Library Services is excited to announce the next steps in our efforts to harmonize and bring new resources to Unity Health Toronto. Since 2019 our team has been working towards library resource harmonization across the three sites to ensure equitable access to resources and library service across the network. If you’re interested in learning more about the library’s collection harmonization work and goals, please check out our blog post.

As part of the harmonization work, we analyzed collection usage data, consulted outcomes of our Needs Assessment Project (2019), prioritized clinical information needs across three sites, and identified gaps and overlap in the legacy library collections at all three sites. Based on a thorough cost-benefit analysis and with approval from Education Council, Library Services will cancel access to ClinicalKey at St. Joseph’s Health Centre. Staff, physicians, and students at St. Joe’s will be unable to access ClinicalKey after November 30, 2020. Those who had a ClinicalKey account will be emailed directly, notifying them of this update. Starting in January 2021, all St. Joe’s staff, physicians and students will gain access to a host of new databases and journals which will greatly enhance St. Joe’s electronic collection. Many of these platforms and journals will cover gaps in the literature previously identified by legacy collections.

Starting January 2021, all staff, physicians, and students at St. Joe’s will have access to:

• CINAHL Complete
• Access Medicine
• Natural Medicines
• PsycINFO
• Longwoods HealthcareBoard Corporate Package

If you require access to any resource for which the library does not have a subscription, Library Services can acquire articles through our interlibrary loan service. For more details, see our interlibrary loan page here: https://bit.ly/SJHCILL. If there are any resources you believe the library needs, please feel free to make recommendations here: https://bit.ly/Libfeedback. As always, if you have and questions or concerns, please email the library at library@stjoestoronto.ca.

Thank you  for your continued collaboration. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to ensure equitable access for all of our Unity Health Toronto sites.

Hello Library Linkers!

Welcome to the November Newsletter! We have an exciting edition for you this month: we have updates to our Anti-BIPOC Racism collection, a new Hold Pick-up service is now being offered at St. Joes, our Library hours have changed, and much more! Click on the newsletter below to view a PDF version of the newsletter for more details. If you have any questions please reach out to hslibrary@smh.ca. Happy November!

Starting November 2, Hold Pickup service for library material will be available at St. Joseph’s Health Centre! This includes print books and journals in our main collection, as well as titles from the Leadership Collection and new Anti-BIPOC Racism collection. Holds can be retrieved from the Library during open space hours.

Below are instructions to place your Hold Pickup:

1. Find the item(s) you want to borrow

First, use our St. Joe’s library catalogue to find the item(s) you’d like to borrow by searching here:

2. Submit your request for a hold pickup

To place your request for a hold pickup, please fill out the required information on this form: https://hsict.libwizard.com/f/holdpickupsjhc

3. Pick up the item(s) you requested

To pick up your requested item(s), please visit the Library at St. Joe’s (Sunnyside Building, 1st floor east), and locate your item(s) on the Hold shelf next to the Library office.

When returning the library item(s) you borrowed, please use the drop-box located by the library entrance in the hallway.

This form and service are intended for staff, Physicians, researchers and learners at St. Joseph’s Health Centre. If you’d like to request Hold Pickup for St. Michael’s Hospital, please use a different site-specific form found here. If you have any questions or would like clarification, please reach out to library@stjoestoronto.ca and we will be happy to help.

After requesting recommendations from staff, physicians and learners and conducting their own extensive research, our Library team is introducing 30 new books to Unity Health Toronto’s library system. All books will be focused on the topics of dismantling systemic racism and white supremacy, systems of oppression and discrimination and anti-BIPOC racism.

This new resource will be named the Anti-BIPOC Racism Collection. The scope and inclusion criteria that largely determined which books were selected include titles relating to health professions, a focus and relevance to Canada and a publish date within the last ten years. There will be three copies of each book at Unity Health; one available at each site’s library.

