Medical History and Heritage becomes part of the University Library
Following a decision taken by KI president Annika Östman Wernerson on 26 November, the Medical History and Heritage Unit (MHK) will be integrated with the Karolinska Institutet University Library (KIB) on 1 January, becoming its own division and with the same management as before.
The purpose of the merger of MHK and the University Library is to create a clearer sense of belonging and to strengthen the internal coordination of resources and competencies at KI.
A project has now begun to give KI’s researchers and students better access to information relating to KI’s heritage and history.
Miriam Nauri, the head of Karolinska Institutet University Library, is convinced that a joint organisation will benefit both organisations:
“A university library is essential to a university’s academic discourse, one that needs to span past, present and future and all possible disciplines,” she says. “Given the depth and breadth of knowledge possessed by our colleagues at MHK, the library can invite more enriching conversation. It also makes it possible for MHK to provide better support on such matters as digitisation, cataloguing and user conferences in the physical and virtual space.”
Soon to be part of Professional Services
Eventually, Karolinska Institutet University Library will become part of Professional Services (GVS). Preparations for the move are already underway.
“By gathering these functions under Karolinska Institutet University Library, KI strengthens its academic profile at the same time as it promotes greater interdisciplinary cooperation,” says KI’s University Director Veronika Sundström.
The merger is in line with the newly decided University Library remit, which is to protect the values expressed in the Library and Higher Education acts, with a particular focus on democracy, scientificity and academic freedom.
Supporting the open publication of research
To this end, the University Library will, among its many services, be offering broad-based and appropriate access to scientific literature and information resources, supporting the open publication of research and enhancing the information competence of the university’s students and researchers.
The purpose is also to preserve KI’s heritage and disseminate knowledge about the history of medicine and science while serving as a forum for a wide range of disciplines.