OUR PATRONS LEISURE IS OUR PLEASURE BOLSTERING LEISURE

OUR PATRONS’ LEISURE IS OUR PLEASURE BOLSTERING LEISURE READING IN AN ACADEMIC HEALTH SCIENCES ENVIRONMENT MEGAN ROSENBLOOM, MLIS AHIP LYNN KYSH, MLIS

Q: WHY BOTHER WITH LEISURE BOOKS IN MEDICAL LIBRARIES? A: BECAUSE WE WANT WELL-ROUNDED CLINICIANS.

REASONS FOR MEDICAL HUMANITIES • Flexner Report (1910) assumed liberal arts education was a given • Osler Bedside Library for wellrounded clinicians • Ethics and empathy • Treating patients not symptoms • Burnout & resilience

OUR COLLECTION WAS SAD, OLD, WHITE, & MALE. • Most of the collection was acquired over 25 years ago • Some literally falling apart • Newer titles were mostly written by old, white, male authors • No diversity of voices or genres

UPDATE FOR MORE MODERN & DIVERSE AUTHORS & GENRES • Culled suggestions from NML librarians, Goodreads, and end of year book award lists • Added dozens of new humanities books in one year • Far more female, POC, & LGBTQ authors • Variety of genres including fiction, narrative non-fiction, graphic novels, and memoir

BLIND DATE WITH A BOOK

BLIND DATE WITH A BOOK RESULTS • Started with 32 books, gone so quickly had to add 50 more! • Feb 2014: 19 humanities checkouts • Feb 2015: 85 humanities checkouts LIKES DISLIKES THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD UPTIGHT REGULATORS PAPER UPSUCK GOWNS CLIPBOARDS PRUDES • 7 Survey Respondents – 100% want an annual event • Inspired new bookstore style displays PERFECT • Summer reading program LET’S EXPERIMENT IN THE BEDROOM …AND CHART OUR RESULTS ON A GRAPH. • Osler bedside library reimagined DATE

A: BONK BY MARY ROACH “OH, EXCELLENT! PARTICULARLY LOVE: ‘DISLIKES- UPSUCK. ’ PLEASE SEND ME A PHOTO OF THE BRAVE & FABULOUS HUMAN WHO OPTS FOR A DATE WITH BONK. ” – MARY ROACH

LESSONS LEARNED • More books! • Survey & Incentive • Better Social Media Integration NEED MOAR BOOKZ Photo: ruben alexander

FUTURE ACTIONS • New crop of books • Student Medical Humanities Interest Group (MHIG) • George Dock Society for the History of Medicine lecture & events • USC Visions & Voices programming • Puppy parties & #Color. Our. Collections

STEAL FROM PUBLIC LIBRARIES MEDICAL LIBRARIES CAN HAVE THE WARM & FUZZY BITS THAT PEOPLE LOVE ABOUT LIBRARIES, SERVE WHOLE STUDENTS NOT JUST THE CLINICAL LEARNER PART OF THEM.

QUESTIONS? MEGAN ROSENBLOOM, MLIS AHIP ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR COLLECTION RESOURCES NORRIS MEDICAL LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LYNN KYSH, MLIS CLINICAL & RESEARCH LIBRARIAN USC NORRIS MEDICAL LIBRARY CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES