Assessing Diversity in Hospital Library Collections

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences Librarianship
• Information Science
• Collection Management

Background:

• Collection diversity audits are established in public libraries.
• This study represents the first reported diversity audit within the hospital library sector.
• Assessing and enhancing diversity in hospital library collections is crucial for equitable information access.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the current use of diversity audits in hospital library collection management.
• To introduce a tool for preliminary assessment of hospital library collection diversity.
• To gauge librarians' perspectives on diversity in collections, personnel, and services.

Main Methods:

• A two-part questionnaire was distributed to hospital librarians.
• The questionnaire assessed current practices in diversity audits and collection diversity.
• Data collection focused on librarians' engagement with diversity in various library aspects.

Main Results:

• Developing collection diversity is a significant priority for surveyed hospital librarians.
• Respondents expressed strong support for diversity in library personnel.
• Interest was also noted in open access initiatives, critical gap research, and diversity-focused programming.

Conclusions:

• Hospital librarians are increasingly aware of and value collection diversity.
• The findings support the need for further development and implementation of diversity audits in this setting.
• A holistic approach to diversity, encompassing collections, staff, and services, is advocated.