Atkins Fellow - Health Sciences Collection

UNC Charlotte

Part-Time
Closes on Monday, March 17, 2025

Job Description

Maintaining current resources is especially important for academic libraries supporting researchers in the health sciences. This fellowship will focus on rightsizing the health sciences collection at Atkins Library at UNC Charlotte, specifically in the areas of nursing and public health/epidemiology. The Fellow will be responsible for identifying appropriate criteria typically used for assessing and weeding in those subject areas, and determining how well the current collection aligns to the graduate and undergraduate curriculum in the School of Nursing and Department of Epidemiology and Community Health. The Fellow will also research and create a brief report on the current state of collection development in these areas at peer and aspirational R1 universities (of which UNC Charlotte will join the ranks of in 2025). This project will help the Health and Human Services Librarian prioritize one-time purchases and continuing resource requests for the next academic year.
This fellowship offers an opportunity to learn about the ways that academic libraries support research through collection development and assessment. The Fellow will join the Public Services unit of the library, and the Research and Instructional Services team, in addition to meeting and working with members of Collection Services. They will also conduct outreach to libraries at peer and aspirational institutions that support these areas of health sciences. This project will help inform the approach that Atkins Library can use to update and advocate for increased resources to support the health sciences collections on campus. Working closely with the Health and Human Services Librarian, the Fellow will gain exposure to the different elements of this type of work in academic libraries. This position will appeal to MLIS students who are interested in the work of subject/liaison librarians including collection development, curriculum mapping, and research. It will also interest those looking to further develop experience with data-driven assessment and supporting researchers in the health sciences.
Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Learn about collection development and rightsizing policies and practices
  • Determine weeding criteria and subject headings typically used for the selected health sciences areas
  • Create a list of books that could be withdrawn from the collection in the selected areas based on the researched criteria
  • Contact health sciences librarians at peer and aspirational institutions to learn about their practices related to collection development and review
  • Research the resources offered at these peer and aspirational institutions
  • Create a brief report on the current state of collection development in these areas at R1 universities
  • Assess the alignment of the current health sciences collection to the graduate and possibly undergraduate curriculum in the selected areas
  • Draft a collection development policy specific to the health sciences
UNC Charlotte
Atkins Fellow - Health Sciences Collection - 143820