Message from the Executive Director
Mid-Year Collections Report
National Library Week - P.I. Nixon Library
Library Furniture Improvements
Mental Health Challenges Exhibit
Suggest a Resource Update
Featured eBook - Emergency Management for Healthcare
New eBooks for April
This month we have seven new eBook titles for you.
Happy Spring! April marks the new season of spring and is the month we celebrate National Library Week and show appreciation for library workers.
This month, I am grateful for the wonderful team of librarians and staff who make the UT Health San Antonio Libraries the amazing place that it is. Their hard work and dedication help to support students, faculty, and staff every day. This month I want to introduce you to this team and their work.
Library Liasions
Under the leadership of Chris Gaspard, Associate Director for Liaison Services, the Liaison Team supports each school and demonstrates their collaborative spirit by providing references and research support, delivering instructional sessions, and helping to conduct structured reviews.
While Chris serves as the Liaison for the Long School of Medicine and the residents, this team includes Matt Hayward, the Liaison for the School of Nursing; Rebecca Howe, Liaison for the School of Health Professions; and Jeff Lacy, the Liaison for the School of Dentistry and School of Public Health as well as the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
For many faculty and staff, these liaison librarians are the face of the library. We will be expanding this team by adding a Liaison Librarian for Clinical Services later this spring.
Resource Management
Under the leadership of Andrea Schorr, Associate Director for Resources Management, this team manages both our electronic resources and special collections and archives. Dana Whitmire, Electronic Resources Librarian, works closely with Andrea to manage our collections budget and electronic resources. Ron Mesa, Library Administrative Assistant, helps to manage the overall library budget.
Kelley Minars, Resource Sharing Librarian, manages interlibrary loan and document delivery and oversees outreach and engagement. Diane Fotinos, Archives & Special Collections Librarian, and Mellisa De Thorne, Library Archives Assistant, collaborate to manage the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library and University Archives. Diane also serves as the Record Retention Officer for the institution. Congratulations to Diane for her work on getting our Records Retention Scheduled recertified for the 9th time by the Texas State Library & Archives Commission!
This is the team that also oversees our website and digital archives.
Front-Line Services
David Alvarez and Juan Jaime, both Access Services Associates, work with me to support front-line services and oversee public spaces and the library facility. They help library patrons daily. Their work over the last several months was essential to rolling out 115 new chairs, 3 new whiteboards, and refurbishment of cafe-height stools and ottomans.
In my short time here, many of you share your appreciation for individuals and the entire library team and tell me the specifics of how a library team member helped you. These are always bright spots in my day. I am fortunate to be able to work with such a talented and dedicated team!
Pat Hawthorne, Executive Director of Libraries
As we reach the midpoint of the fiscal year, we are pleased to provide an update on the library’s ongoing collection investments. The total anticipated budget for collections in FY25 is $2,955,081. From September 1, 2024, to February 28, 2025 (Qtr.1-Qtr. 2), the library spent approximately $1,284,787 of the total anticipated budget which represents 43.5% of the collections budget.
Key Acquisitions
This period, the library focused on renewing several highly utilized resources, including e-journals, e-books, and databases from esteemed publishers such as Wiley, Elsevier, the American Chemical Society, and the New England Journal of Medicine, among others.
In addition to these renewals, the library has also invested in essential operational collection fees, such as hosting, copyright, and consortia participation fees. These expenses are essential for maintaining access to key digital resources, supporting legal compliance, and ensuring continued participation in resource-sharing agreements with other academic libraries and consortia.
Furthermore, the library successfully fulfilled four resource requests submitted through the Suggest a Resource form, further strengthening our collection based on the specific needs of our users.
Approximately 43.5% of the anticipated budget spent
| Resource Type | Total Amount Spent Q1 & Q2 | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| eBooks | $76,080.43 | 6% |
| eJournals | $942,886.12 | 73% |
| Databases | $205,467.49 | 16% |
| Operational | $60,353.24 | 5% |
Total Spend for Q1 and Q2: $ 1,284,787.28
Looking ahead, the library plans to fully utilize the remaining allocated library collections budget by the end of the fiscal year. Our primary focus will be on renewing highly utilized electronic resources and making strategic investments that align with our budget parameters. In addition, we are always exploring new partnerships and consortia opportunities to enhance our offerings and provide greater collaborative access to scholarly materials.
The library remains committed to supporting students, healthcare professionals, and researchers by providing the most current, evidence-based resources to enhance the goals and aspirations of our institution.
For questions about Resource Management, contact Andrea Schorr, Associate Director of Resource Management, at schorr@uthscsa.edu.
Contributed by Andrea Schorr, Associate Director of Resource Management and Dana Whitmire, Electronic Resources Librarian.
In honor of National Library Week falling in April, we are celebrating the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library.
On the 5th Floor of the Briscoe Library, just to the right of the elevators, is one of the university’s hidden treasures. Many visitors miss it on their way to the study areas but through the doors is a robust history of medicine collection as well as the University Archives.
The P.I. Nixon collection primarily focuses on the history of medicine, collecting texts, instruments, and journals. The core collection was donated by the Bexar County Medical Society in the 1970s but has since been expanded to include notable original works such as:
Non-book items include an antique cupping set, a Civil War era amputation set, and a set of trepanning drills.
The Nixon Library also houses the University Archives, a repository for the preservation of historically significant records that document the history of UT Health San Antonio. The archives include photographs, books, yearbooks, newspaper clippings, videos, oral histories, original blueprints, and more. A few of the notable collections include:
A Brief History
The Nixon takes its name from Pat Ireland (P.I.) Nixon, a San Antonio physician. Born in 1883, Nixon received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins in 1909. He returned to San Antonio in 1911 where he opened a practice and treated patients for over 50 years.
