Public Health Library & Informatics

I am pleased to join the University, the Libraries, the Health Sciences Schools, and the Health System at Michigan. I want to thank you all for the warm welcome I have received since first arriving in Ann Arbor. I’m looking forward to working with you as we reshape the health sciences libraries at U-M to meet the challenges of the future.

This is an exciting time for libraries. Changing trends in health professional education, ever more interdisciplinary research, advances in patient care, and a growing emphasis on outcomes measurement are affecting our environment and challenging us to respond. At the same time we are managing the transition to digital resources, participating in the evolution of scholarly communication, addressing budget and organizational issues, and learning to live and work with constant change.

I am convinced of the ongoing relevance of libraries and librarians. We live in an information-intense world. Basic information retrieval has become simpler (effectively now a do-it-yourself project), but in-depth research has become more complex. The library as a place for research and study remains important. The “library” -- as a collective noun for the collections, infrastructure, and most importantly, people who together constitute the institution's information management organization -- is essential.

Over the next several months, the health sciences library staff will be reviewing and evaluating our collections, services, operations, facilities, and technology to plan for our future. Our goals are to align our mission and functions more closely with yours, to partner with the university community in accomplishing our mutual mission and goals, and to improve our resources and services to provide the best possible return on the university’s investment.

I welcome the challenges and opportunities ahead and encourage your participation. I plan to share our progress with you and to meet with all sectors of the community to discuss the future of the libraries. I look forward to a partnership that will benefit us all.

Jane Blumenthal