An annotated bibliography of education for medical librarianship, 1940-1968

An attempt has been made in this bibliography to represent the various viewpoints concerning education for medical librarianship equally. The topics covered include: general background reading and readings for those interested in establishing courses in medical librarianship. The former includes annotations on the history and international aspects of the subject. The latter consists of annotations of articles on early courses and present courses in medical librarianship. A final area discussed is the Medical Library Association's Code for the Training and Certification of Medical Librarians.     

The Index Medicus: why it works and when it doesn't

A user study of the Index Medicus done at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center included responses from a group of sixty researchers, clinicians, residents, and interns. An analysis of the questionnaire shows that, while all respondents use the Index Medicus, most use it to search for a specific subject or a specific author reference. Comments received were critical of the delay from the time of journal publication until the appearance of its citation in Index Medicus. Suggestions were offered concerning the type of publication most of the respondents would prefer.     

Sources of information on medical geography

Adequate research in the peripheral field of medical geography requires familiarity with the literature of medicine, geography, and other environmentally oriented fields. The pertinent literature of the two primary disciplines, as well as that of anthropology, nutrition, and human bioclimatology, is surveyed from a bibliographical point of view. A brief review of historical sources is presented, followed by a discussion of the contemporary organizations, both international and national, active in the field. Emphasis is placed on the publishing programs and projects, maps, atlases, symposia, reports, and other literature sponsored or stimulated by these organizations. Regional bibliographical surveys for East Africa, India, and the Soviet Union are also noted. Pertinent aspects of bibliographies, indexes, abstracts, library card catalogs and accession lists, and other resources are listed, with emphasis on the various subject headings and other approaches to them. Throughout, the sources of information are approached from a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary viewpoint.     

The hospital library committee: its composition and tasks

Since a sizeable hospital must have a library, it must have a library committee. Like all hospital committees, this one is to help maintain standards of medical care and to mediate between staff and administration. Unlike others, it clusters around one elected member (the chairman) and one employee (the librarian). A dynamic librarian can, and should, influence and inspire the committee's deliberations; and must be able to depend upon the support of the physician members of the committee.     

Analysis of recorded biomedical book and journal use in the Yale Medical Library. II. Subject and user relations

Cancelled charge slips collected over a one-year period supply the data for this analysis of circulation in the Yale Medical Library. Full-time teaching faculty are the heaviest users of journal literature, and students, of monograph literature. Faculties of Medical School departments are compared in terms of their use of material in individual subjects. Subject literatures are analyzed in terms of groups of users borrowing from them. The extent to which journal titles used by medical students are also used by Medical School faculty is examined. One of the products of the study is a rank list of journal titles used in the Library. Results are presented in several tables.     

Serials standards work: the next frontier

Serials, one of the more complicated areas of library technical endeavors, has lacked the benefit of standards for a long time. Even now, with standards beginning to be available, the majority of institutions are not working within standard serials formats. A survey to determine the use of serials standards in libraries was conducted in 1988 by the American Library Association, Resources and Technical Services Division, Serials Section, Committee to Study Serials Standards. In the spring of 1988 a survey was sent to a group encompassing the Association of Research Libraries members, CONSER participants, United States Newspaper Program participants, Microform Project libraries, and some vendors and librarians who attended the Committee meetings on a regular basis. The survey questionnaire assessed the current level of serials standards awareness of librarians and vendors. Topics included the type of serials systems used, standards relevant to serials control and union listing and whether or not they are implemented, types and levels of training staff received in the application of standards, benefits of the standards, and areas where standards are most needed.     

All I really needed to know I learned during gastrulation

Note from the Editor