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- Title
Clinical librarianship in the UK: temporary trend or permanent profession? Part I: a review of the role of the clinical librarian.
- Authors
Sargeant, Sally J. E.; Harrison, Janet
- Abstract
This paper is the first of a two-part series of articles presenting the role of the clinical librarian (CL) in the UK today. It situates the CL concept historically, and specifically reports the findings from a study in 2002 (Skinner, The Role of the Clinical Librarian in the UK. MSc Dissertation. Loughborough University: Department of Information Science). The impetus for the 2002 study was the awareness of an increase in job advertisements within the NHS for roles seeking to enhance the practice of evidence-based medicine, which included elements of clinical librarianship. Therefore the research was undertaken to establish whether this increase was coincidental, or the beginning of a new professional role for librarians. A content analysis of CL job advertisements, examining job titles and duties was undertaken. Twenty-three advertisements were scrutinized, and these results are presented here. As a complementary investigation, a postal questionnaire was sent to a sample of practising CLs in the UK. Several duties can be classified as core to the role of the CL. However there is a great diversity of duties attached to this core, reflecting an absence of nationally accepted practice. Further work was necessary to assess current practice and how clinical librarianship can continue to grow at local and national levels. This is addressed in Part Two of this series. Policy • Acceptance of diversifying role in medical information provision • Logistical considerations of CL personnel and their physical positioning within acute settings Implications for practice • Establishing national professional guidelines for CLs • Establishing consistency in nomenclature
- Subjects
UNITED Kingdom; LIBRARIANS; MEDICINE; INFORMATION science; HEALTH; INFORMATION scientists
- Publication
Health Information & Libraries Journal, 2004, Vol 21, Issue 3, p173
- ISSN
1471-1834
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1471-1842.2004.00510.x