Health Care Team (HCT)

Medical Librarians are information professionals who specialize in health resources and provide medical information for physicians, allied health professionals, patients, consumers, students, and corporations.

Using materials ranging from traditional print sources to electronic databases, Medical Librarians devise and use innovative strategies to access and deliver information to their clients. Physicians sometimes call on Medical Librarians to provide life-saving information for patient care.

Medical Librarians must have a master’s of library and information science degree from a program accredited by the American Library Association. An undergraduate degree in any field is necessary for admission to the master’s program. Undergraduate courses in biology, medical sciences, medical terminology, computer science, education, and management are helpful. Medical Librarians may also apply for membership in the Academy of Health Information Professionals, a credentialing program sponsored by the Medical Library Association.

Medical Librarians are usually supervised by a staff director or supervisor in the medical library of a hospital, academic medical center, or other health care facility.

In a large academic biomedical library, a day may involve staffing the reference desk for several hours. The Medical Librarian may give orientations to students on how to use the licensed electronic library resources; teach classes on how to search bibliographic databases or use software; handle reference questions via e-mail, the Internet, or phone; and attend meetings in the department.

There are no certification, licensure, or registration requirements for Medical Librarians.

All types of patients may benefit indirectly from the expertise of a Medical Librarian, since he or she provides access to vital information to other members of the health care team.

Medical Librarians help physicians, medical students, and other health professionals by providing medical literature searches using evidence-based medicine techniques and by teaching health professionals how to most effectively search medical databases for the best information for patients. Medical Librarians sometimes serve patients directly by providing access to health care information at consumer health libraries, hospitals, or academic medical center libraries.