The Ukrainian medical libraries network digital services development strategy

Abstract

The relevance of the study. The digital revolution has had a significant effect on the functioning of libraries. Successful operation in the digital environment requires the improvement of the competitiveness of library services provided: libraries must be able to rethink their role, justify the value of their services for their own customers. Due to the increasing level of the Internet use among scientists, medical professionals, students, patients, community, medical libraries web-presence is of crucial importance. Websites serve as a digital gateway for library services and resources.
 The aim of the article is to study and present the current state of Ukrainian medical libraries service and to propose the digital services development strategy.
 The methodology. A content analysis was conducted over 21 Ukrainian and 5 foreign medical library websites. All data were collected within a month. Research data are presented in the form of tables and figures and analyzed using a simple method of percentages.
 The results. The findings show that many researched Ukrainian medical libraries are yet to exploit the full potential of the digital technologies in library service. The most common services: online public access catalog, virtual references services, identification UDC index, repository, electronic document delivery service (EDDS). Less than half (43%) of medical library sites in Ukraine are adapted to mobile devices. The most popular social media among medical libraries in Ukraine: Facebook (57%), Instagram (33%) and YouTube (29%). Over the last 5 years, libraries have become more active in offering web-based services and resources: plagiarism testing services, repositories, EDDS, virtual references services, identification UDC index. The main strategic objectives of the digital services development for medical libraries in Ukraine should be: increasing the web and social media presence, introducing mobile technologies, improving communication between the library and users, developing services to support research lifecycle, interdisciplinary partnership, support for information literacy of biomedical professionals and medical literacy of the community, developing competences of the medical librarians, corporate cooperation of the Ukrainian medical libraries system.
 The scientific topicality. The current state of Ukrainian medical libraries digital service was analyzed and compared with the state of five years ago and foreign academic medical libraries. Digital services development strategy was proposed.
 The practical significance. The study can be very interesting and important for medical librarians for upgrading, creation and support of relevant medical library services.