Beyond traditional library spaces: the practicalities of closing hospital libraries and opening a virtual library

Résumé

The formation of the University of Manitoba Health Sciences Libraries (UMHSL) was the result of signing consecutive agreements over a period of 24 years between the University of Manitoba (UM) and Winnipeg area hospitals, now collectively known as the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA). In 2017, the UMHSL included the UM's Neil John Maclean Health Sciences Library (NJMHSL) and eight hospital and health centre libraries located in the city of Winnipeg. In 2018, all the hospital and health centre libraries closed and the UML opened the rebranded WRHA Virtual Library. This article describes the complications and lessons learned while closing the hospital libraries and opening a virtual library service to a distributed health care system with diverse clinical and educational needs.