Foundations of medical librarianship.

The development of medical librarianship during the last forty years is examined as reflected in the changes of its resources, technology, education, and knowledge base. A shift from historical to scientific inquiry constitutes the direction of medical librarianship. Its nexus is the gathering of information and the transfer of knowledge. The social and human resources for this ongoing change and the basis for a quest for excellence is seen in the pool of talent represented by hospital librarians and the aspirations of the women's movement for equality.     

Comparison of American medical dictionaries.

Although American medical dictionaries are a valuable part of any medical library collection, the attributes of each of the four major dictionaries are often unknown and the reference material contained in each unused. The medical librarian should be aware of the differences and values of each dictionary and try to have at least one edition of each available to library users in order to maintain an adequate reference collection.     

The characteristics of medical retraction notices.

During the past twenty years, more than ninety retraction notices have been published in biomedical journals. These retractions constitute a unique body of literature that biomedical researchers, bibliographers, and librarians must monitor to reduce scientific use of retracted, invalid papers. An analysis of medical retraction notices shows that very few are prominent in style, format, or placement, in spite of authoritative publication standards formulated by the International Council of Medical Journal Editors. Although researchers are ultimately responsible for the validity of the information they cite in their own publications, biomedical librarians are in a unique position to educate their patrons regarding retracted papers.     

Time-shared computing. Implications for medical libraries

Many library data processing systems are unresponsive to the needs of librarians because of the necessity to batch-process transactions in a computer center. Such systems tend to be reportoriented rather than information-oriented with resultant problems in the timeliness of information. Time-shared computing permits multiple users to process jobs simultaneously through on-line interaction with the computer. Such systems offer to the librarian the advantages of immediate access to information, costs shared with other users, and direct man-machine interaction. This tutorial paper describes time-shared systems with applications in the library. Problems concerning the cost and present state-of-the-art of time-sharing are discussed.     

Evolution of a veterinary medical library.

Planning a new library and developing a book and journal collection for the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University are described. The Veterinary Medical Library is a self-contained unit (6,800 square feet) for print material within the Veterinary Medical Building. Seating for 140 patrons is available. The collection is designed to provide basic materials for teaching and research in veterinary and comparative medicine. Indexing and abstracting tools permit access to local, state, and national resources as well. At present the collection totals over 17,000 volumes and over 500 serial titles. A working collection of 25,000 volumes will be maintained in the Veterinary Medical Library, and the University Library will continue to function as the principal backup source.     

Library school education for medical librarianship.

This paper reviews the current situation in library school education for medical librarianship in the United States and Canada based on information from a questionnaire sent to teachers of courses in medical librarianship in accredited library schools. Since 1939, when the first course devoted entirely to medical librarianship was offered at Columbia University, courses have been introduced into the curricula of at least forty-seven of the ALA-accredited library schools. In 1978 there were seventy courses available through forty-seven library schools. Possibilities for specialization in medical librarianship are examined. Course content is reviewed. Implications of the MLA certification examination for library school courses are explored.     

A glossary of medical library jargon.

Based on submissions from forty-seven geographically representative medical school libraries, the authors have compiled a glossary of jargon used in medical school libraries in the United States. This glossary will serve as a unique reference tool of particular use to the novice medical librarian.     

Reference services in U. S. medical school libraries

Results of a 1967/68 survey of reference practices and policies in U. S. medical school libraries are presented. The information was obtained through questionnaires sent to the libraries of medical schools having students currently enrolled; eighty-five replies were returned.     

A Guide to the medical literature. Methods and support software for evidence-based medical technology

This paper presents a multifunctional support system for evidence-based medical technology that permits medical publications and reference information to be searched for in external information resources, makes it possible to formulate questions in medically accepted formats and to perform a critical analysis of publications according to the principles of evidence-based medicine, enables clinical and statistical calculators to be used, and permits answers to clinical questions to be automatically formed and archived. The system has been tested at a multi-profile hospital and demonstrated efficiency in clinical decision-making support.     

Centralization vs. decentralization in medical school libraries

Does the medical school library in the United States operate more commonly under the university library or the medical school administration? University-connected medical school libraries were asked to indicate (a) the source of their budgets, whether from the central library or the medical school, and (b) the responsibility for their acquisitions and cataloging. Returns received from sixtyeight of the seventy eligible institutions showed decentralization to be much the most common: 71 percent of the libraries are funded by their medical schools; 79 percent are responsible for their own acquisitions and processing. The factor most often associated with centralization of both budget and operation is public ownership. Decentralization is associated with service to one or two rather than three or more professional schools. Location of the medical school in a different city from the university is highly favorable to autonomy. Other factors associated with these trends are discussed.     

Standards for the academic veterinary medical library.

The Standards Committee of the Veterinary Medical Libraries Section was appointed in May 2000 and charged to create standards for the ideal academic veterinary medical library, written from the perspective of veterinary medical librarians. The resulting Standards for the Academic Veterinary Medical Library were approved by members of the Veterinary Medical Libraries Section during MLA '03 in San Diego, California. The standards were approved by Section Council in April 2005 and received final approval from the Board of Directors of the Medical Library Association during MLA '04 in Washington, DC.