Lucretia W. McClure. Medical Library Association President 1990-1991

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Reinventing the medical librarian

The caliber of the librarian is a health sciences library's most important resource. This paper explores factors which have influenced who has, or who has not, entered the profession of medical librarianship, and discusses several attributes which the author considers critical for restructuring the profession to meet current and future needs.

Journal rankings by citation analysis in health sciences librarianship

The purpose of this study was to identify objectively a hierarchical ranking of journals for health sciences librarians with faculty status. Such a guideline can indicate a journal's value for promotion and tenure consideration. Lists of recent research articles (1982-1986) in health sciences librarianship, and articles written by health sciences librarians, were compiled by searching Social SCISEARCH and MEDLINE. The journals publishing those articles are presented. Results show BMLA as the most prominent journal in the field. Therefore, citations from articles in BMLA from 1982 to 1986 were chosen as a sample for citation analysis. Citation analysis was employed to identify the most frequently cited journals. Some characteristics of the citations in BMLA are also discussed. The ranking of journals based on citation frequency, as a result, was identified.

Innovation and education: unlimited potential for the teaching library

The information age demands that health sciences librarians take active roles in the educational process. Librarians have traditionally taught users how to access information. Now, with the proliferation of information, librarians must accept new roles and teach the user efficient techniques for evaluating and processing information as well. Innovative roles for librarians at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center include teaching users to use technology for information management, to appraise literature critically for quality, and to develop skills for lifelong learning. This paper reviews the history of educational activities in health sciences libraries and describes the teaching programs at Texas Tech.

Comparative usefulness of MEDLINE searches performed by a drug information pharmacist and by medical librarians

The usefulness of MEDLINE searches conducted by a drug information pharmacist who had received online training was compared with the usefulness of searches conducted by medical librarians. Searches for literature pertinent to select drug information requests received at a university drug consultation service during a three-month period were conducted independently by the pharmacist and one of three reference librarians. The three librarians had received extensive online search training and were experienced in conducting MEDLINE searches; the pharmacist was trained by a fourth experienced librarian-searcher using National Library of Medicine (NLM) training materials. For each drug information request, the pharmacist and the librarian searched two MEDLINE files on the NLM service. The printouts generated by the two searchers were evaluated by two drug information pharmacists in terms of how useful each list of citations would be in enabling the drug information pharmacists to answer the related question. The majority of printouts in 48 sets of searches were judged to be useful. Of the 96 possible "best search" votes (two votes for each of the 48 sets of printouts), the pharmacist's searches received 34 votes, the librarians' searches received 28 votes, and there were 34 tie votes. The numbers of useful primary and alternate citations were found to be the best predictors of whether a given printout would receive the "best search" rating. MEDLINE searches performed by a drug information pharmacist with online training, in response to drug information requests, were judged by drug information pharmacists to be as useful as searches performed by librarians.

End-user programs in medical school libraries: a survey

A questionnaire was sent to all medical school libraries listed in the Annual Statistics of Medical School Libraries in the United States and Canada (1983-1984) asking librarians to describe their end-user programs. Of the 113 responding libraries, 78 had an end-user program. All provided some kind of formal instruction, 39 made equipment available to end users, and 22 provided and administered passwords. The reasons most cited for starting a program were staff interest and patron requests. The two most frequently taught systems were NLM/MEDLINE and BRS/Colleague. In general, respondents felt positive about the programs and planned to continue them. The most frequently mentioned problem was need for more equipment.

Report of a cooperative venture between the China Medical University library and the medical library of McGill University

In March/April 1986, the medical library at McGill University in Montreal, Canada signed a cooperative agreement with the China Medical University (CMU) Library in Shenyang, China. This paper analyzes the operations of the CMU library within the context of the Chinese system of medical education, health care delivery, and medical librarianship. The CMU library is described in terms of collections, cataloging procedures, filing, public services (reference, bibliographic instruction, circulation, copy service), interlibrary loans, networking, conservation of materials, and personnel. Some interesting comparisons are made between the two libraries with respect to holdings, services provided, and training of staff. The plans for future cooperation are outlined.

The science of medical librarianship: investing in the future

Information science is changing from an applied service-oriented activity to a basic research discipline. The library profession must earn a central place in this endeavor, and must address a number of important issues. These include ownership and intellectual property rights, a stronger research component for the profession, development of quality assurance systems for health information services, and a conceptual framework for training and career development of health sciences library technicians. The future of medical librarianship as a profession depends on a lasting commitment to research, a clear vision of the profession's fundamental mission and of the library's place in society.

Ownership

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