Reimagining Print Materials in a Health Science Context: Creating and Marketing a Wellness Collection

In the healthcare field in which out-of-date information can harm patients, the currency and immediacy of digital collections is highly valued. As a result, many health science libraries have deselected much of their print collections (Haapanen, Kultamaa, Ovaska, & Salmi, 2015; Lingle & Robinson, 2009; Tobia & Hunnicutt, 2008; Xiaoli & Kopper, 2005). However, print materials continue to be valued by health science library users for a variety of purposes (Houghton, 2017; Watson, 2016). This paper describes how one academic health science center library found a role for print materials in the context of a wellness initiative, which (1) gave a clear purpose to the collection, (2) allowed for creative marketing strategies, and (3) anchored a suite of planned wellness activities and services. The paper will describe the process of selecting titles for the collection, the logistics of creating a special use collection after converting the majority of library space to study space, the marketing strategies used to advertise the collection, and the ongoing evaluation of the collection and its relation to user needs.