The Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library was ranked 14th amongst “the 25 most impressive university medical school libraries in the world” according to The Best Master’s Degrees Reviews and Rankings, a public site that explores and ranks the vast world of Master’s degrees in all the disciplines.
According to the website:
Institutions were culled from top world medical school listings (based on Shanghai Ranking, US News, QS, HuffPost), which rank schools according to awards won and articles published and cited. Schools for this list were then selected based on the following four guidelines:
1. Size and variety of holdings/resources
Institutions selected have at least 50,000 print volumes and at least 2,000 medical digital resources (e-journals, e-books, online databases). NB: The emphasis on size of a library’s print collection is intentional. While some libraries have done away with traditional print volumes in favor of e-resources, a study done by the Pew Research Center finds that 69% of adults read print books, while only 28% have read an e-book, and 4% prefer electronic resources.
2. Special collections or exhibits
The schools selected each possess distinct resources or collections of interest and assistance to medical students. Each school represented has something that makes it stand out, from rare medical manuscripts, to art exhibits, to medical incunabula.
3. Architecture
Each school selected has a unique building or design feature (including innovation, functionality, and size), from gothic halls of book stacks to modern study spaces and conference rooms.
4. Bonus features
The list considered libraries with notable highlights, like accessibility, public access, length of time open, or environmental considerations.
“We are proud of the work that we do and the resources and services we provide to our user community,” said Leslie Schick, Associate Dean of Library Services and director of the Health Sciences Library. “To be recognized among these other prestigious libraries is a great honor and speaks to the strength of our staff and collections as well as to the wonderful space in which we reside.”
The Donald C. Harrison Health Sciences Library serves the research needs of the students, faculty and staff of the College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Allied Health Sciences, the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, and the Greater Cincinnati community at large. It also serves affiliated institutions, including the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, as well as national and international scholars and researchers.
The health sciences library encompasses 44,872 square feet with a 90-seat computer lab, has over 200,000 print volumes on site, and provides access to over 800 online databases, 110,000 electronic journals and 149,000 e-books.
The library is situated in the midst of a soaring, light-filled space that joins the Center for Academic and Research Excellence (CARE)/Crawley Building with the Medical Sciences Building on UC’s Academic Health Center campus. Teaching, learning and research flourish in this impressive complex of research labs, teaching labs, health sciences library, faculty offices, classrooms and student support areas.
The library’s website is libraries.uc.edu/hsl.