“This year, we saw a demonstrated need for greater understanding and social change with regards to anti-racism,” said Zack Osborne, Manager of Health Information and Knowledge Mobilization at Unity Health Toronto. “As an organization and as individuals, we felt a responsibility to make changes where we can and to facilitate access to learning related to anti-racism, equity and social accountability.”

This collection, which is expected to arrive later this month, will be constantly evaluated and evolving to reflect recommended books, the addition of books that are constantly signed out and new books that should be added.

Examples of some of the new books that will be arriving are: “Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor” by Layla F. Saad; “Reproductive Injustice: Racism, Pregnancy, and Premature Birth” by Dána-Ain Davis; and “Strong Helpers’ Teachings: The Value of Indigenous Knowledges in the Helping Professions” by Cyndy Baskin. The full list of new books arriving in October can be found in this the Library Services blog post.

“We felt that adding the Anti-BIPOC Racism Collection to our library will help amplify BIPOC narratives and experiences, promote self-directed learning and dialogue, and impact changes in non-BIPOC individuals to confront white supremacy and help become anti-racist,” said Osborne.

The Library team at Unity Health that created this collection is composed of Osborne and his colleagues Karen Devotta, Library Technician; Teruko Kishibe, Information Specialist/Archivist and David Lightfoot, Information Specialist.

The article by Selma Al-Samarrai, Communications and Public Affairs, Unity Health Toronto

Library spaces across Unity Health Toronto are all open for staff-use. As we navigate changing needs and pandemic safety precautions, our space and service hours may change with sudden or little notice. Please consult this page (updated frequently) for our most current space and service hours.

There are two separate times listed below each site: “Open Hours” and “Staffed Hours”. Open Hours indicates the days and hours when Unity Health staff may use the Library space. Staffed Hours refers to the hours when there is a Library staff member present to assist with any services, questions, or issues. If you have any questions about these hours, please feel free to reach out to hslibrary@smhlibrary.ca.

PLEASE NOTE: Library staff are available virtually to assist you every weekday by email or by booking an appointment with an Information Specialist. The hours below refer to our in-person library spaces and service points only.

St. Joseph’s Library: library@stjoestoronto.ca
St. Michael’s Library: hslibrary@smh.ca
Providence: library@providence.on.ca

Hello Library Linkers!

Happy spooky season and welcome to our October Newsletter! This edition covers service updates including our new Collaboration & Partnerships webpage, an update to our collection development work for new anti-BIPOC racism and EDI titles, new service hours for library spaces across the network, and much more. Click on the newsletter below to view a PDF version of the newsletter for more details.

In our August Library Link Newsletter we shared preliminary details about our work to develop and add titles to our collection related to anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, dismantling systemic racism, white supremacy, oppression and discrimination. Our primary objectives for acquiring these works for our collection are to provide resources for all Unity Health Toronto staff, physicians, researchers, students and volunteers to support and facilitate access to self-directed learning, amplify BIPOC experiences and narratives, promote dialogue and self-reflection. Library Services has ordered the list of books below which will be available at each of Unity Health Toronto’s sites in mid-late October. Thank you to everyone who shared their suggestions for the new collection using our Recommend a Resource form. This will be an ongoing effort, so please consider any titles you’d like to see added to the collection and share your suggestion here: bit.ly/uhtrecommend

21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality (2018)

Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine (2015)

Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do (2019)

.

Black and Blue: The Origins and Consequences of Medical Racism (2012)

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (2020)

DECOLONIZING MENTAL HEALTH: Embracing Indigenous Multi-Dimensional Balance (2020)

Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity (2017)

Determinants of Indigenous Peoples’ Health: Beyond the Social (2018)

The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race (2016)

How to Be an Antiracist (2019)

From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation (2016)

The History of Immigration and Racism in Canada: Essential Readings (2008)

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010)

Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor (2020)

How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide (2018)

Medicating Race: Heart Disease and Durable Preoccupations with Difference (2012)

Pourin’ Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West (2020)

