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Value of Medical Libraries

Patient Care Focused

  • A librarian is committed to excellence in patient care, establishing relationships and interactions with the Patient Care Team and informing them of the librarian’s skills and the library’s programs and services.
  • A librarian builds library collections (print and/or digital) to support topics important to the patient care mission of the Hospital.
  • A librarian is a skilled searcher of PubMed and other bibliographic databases needed to identify evidence-based literature.
  • A librarian establishes current awareness profiles for topics important to patrons and the mission of the Hospital.
  • A librarian finds and fills documents not available in the local collection using DOCLINE or other interlibrary loan systems in a timely and cost-effective manner.
  • A library staff provides reference, research, and document retrieval services for all members of the hospital community.
  • A librarian participates with hospital-wide committees, such as Education, IRB, Interprofessional Research Council, GME, or Leadership.
  • A librarian supports evidence-based clinical research and may participate with clinical teams at Morning Report, Bedside Rounds, or Grand Rounds.
  • In some libraries, a librarian will provide professional recommendations for vetted consumer health resources and websites, as needed to support patient and family information requests.

MLA Library Caucus Guidance for Healthcare Administrators

Guidance for Healthcare Administrators - Hospital Library Caucus - LibGuides at Medical Library Association - Advocacy Task Force