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The Learning Centers consist of three patient education libraries at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The possibility of a grief/end of life collection was presented in 2017 when it was observed that a section of the bookshelves at one Learning Center was getting overcrowded and continual shifting could not keep up. Many of those books covered end of life and grief topics. This Learning Center already had an established area of pamphlets and booklets on grief, end of life, hospice, and advance care planning located in another area of the library. Therefore, the solution presented itself to both alleviate the shelf crowding situation and create a new, centralized area for these topics. The area adjacent to the grief/end of life pamphlets was a logical location for these related, appropriate books.
Stage 1
The first stage in identifying which books would be appropriate for this new collection was for library staff to collectively self-nominate relevant books. Some titles were easy to identify, like the classic On Death and Dying by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. Some titles were less easy to decide whether to relocate or not. A philosophical discussion ensued over cancer memoirs with end of life as a theme (e.g., Nina Riggs’s The Bright Hour). The Learning Centers, by policy, had previously decided that any book that centered on a cancer type would be cataloged and shelved with other books on that cancer type. Based on this policy, a book like The Bright Hour would not go to the new Grief collection but remain shelved with the books on breast cancer.
Stage 2
The second stage was to develop ways that the books in their new area could be identified and found. A new location was created in the cataloging management system/online catalog for these titles and the location designator of Grief was chosen. Each book then had its barcode scanned and its location changed to Grief.
The books also needed a visual designator that would identify their new location, especially since most often it is part-time library volunteers who shelve the books. A yellow dot was added to the spines of all the Grief collection books as an identifier and a successful shelving aid for staff and volunteers.
Stage 3
The third stage was to better define the parameters of the collection. A decision needed to be made on to what extent a book discussing grief or end of life would make it appropriate for placement in the new Grief collection. Besides the aforementioned discussion about memoirs, several additional types of books were discussed:
- Grief not related to end of life
- Advance care planning
- Guidance on and preparation of a will
Some titles in the collection discuss grief as a general concept but do not discuss death or end of life. It was decided that only books about grief that discussed death or end of life would be eligible for the Grief collection. It helped as a decision aid to think about the goal of the Grief collection as gathering in one place “handbooks” or “manuals” for coping with grief or the end of life.
The observation was made that books about advance care planning and writing a will are not necessarily related to grief/end of life but are part of a legal process that can occur at any point in life. Therefore, it was decided that those types of books could remain cataloged and shelved at their current locations.
Conclusion
While the library has always supported patients and caregivers by collecting materials about grief and end of life, this new and thoughtfully maintained area serves these specific information-seekers in an improved, focused manner. These efforts have created a new, larger, dedicated area on the topics of grief and end of life for a streamlined browsing experience. Additionally, now that Grief is its own location and can be catalogued as such, circulation data on this collection can be retrieved from the catalog management system via a simple report. Finally, placing the Grief collection adjacent to the grief and end of life pamphlets promotes use of both the pamphlets and the books.
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