MaineHealth Library and Knowledge Services Launches Knowledge Connections Digital Repository

March 2, 2020
MaineHealth Library and Knowledge Services is creating an archive of the scholarly activity of clinicians and researchers across the health system, including newsletters, photographs and other information that may be of interest to colleagues and the public. We asked Library and Knowledge Services Director Dina McKelvy, MLS, AHIP, to tell us more about the project.

What kind of information can you find on MaineHealth Knowledge Connection?
The MaineHealth Knowledge Connection collects scholarly activity across the hospital system. We are collecting peer-reviewed, published work as well as unpublished research and process or quality improvement projects. The content might be in articles, books, book chapters, presentations, posters or videos. We have also started collecting newsletters and photographs of interest to the MaineHealth community – for example What’s Happening.

If someone has an item to submit to the digital repository, how can they do it?
Items can be submitted by contacting the library at library@mainehealth.org or 662-2202. We are also adding an intake form to the site that will allow visitors to submit their work. The submissions will then be reviewed for quality control and posted to the appropriate
collection.

Is the digital repository available to people outside of MaineHealth?
Yes! It is available to readers from around the world. However, it is also a valuable tool within MaineHealth. Our colleagues now have a platform for sharing knowledge with each other.

What’s next for the library?
The library staff is working on several technical initiatives this year to improve access to resources and services across the MaineHealth hospitals that we serve. These include library portals with quality content to support patient care, education and research.

We continue to see growth in the information needs of our colleagues – for evidence-based decisions at the point of care, educational resources for every profession and research support for our clinicians and scientists. It’s an exciting time to be in the library!

What did we miss that you want people to know?
We are a busy place! Our library space is well used by staff and learners with a door count of around 7,000 a month. Our website sees about 8,000 hits a month, not including the resources we provide in Epic and on mobile devices. A typical month includes 600 documents delivered, 60+ expert searches and interlibrary loans from libraries around the country and beyond.

Visit https://mainehealth.libinsight.com/library to see what we’re up to!