and learning (students and staff) e.g. material for the VLE.
  • Find out about and make use of NHS OpenAthens:                                 
  • Library staff support for medicine – have you a librarian with oversight of the medical school / medicine subject within their remit?
  • Ensure space in timetable for the teaching of library skills, information literacy, research skills, critical appraisal etc.  

 This document is a work in progress. Please feel free to feedback additional ideas and good practice tips – we’d love to hear from you.