Library Journal - RX for Medical Libraries

Library Journal - RX for Medical Libraries

Last March 17 in the New England Journal of Medicine, two articles posited the future of medical libraries. I expected MEDLIB to buzz about them, yet no one even started a chat thread. By one reading, in 2015 there will be large libraries with fantastic techno-goodies, e-resources, and lovely space. My big medical library brothers and sisters will be around, but what about the little libraries in community hospitals or small university-affiliated hospitals? In the past two years I've seen dozens of libraries closed or outsourced, five go to reduced hours, four combined, over a dozen librarian positions eliminated, and the birth of the Super Library Tech?who runs the library but doesn't need to have an MLS. I'm worried that Thomas Lee's ?Quiet in the Library? (one of the articles) forebodes the quiet wake of the small medical library.

There are now approximately 2900 hospital libraries and an estimated 4000 staffers working in them, and they are at risk. As I see it, there are four main threats to medical libraries: deprofessionalization, a failure to do outreach, a shift in the culture toward McInformation, and ongoing budget crunches. We must cope with all of these now to ensure the survival of small medical libraries and the well-being of healthcare itself.
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