Editor’s Note: In response to reader request, we have added two new features to the DCDM Newsletter, which will appear in alternating months. In odd-numbered months (January, March, etc.) we will publish the profile of a member of Doody’s Library Board of Advisors (LBA), and in the even months (February, April, etc.), we’ll feature an account of a library’s successful marketing launch of a new product or service.

The LBA has guided the development of our company’s library services since our inception. With gratitude, this month we present the profile of a long-term member of the LBA, Jim Bothmer of Creighton University. Questions were posed by the editors of Doody Enterprises, Inc. (DEI) and Jim (JB) provided the answers.

LBA Profile – Jim Bothmer, MALS, AHIP

DEI: Where do you currently work and what is your position?

JB: Currently I am the University Librarian responsible for Reinert Alumni Memorial Library and the Health Sciences Library at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.

DEI: Provide a one sentence description of your library and its services.

JB: The two libraries for which I am responsible provide all the typical services an academic library would provide (Interlibrary Loan, education, reference, searching, collection development, etc.) as well as an active and growing digital repository. We are also the manager of the proxy service for the campus.

DEI: When did you start in medical librarianship? What was your position? With what institution?

JB: I began my career in librarianship in February 1976. My first job out of library school was as Library Manager of the American Cancer Society-Minnesota Division in Minneapolis, MN. I have worked as a hospital librarian and at five academic institutions.

DEI: Name two of the most important issues facing medical librarianship today.

JB: The two issues are:

• Return on investment. In other words, now more than ever it is imperative that libraries prove their value to the parent institution or entity. Assessing the role the library plays in assuring successful outcomes for students is critical for libraries to remain viable and sustainable.
• Related to that, it is critical that libraries maintain their identity in an otherwise indifferent world. In other words, we must be at the table to be active participants in the university’s strategic planning efforts.

DEI: Why do you volunteer to serve on Doody’s Library Board of Advisors?

JB: I volunteer to serve on the Doody’s Library Board because I believe in the quality products Doody produces. In addition to providing essential services for librarians, Doody’s is a true friend and ally of libraries. I would not be on the Board if I believed otherwise.

DEI: What is one thing you want to make sure all librarians know about Doody’s services?

JB: The services provided by Doody are excellent, high quality collection development tools. They have become essential for libraries and librarians to use in selecting monographs and electronic databases to add to their collections.