Skip to Main Content

Value of Medical Libraries

Competencies

Competency 1: Health Information Leadership & Management - A Hospital Librarian:

  • Manages personnel, time, budget, facilities, and technology to meet institutional goals,
  • Negotiates with vendors on best prices and content for their institution,
  • Participates in institutional management and leadership activities,
  • Participates in hospital and professional committees,
  • Effectively promotes the value of the library - its staff, programs, resources, and services,
  • Collaborates with other professionals to improve access to health care information.

 

Competency 2: Information Services - A Hospital Librarian:

  • Locates, evaluates, synthesizes, and delivers authoritative information in response to inquiries,
  • Finds information to answer questions at the point of need,
  • Strives to be an expert in assessing information needs and delivering information in a format and means of delivery best suited to those making requests,
  • Curates and makes accessible, within budget constraints, bioscience, clinical, and health information data, information, and knowledge,
  • Develops a customized collection to support medical and patient care activities.
  • Assists researchers through data curation

 

Competency 3: Education & Instructs - A Hospital Librarian:

  • Instructs others in the skills of bioscience, clinical, and health information literacy, 
  • Enables their local user community to be self-sufficient in locating clinical information,
  • Knows how to use available library resources,
  • Critically appraises research articles.

 

Competency 4: Evidence-Based Practice & Research - A Hospital Librarian:

  • Promotes and teaches evidence-based medicine skills,
  • Evaluates research studies,
  • Uses research to improve practice,
  • Assists and supports all aspects of the research process, i.e., Patient Safety, Quality Improvement, Magnet, and Hospital-specific research endeavors,
  • Communicates research results,
  • Stays current with new research methodologies (e.g., outcomes research, data mining).