The establishment of an academic health sciences library in a developing country: a case study

The development of a Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMS) and an academic health sciences library for the University of the West Indies (UWI) has proven to be a polemical and political issue due to the depressed economy of the country. Although FMS is still shrouded in politics and controversy after its inaugural year, the Medical Sciences Library (MSL) has expanded its dimensions and is actively developing a biomedical information network within the country. This will result in better dissemination and control of biomedical information. The library now participates in joint projects with other health sciences libraries in the country with the goal of joint automated listings of holdings and shared cataloging projects. This paper examines the development of the library and explains the difficulties experienced in its developmental stages due to politics, the delay in appointment of a medical sciences librarian, and the financial decline in the local economy.