This article was downloaded by: [Northeastern University]On: 08 December 2014, At: 15:31Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Electronic Resources inMedical LibrariesPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/werm20

A Review of: “Understanding HealthcareInformation. Robinson, Lyn”Meredith P. Goins aa Integrated Solutions & Services, Inc. , Knoxville, TNPublished online: 04 Oct 2011.

To cite this article: Meredith P. Goins (2011) A Review of: “Understanding Healthcare Information.Robinson, Lyn”, Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries, 8:3, 306-308, DOI:10.1080/15424065.2011.602317

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15424065.2011.602317

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mission and vision statements, an outline of a strategic plan, and job descrip-tions for repository personnel, which will help readers to get repositoryprojects off the ground quickly. Part Two is devoted to the nuts and boltsof building and managing digital repositories, with chapters on metadata,collection building, acquiring content and marketing the repository, openaccess, sustainability, assessment, and Web 2.0 technologies. The metadatachapter is especially outstanding and provides a clear, concise introductionto the topic, straightforward enough for nonspecialists (including libraryadministrators) yet with enough detail and examples to be useful to buddingmetadata librarians. Each chapter includes a list of references, and mostinclude a Guiding Principles section that provides a helpful summary ofkey concepts related to the chapter’s topic.

Clobridge balances general principles and practical details very effec-tively, and her prose is clear and readable with minimal jargon, makingher book a quick and painless read. Much of the text seems intended forlarge academic libraries, and many examples are from the humanities. How-ever, most of the material is also applicable to a medical or scientific environ-ment and could be adapted for smaller libraries. It is unfortunate, however,that the author does not address the potential role of digital repositories inmanaging research data and supporting e-science. Though the title mentionslimited resources, the author does not dwell on this aspect of the topic andoften does not address it directly. Rather, she focuses on planning for sustain-ability and providing the simplest, most appropriate solutions for projects—an effective approach to allocating limited resources.

As Clobridge emphasizes in her introductory and concluding chapters,digital repositories present opportunities for libraries to get ‘‘the library outof the library,’’ to ‘‘interact with faculty and administrators in new waysand at different points in their workflow,’’ and to partner with faculty andother campus personnel to support teaching, research, and scholarship(pp. 4–5). Her short, readable, yet comprehensive text will help librariesdo just that.

Janet CrumLee Graff Medical and Scientific Library

City of HopeDuarte, CA

UNDERSTANDING HEALTHCARE INFORMATION. Robinson, LynLondon: Facet Publishing, 2010. 256p. ISBN 978-1-85604-662-6. $125.00

Focusing on the Western style and tradition of health care, this publi-cation details the information chain associated with medical information. Itlooks at how and why materials are created, disseminated, organized,

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indexed, retrieved, and used in order to assist information professionals andothers seeking health information.

In addition to health care being one of the most diverse informationdomains, Robinson reminds us that it is one of the oldest fields and one ofthe first to publish and organize its literature. A chronological review ofthe evolution of medical information from the ancient world to today is fol-lowed by an in-depth discussion of identifying both user information-seekingbehavior and the user information needs of the large variety of health careconsumers. The pleasant reminder to ‘‘know your audience’’ nudges readersto actually study their customers so they can best serve them.

An overview of four tools or forms of controlled vocabularies that domi-nate the health care information field shows the structure of health care infor-mation through dictionaries and glossaries (Oxford Concise MedicalDictionary), thesauri, and subject headings (Medical Subject Headings andPublic Health Language) to classification and taxonomies (U.S. NationalLibrary of Medicine Classification, Dewey Decimal Classification, Inter-national Classification of Diseases, and the British National Formulary).There is much room for consolidation in these areas, and Robinson sees thisas an area for study for information professionals. This chapter is also a won-derful representation of the international view this publication hosts withcountries such as Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and theUnited States.

Chapter 5, ‘‘Healthcare Information Sources, Services and Retrieval,’’ pro-vides an explanation of the types of resources available based on Robinson’sprevious studies including original or primary information, value-added orsecondary information, tertiary materials pointing to and aiding in the useof primary and secondary materials, and lists of lists (quaternary information).

With an estimated 25,000 active health care journals, only the largestlibraries can handle this mass of publications, in print or electronic format.Thus, the discussion of core lists begins, including the Brandon=Hill Listof Print Books and Journals, Doody’s Core Titles, and Howard Hague’s CoreCollection of Medical Books and Journals (The Hague List). These lists arementioned as collection development resources as well as their use in cre-ating bundles of high-impact journal offerings online. Further detail on thechallenges faced with access and continuity of evolving electronic resourcecollections would have been beneficial.

Robinson also details the many other forms of and ways to locate medi-cal information beyond the formal literature, including such medicationinformation as actual test results, lab notes, training materials, patents, legis-lation, Facebook pages, twitter feeds, and the media.

The closing chapter details what a medical information professionalwould experience, including aspects of budgeting and collection develop-ment, providing and managing health care information, and evaluatingprograms.

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As for the book’s overall organization, each chapter begins with anintroduction and ends with a conclusion, notes, and often multiple pagesof references. An index is also provided. Instead of offering extensive linksthroughout the book, the book has a companion blog where updates andcommentaries are made available. However, only five comments have beenadded between November 2010 and February 2011.

Meredith P. GoinsIntegrated Solutions & Services, Inc.

Knoxville, TN

ENVISIONING FUTURE ACADEMIC LIBRARY SERVICES: INITIATIVES,IDEAS AND CHALLENGES. Mcknight, Sue, ed. London: Facet Publish-ing, 2010. 288p. ISBN 978-1-85604-691-6. $105.00

Given the recent controversy about librarians being replaced by infor-mation technologists and the closing of school libraries, it is important tothink about the future of academic libraries and librarians. As quoted inthe Introduction, ‘‘Change happens. Transformation, however, is planned.’’1

This book can help with that planning. Experts from Australia, UnitedKingdom, and the United States have contributed chapters on importanttrends in librarianship.

Derek Law provides a call to action in the first chapter, emphasizing theneed to meet the information needs of patrons, not just to show them how todo things properly. The chapter admonishes readers not to try leadingpatrons into a future they find irrelevant. Next, Penny Carnaby discussesthe ‘‘delete generation’’ and the need for somebody to archive the materialsbeing produced on the Internet by people around the world. The scenariosare slightly different for medical information, but the principles still holdwhen applied to concepts such as doctor or patient blogs and grey literature.Carnaby brings up a point that resurfaces later in chapters on knowledgemanagement and research data, noting, ‘‘It does not make sense to investin content creation and yet fail to protect or preserve that content so it canbe reused, repurposed for new research, thought generation or businessenterprise’’ (p. 24).

Andrew McDonald covers library spaces in chapter 3. The shift to elec-tronic resources has left the erroneous impression with many administratorsin academic institutions, as well as city, county, and school boards, that spaceis no longer needed to store books. However, libraries on campus canbecome centers of communication and places for social and research activi-ties, if planned properly.

James G. Neal and Damon E. Jaggars discuss how Web 2.0 can helplibraries reach out and help users. While blogs and wikis are just one small

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