Medical Librarianship

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Health Sciences Librarianship

Medical librarians, also known as health information professionals, medical information specialists, or multiple variations thereof, find, analyze, provide access to and present critical information that improves patient care and supports health and medical education, research, and publication.

They work in many different settings, including academic medical libraries, hospitals, corporate libraries (such as those in pharmaceutical and device manufacturing companies), and insurance companies. Their patrons range from the general public to medical students, to doctors, and nurses and others in health-related fields. Some health sciences librarians have a medical or related degree, and some positions, especially reference positions, may list it as a desired, but not required, qualification, but it is certainly not necessary to have such degrees to work in the health information field.

Libraries in the health and/or medical sciences and biosciences are found in a variety of settings and support the information needs of many disciplines, including:

  • Academic health science centers, which may include schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, chiropractic, veterinary medicine, and public health, among others
  • Specialized medical centers such as cancer treatment centers
  • Hospitals, including public and private institutions, rural and large urban facilities and teaching hospitals
  • Private large physician group practices and large community health clinics
  • Corporations including pharmaceutical and device manufacturing companies, insurance companies, and bioengineering firms
  • Community college programs for students pursuing associated health degrees libraries

Health sciences librarianship is similar to other library career paths in a number of ways, but there are some significant differences. For example, depending on their job responsibilities, medical librarians search for and organize information as do librarians in other settings. Health information professionals may also teach health professionals how to access and evaluate information. They may assist the public in finding authoritative health information. They may conduct community outreach programs on topics such as health information literacy or they may be found designing and managing health information websites, blogs, and social media channels, and/or creating and maintaining digital libraries.

To learn about the field and begin to determine whether a career in medical librarianship is right for you, start the process by talking to people in the field.

Join professional associations like the Medical Library Association (MLA) and one of its 13 regional chapters such as NCNMLG (Northern California & Nevada Medical Library Group) or MLGSCA (Medical Library Group of Southern California and Arizona), and/or SLA (Special Libraries Association) and its more than 50 special interest groups, such as the SLA Biomedical & Life Sciences Community or the Pharmaceutical and Health Technology Community). Membership rates for students are often substantially discounted (or even free), and these associations provide great opportunities for you to network, conduct informational interviews, intern and/or volunteer.

Core Theory and Knowledge

Like many professional LIS associations, MLA has identified a set of core competencies that it feels are central to successfully fulfilling the responsibilities of health librarianship. These include: 

Competency 1: Information Services: A health information professional locates, evaluates, synthesizes, and delivers authoritative information in response to biomedical and health inquiries.

Competency 2: Information Management: A health information professional curates and makes accessible bioscience, clinical, and health information data, information, and knowledge.

Competency 3: Instruction & Instructional Design: A health information professional educates others in the skills of bioscience, clinical, and health information literacy.

Competency 4: Leadership & Management: A health information professional manages personnel, time, budget, facilities, and technology and leads others to define and meet institutional goals.

Competency 5: Evidence-Based Practice & Research: A health information professional evaluates research studies, uses research to improve practice, conducts research, and communicates research results.

Competency 6: Health Information Professionalism: A health information professional promotes the development of the health information professions and collaborates with other professionals to improve health care and access to health care information.

Coursework

Although the SJSU iSchool program does not have an official “medical library track” or specialized degree focusing on medical librarianship, there are specific classes that are especially helpful to prepare you to become a medical librarian.

Note: These are courses you should consider. If you do not take all of these courses, it does not mean that you will not be able to pursue a career in health sciences or medical librarianship.

Required Courses:

Foundation Courses:

The elective courses listed below have been helpful to other health librarians who have completed the iSchool program in the past. They are included because they help prepare students for job duties in a medical library environment. The Medical Library Association (MLA) has prepared a list of competencies for success as a health sciences librarian. You might want to look at those competencies to help you select appropriate coursework. As noted, the competencies can be found at: MLA Professional Competencies for Health Sciences Librarians.

Additional Resources

Professional Associations:

Biomedical & Life Sciences Division – SLA

Health Sciences Interest Group – ACRL

MLA – Medical Library Association

MLGSCA – Medical Library Group of Southern California and Arizona

NCNMLG – Northern California & Nevada Medical Library Group

Pharmaceutical and Health Technology Division – SLA

Related Resources:

Associate Fellowship Program for Librarians – National Library of Medicine

Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries

Network of the National Libraries of Medicine

Diligent MLIS Grad Serves as Regional Director for Network of Regional Medical Libraries (interview with Eve Melton, ‘01 MLIS, one of 17 iSchool grads working in the Kaiser Permanente medical library network)