Partnering across libraries and institutions to manage veterinary grey literature

A significant portion of the literature of veterinary medicine is grey literature. Each of three national libraries of the United States (National Library of Medicine, National Agricultural Library and Library of Congress) covers some portion of the veterinary literature. There is no comprehensive plan to collect, ensure access and preserve the veterinary grey literature. Objective: Conduct a needs assessment to use in developing an action plan to improve access and preserve the veterinary grey literature Population: All libraries serving veterinary schools accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Methodology: Focus Group: In September 2007, seven veterinary librarians from across the United States met at Texas A&M University for a 3-day session to discuss issues surrounding the veterinary grey literature, brainstorm ideas of potential remedies, and create the beginnings of an action plan. This group of librarians represented several different academic veterinary libraries and the AVMA. Survey: In March 2008 a survey on veterinary collection practices, emphasizing archives and grey literature handling, was sent to librarians at all AVMA accredited schools of veterinary medicines. Results: Response rate for survey completion was nearly 75%. Conclusion: Preservation/digitization projects which leverage institutional repositories of participant institutions. The current environment, with increasing opportunities for digitization of information resources and the growth of institutional repositories in universities, provides the foundation and potential solution for enhancing access and preservation of veterinary grey literature

Annual Report on changes in Veterinary Academic Libraries 2017

This research chronicles the current state of academic veterinary libraries and documents recent changes across the international academic veterinary library community. Specifically, on an annual basis, it gathers evidence from veterinary colleague libraries to document any closing and merging of academic veterinary libraries, to compile all evidence and descriptive information concerning changes in space, collections, reporting relationships and librarian assignments. Beginning in 2016, a survey is sent to each academic veterinary library accredited, approved or conditionally approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council or the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education. Aggregated survey results will be published and made available through the Texas A&M institutional repository. The intent is to make longitudinal data available for use in benchmarking and trend analysis.This research annually surveys the state of academic veterinary libraries, documenting changes across international academic veterinary libraries. It gathers evidence and descriptive information concerning changes in space, collections, services, reporting relationships and staffing

Compiling the evidence to chronicle the state of the international veterinary library landscape

Objective: This research, in progress at the time of this abstract, surveys the current state of academic veterinary libraries and documents recent changes across the international academic veterinary library community. Specifically, it will gather evidence from veterinary colleague libraries that are listed in the international veterinary libraries directory, maintained by the Veterinary Medical Libraries Section of the Medical Library Association, to document any closing and merging of academic veterinary libraries, to compile all evidence and descriptive information concerning changes in space, collections, reporting relationships and librarian assignments. Methods: Principal investigators developed an online survey, administered using Qualtrics, to gather data from current and recently retired veterinary librarians. Additionally, Qualtrics provides standard reporting and analysis tools. The survey is scheduled for distribution in January 2015. Responses will be compiled and analyzed during the spring. Results will be shared with participants and other colleagues. The survey will be repeated triennially using the 2015 survey as a benchmark. Results from the separate surveys and trends analyses across multiple survey iterations will be provided as longitudinal data increases