WRHA closes libraries in favour of web resources
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/02/2018 (3091 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) quietly closed all of its hospital and health-centre libraries on Wednesday, making room for online resources to be co-ordinated by librarians from the University of Manitoba.
Mary-Jo Romaniuk, a U of M librarian, said seven libraries that had been around for about 20 years were affected. It seemed the transformation was a long time coming.
“If you think back to 20 years ago, we were a very print-based culture. That isn’t the case anymore — we’re a virtual culture where people want to have information available anywhere,” Romaniuk said.
The Health Sciences library will remain open and no library employees lost their jobs, Romaniuk said. About 16 people were given new roles within the WRHA or at U of M library facilities.
The online library resources are meant for medical staff and students to access. The WRHA funds the hospital library contract and will maintain the same levels of funding for online resources, according to Romaniuk, which amount to just under $2 million.
A statement posted on the door of the Sister St. Odilon Library at Misericordia Health Centre this week explained the WRHA’s stance, saying change accommodated staff who are now located everywhere, not just within the confines of hospitals or health centres.
“This reality requires the WRHA library service to change to allow library staff to be more nimble and mobile in providing the client-centred services valued by WRHA staff,” the statement read.
“Given the budgetary constraints of the WRHA, they are not in a position to add additional funding to the current agreement and they have chosen to move to a more efficient, cost-effective, virtual library model that reflects the access and service needs.”
jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @_jessbu