Mid-Atlantic Consortium Offers Latest Medical Resources At A Cost-Savings To Hospital Libraries; Hailed As A "Model Within The Region And Beyond"

PRINCETON, N.J., Dec. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Linking more than 100 hospitals throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, the Group Licensing Initiative organized by the Health Sciences Library Association of New Jersey (HSLANJ) is being hailed by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM), Middle Atlantic Region, as a "model within the region and beyond."

"As the price of medical resources increases while budgets remain tight, it's very difficult for hospital libraries to keep up with the latest information.  Participation in the Group Licensing Initiative, open to all Mid-Atlantic hospitals, offers a cost-effective way for libraries to obtain vital electronic resources," said Renae Barger, Executive Director, NNLM, Middle Atlantic Region.

"Hospital libraries are stretched.  But relying on the collective leverage of the HSLANJ Group Licensing Initiative allows them to put their efforts into providing actual services and information instead of spending time negotiating with vendors."  

The Group Licensing Initiative, formed ten years ago under the umbrella organization HSLANJ, invites participation within the Mid-Atlantic region (Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania), an area facing numerous challenges.  Nearly 20% of the US population lives within the Mid-Atlantic, yet the region houses 8% of the nation's hospitals and medical facilities.  Its population, a study in contrasts, contains approximately 10% of the nation's rural population along with two of the nation's top five metropolitan centers (New York and Philadelphia).  

Access to the latest medical information, electronically, is one way the HSLANJ Group Licensing Initiative is helping Mid-Atlantic hospitals bridge the gaps in demographics and infrastructure and promote evidence-based practices.  

Additionally, research in a ground-breaking study shows that access to electronic resources helps hospitals better care for patients.

"Physicians, residents and nurses rated library/information resources as important or very important to their clinical decision-making in 97% of their cases.  These resources, almost all of which were electronic, were rated higher than discussions with colleagues, lab tests and diagnostic imaging," said Joanne Gard Marshall, PhD, the study's principal investigator, School of Information and Library Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.  More than 16,000 respondents at 56 library sites serving 118 hospitals nationwide formed the basis of the study.  The results were first presented at the Medical Library Association's 2012 meeting and will be published by the Journal of the Medical Library Association in January 2013. 

To participate or learn more about the HSLANJ Group Licensing Initiative, visit www.hslanj.org/gli.html.  

Founded in 1972, HSLANJ is a non-profit organization with the goals of encouraging the professional development and advancement of librarianship and improving the quality of library services provided by health care organizations in New Jersey.  The HSLANJ Group Licensing Initiative is funded in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHS-N-276-2011-00003-C with the University of Pittsburgh, Health Sciences Library System.

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SOURCE Health Sciences Library Association of New Jersey