Nixon served on the Bexar County Medical Association and the San Antonio Board of Health. He advocated for public health measures to help curb the spread of polio, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases in San Antonio.
Nixon was also a collector of rare books, acquiring over 15,000 volumes during his lifetime. After his death in 1965 his collection was donated to UT Health San Antonio in 1970, where it became the P.I. Nixon Historical Library.
Joyce Ray, Ph.D., served as the Nixon’s first Archivist and Special Collections Librarian. Ray holds a Master of Library Science from UT Austin and worked at UT Health from 1977 - 1987. During that time, she was responsible for the creation of the Special Collections and Archives program.
Currently, Joyce Ray is an Assistant Program Director and Senior Lecturer for the MA in Museum Studies and the Graduate Certificate in Digital Curation programs at John Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts & Sciences.
The current University Archivist is Diane Fotinos, who has served in that position since 2016. She oversees the continual development, organization, and growth of the collections, with help from Archives Associate Mellisa DeThorne.
Diane says of her love for archives: “I’ve always been drawn to the stories that live in the margins—hidden in boxes, filed away in folders, waiting to be found. Working in archives lets me connect with the past in a meaningful way while helping others do the same.”
If you’d like to schedule a tour or view one of our rare books, reach out to University Archives and Special Collection at specialcollections@uthscsa.edu.
The Libraries added new furniture and furnishings to the public spaces from January to April including enhancement to 14 cafe-height stools, 100 new chairs, reupholstery of three ottomans, three new rolling whiteboards, and new lampshades representing an investment of $62,000 in new furnishings for the public spaces of the library.
The cafe-height stools near the main entrance were updated with new vinyl seats and two additional stools were added to increase seating to a total of 14 stools in this popular space.
The library took delivery of 115 new task chairs for the public spaces on Floors 3, 4, and 5. Fifteen of the chairs are the Karman chairs which feature dark blue mesh seats and backs and black frames. The library purchased 100 Series 1 Chairs, 50 with dark blue vinyl seats and 50 with dark red vinyl seats; these chairs feature a black mesh back and black frames. These two styles of chairs were the winners of a student contest in January. The Series 1 chair won 231 votes and the Karman chairs won 201 votes.
A total of 117 chairs in 7 different styles were removed to make room for the new task chairs, all of which are on wheels. At the current time, the Library has approximately 400 chairs in the building in 17 different styles.
New lampshades were installed in lamps throughout the public areas.
The project to replace task chairs began last spring and included a full inventory of the building furnishings and an analysis of the optimum number of chairs needed. The Library plans to replace all of the older chairs with the two new styles over the next few years to offer improved and ergonomic seating for students.
If you have comments or suggestions on building furnishings, please contact Pat Hawthorne, Executive Director via email hawthorne@uthscsa.edu.
Through the library is hosting Employment Participation through the Lens of People with Mental Health Challenges: A Photovoice Exhibit. This exhibit is put together by Jennifer Ruiz-Sandoval, a Doctor of Occupational Therapy Student. The exhibit is available to view through the month of April.
The Photo Exhibit tells a story about employment participation from the perspective of people with mental health challenges. Texas is one of the states with the highest unemployment rates for people with mental illness. We want to raise awareness and better understanding of the unemployment rates among people with mental health challenges.
Jennifer Ruiz-Sandoval, Doctor of Occupational Therapy Student
Through the library is hosting Employment Participation through the Lens of People with Mental Health Challenges: A Photovoice Exhibit. This exhibit is put together by Jennifer Ruiz-Sandoval, a Doctor of Occupational Therapy Student. The exhibit is available to view through the month of April.
The Photo Exhibit tells a story about employment participation from the perspective of people with mental health challenges. Texas is one of the states with the highest unemployment rates for people with mental illness. We want to raise awareness and better understanding of the unemployment rates among people with mental health challenges.
Jennifer Ruiz-Sandoval, Doctor of Occupational Therapy Student
Have you ever needed access to a book or journal that is unavailable through the library? Interlibrary Loan is a great option for single journal articles or book chapters from titles we don’t subscribe to or own, but there are times when long term access is desired. UT Health San Antonio Libraries welcomes resource suggestions from our affiliates.
You can suggest a resource for the library collection by filling out the form available on the library website. Once submitted, the Collection Development Committee will review the request and investigate purchase or subscription options.
Once a decision is made we’ll contact you with the outcome of our assessment.
For questions or comments contact Andrea Schorr, Associate Director of Resource Management, at schorr@uthscsa.edu.
Contributed by Dana Whitmire, Electronic Resources Librarian
Each month, we feature an ebook from our collections. Our goal is to feature titles of interest to students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
Emergency Management for Healthcare: Writing an Emergency PlanBook Description from the Publisher
This series of books focuses on highly specialized Emergency Management arrangements for healthcare facilities and organizations. It is designed to assist any healthcare executive with a body of knowledge which permits a transition into the application of emergency management planning and procedures for healthcare facilities and organizations. This series is intended for both experienced practitioners of both healthcare management and emergency management, and also for students of these two disciplines.
Norman Ferrier is an award-winning practitioner, educator, and author who has worked in various aspects of Canadian healthcare for more than forty-two years, and for thirty-two of those years has focused increasingly on emergency planning for all types of health care settings.
Check out the book through EBSCOhost eBook Collection, provided by the Briscoe Library.
If you have a title you would like to recommend, please let us know by emailing Kelley Minars at minars@uthscsa.edu