The Skin We’re In: A Year of Black Resistance and Power (2020)

Metis Health: The Invisible Problem (2011)

Reproductive Injustice: Racism, Pregnancy, and Premature Birth (2019)

Social Issues in Contemporary Native America (2014)

There’s Something in the Water: Environmental Racism in Indigenous & Black Communities (2018)

So You Want to Talk About Race (2018)

Strong Helpers’ Teachings: The Value Of Indigenous Knowledges In The Helping Professions (2016)

Until We Are Free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada (2020)

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race (2017)

They Call Me George: The Untold Story of The Black Train Porters (2019)

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism (2018)

Hello Library Linkers!

Welcome to our September Newsletter! Library Services has lots of BIG news this edition, including our anti-Racism & oppression resource collection development, and re-opening library spaces! Please click on the newsletter or the link below to view all or the additional links!

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to hslibrary@smh.ca

For more information check out our September newsletter here: https://smhlibrary.blog/2020/09/04/library-link-september-2020/

by Zack Osborne, Manager of Health Information & Knowledge Mobilization

Picture this…

You work at Providence as a nurse and want to search the CINAHL database to find articles supporting a new initiative on your ward, but hold on a second – Providence doesn’t have a subscription to CINAHL. You think, “but CINAHL is available at St. Mike’s and St. Joe’s, why not here? I thought we were now part of the same health network?” Or this: you’re a researcher at St. Mike’s and urgently need access to a VERY expensive scientific text available in electronic format, but due to licensing restrictions, it’s only available to staff at St. Joe’s. Or imagine this: you’re a physician at St. Joe’s with a patient inquiring about herbal alternatives for their treatment and you want to consult the Natural Medicines database, but alas, it’s only available at St. Mike’s!

Do any of these circumstances sound familiar? They’re flat-out frustrating! However, here’s the good news: these unwanted and unfair scenarios are currently being addressed and will be resolved through a Library Services initiative to harmonize library collections.

Harmonization & Equity

A foundational objective of unifying Library Services across Providence, St. Michael’s, and St. Joseph’s is to establish a single, harmonized library collection for all staff, physicians, researchers, students, and volunteers at Unity Health. The three legacy library sites each bring their own unique journal subscriptions, database licenses, eBook packages, print journals and books, clinical point of care tools, and more. A harmonized Library Service for Unity Health means improved resource equity and access across our three sites.

What’s involved?

Phase 1: Data collection (summer 2020)
Perform a comprehensive collection and systematic organization of all subscription resources (databases, singularly subscribed electronic journals, eBook and eJournal packages, online point-of-care tools, etc.) from each of the legacy library sites. Accompanying each resource is the publisher, Unity Health site(s) where it’s subscribed, the current cost, along with usage statistics, and other details.

Phase 2: Analysis (fall 2020)
Investigate and analyze usage of all resources at each site over the course of four years. Identify cost-per-use details and trends for each resource to help inform decision-making for expansion or cancellation. We will also consult input from the 2019 Needs Assessment Project conducted by Library Services, as well as historical data from interlibrary loan requests for journals not held in the collections at our sites.

Phase 3: License (re)negotiation & Enabling Access (fall 2020/winter 2021)
Work with third-party content and service vendors to request and obtain quotes for expanded access to resources, and negotiate or re-negotiate license terms for multiple sites and their users. We will also leverage consortial pricing of some resources through the Health Science Information Consortium of Toronto (of which Unity Health Toronto is a member). Ultimately, once finalized, resources will be made available and accessible to staff across Unity Health Toronto.

What else?

Future phases will include communications and promotion of new resources and collections at sites where they were previously unavailable, integrating our three legacy search catalogues for improved discoverability of print materials plus lending/borrowing of print items across the three sites, as well as work to evaluate new resources and continuous efforts to expand equitable access however appropriate and necessary.

There’s still much, more information to come! Please stay tuned, and don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions, concerns, and suggestions related to our collections harmonization initiative.