Health Sciences Library Personnel

Field of Study — Health Administration, Information & Communications

Health sciences librarians and health sciences library technicians collect, organize, evaluate and help others to obtain information. They provide physicians, nurses, allied health personnel and other health care professionals, administrators, researchers, students and consumers with information needed for patient care, education, biomedical research and health care administration.

Health sciences librarians:

• select and purchase books, journals, audiovisuals and computer software; license electronic resources.
• organize materials into manageable collections.
• develop and maintain catalogs, which are often computerized.
• set up computerized information networks for institutions.
• develop and manage World Wide Web sites; select quality Web sites for customized Web pages.
• plan and manage budgets and personnel.
• locate information for health professionals, students, patients and their families, and the general public.
• instruct individuals on how to use the library and information resources.
• supervise health science library technicians.

Health sciences library technicians:

• assist in organizing the library’s collections and in providing services to users.
• record and index journal issues.
• pay invoices for information resources.
• help students use computers.
• update information on Web sites.
• answer questions at information desks.

Health sciences library personnel may work in academic medical centers, community hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, research facilities, consumer health libraries, government agencies, associations and foundations.

Educational Requirements

Students interested in working in the health sciences library field should select challenging high school courses in science, English, math and computer skills.

Health science librarians should have a bachelor’s degree in a life science and a master’s degree from an accredited library and information science school. Many graduate library schools offer special courses or internships in health sciences librarianship.

Health sciences library technicians’ education and training requirements vary depending upon the employer. Some community colleges offer two-year educational programs for library technicians. In some cases on-the-job training and/or additional course work is required.

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Educational Institutions

Several universities in Virginia offer certification and/or a master's degree in education in school media librarianship, but none offer a general health sciences librarianship.

The University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Catholic University offer graduate extension courses in library science at various sites in Virginia. Several library schools now offer degrees via distance education programs.

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Professional Associations

• American Library Association
  50 E. Huron
  Chicago, IL 60611
  1-800-545-2433
  http://www.ala.org
• Medical Library Association
  65 E. Wacker Place
  Suite 1900
  Chicago, IL 60601-7298
  (312) 419-9094
  http://www.mlanet.org/career
• Special Library Association
  331 South Patrick Street
  Alexandria, VA 22314-3501
  (703) 647-4900
  http://www.sla.org

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