The University of North Texas Health Science Center’s (UNTHSC) library is joining a national network of medical libraries and getting $6.2 million in the process.
UNTHSC announced Wednesday that the Gibson D. Lewis Health Science Library has been added to the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, a library network operated by the National Library of Medicine. As part of the deal, the Lewis Library will receive a grant from the National Library of Medicine worth $6.2 million over a five-year period. The library received its first part of the grant on May 1.
The National Network of Libraries of Medicine has eight main libraries throughout the U.S., with each library serving a certain region. The Lewis Library serves the South Central Region, which includes Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. In addition to providing access to health information through its library, the library will also be responsible for hosting health-related programs, such as providing nutrition classes and training first responders.
Two Lewis Library employees also received new job titles as part of the national network. Lisa Smith, formerly the associate of Lewis Library, is now the executive director. Myriam Martinez-Banuelos, formerly the outreach librarian, is now the consumer health outreach coordinator. The Lewis Library plans to add two more librarians to handle fields like technology and health literacy.
“Lewis Library will be the focal point of a massive outreach program that works directly with clinicians, community groups and the general public to provide tools to access appropriate and reliable health information,” Smith said. “It’s a universal need that all of us will have at some point in our lives.”