The University of Minnesota Health Sciences Libraries (HSL), part of University Libraries system, includes the Bio-Medical Library, Veterinary Medical Library, and Wangensteen Historical Library. Collectively, 13 librarians, 30 support staff and 18 FTE student workers serve the six professional schools and colleges of the Academic Health Center, with a shared mission:

To enhance the teaching, research, and service activities of the University of Minnesota and to support the University's Academic Health Center (AHC) in its quest to improve health, by facilitating timely access to information needed by library clients on campus, throughout Minnesota, and nationwide. This mission is based on the values of service, innovation, teamwork, and leadership.

The Bio-Medical Library, located on the Minneapolis campus in Diehl Hall, serves the AHC programs of dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, and a variety of allied health programs.

The Veterinary Medical Library, located on the St. Paul campus, serves the College of Veterinary Medicine and provides materials on all aspects of veterinary medicine and science, including the human/animal bond, animal rights and welfare, domestic animal behavior, and pet loss/euthanasia/grieving.

The Wangensteen Historical Library, also located in Diehl Hall, works closely with the University's History of Medicine Program and serves as a resource for the University community, the state, and beyond. Subject concentrations include medicine, biology, and natural history. The Library's rich holdings include rare and out-of-print historical books, manuscripts, journals, artifacts, medical instruments, and realia.

The Bio-Medical Library and Veterinary Medical Library recently launched updated websites after extensive planning and usability testing. An updated website for the Wangensteen Historical Library is being planned as well. The HSL websites serve as key points of entry to HSL services and resources, and was visited 6.5 million times in 2005-2006. You may visit the websites at:

• http://www.biomed.lib.umn.edu
• http://www.vetmed.lib.umn.edu
• http://www.biomed.lib.umn.edu/about/wangensteen
  

The HSL maintain a strong collection, with the Bio-Medical Library holding nearly 500,000 volumes, 2800 current journal subscriptions, of which 2500 are available online, and over 2000 curriculum-related and self-instructional media and computer programs. The Veterinary Medical Library contains an additional 90,000 volumes. More than 70,000 volumes dating from the 15th century to 1920 can be found in the Wangensteen Historical Library. The HSL subscribe to a broad range of databases and digital resources, including evidence-based and aggregated resources like UpToDate and MD Consult.

HSL services include reference assistance, one-on-one consultations, subject liaison librarians, computer services, and a variety of access services from copying to electronic reserve. The Biomedical Information Service provides fee-based research and document delivery for patrons not affiliated with the University of Minnesota, and together with interlibrary lending, filled 52,700 requests in 2005-2006. The HSL have active instruction programs covering a range of topics, from basic library orientation to databases, RefWorks, health statistics, electronic full-text journals, PowerPoint, and more. In 2005-2006, over 230 instructional sessions were conducted for more than 4,300 attendees. These numbers include library-sponsored sessions, course-integrated sessions for specific classes, and outreach-related instructional activities. Librarians participate in continuing medical and dental education courses, accreditation committees, morning report conferences for Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, and committees throughout the AHC, such as the Pandemic Planning and Educational Delivery Task Force for the School of Public Health, the Medical School's Med 2010 Planning groups, and the Deans Council.

The HSL provide a growing outreach service to health professionals, the general public, and others in Minnesota and beyond. My Health Minnesota Go Local, the MedlinePlus Go Local project for Minnesota, is one of the newest outreach projects being undertaken by the HSL in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic Libraries and MINITEX Library Information Network. The project is scheduled to launch in April 2007.

The librarians and staff of the HSL are dedicated to connecting students, staff, and faculty with the quality information and services they need for teaching, research, service, and patient care and are proud of the services and resources they provide for the Academic Health Center, the University of Minnesota, and beyond.

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