The Informationist: Ten Years Later

Polger, Mark Aaron

doi:10.1080/15323269.2010.514556

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Working on clinical care teams, they support patient care and attend rounds to gather information that both doctors and patients need. To aid in understanding and translating this specialized information, clinical medical librarians commonly benefit from academic qualifications or equivalent practice in the health field in addition to a traditional MLS or MLIS degree [ 15 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging roles of health information professionals for library and information science curriculum development: a scoping review

Stahl

Knotts

2018

jmla

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ObjectiveThis scoping review identified the emerging and evolving roles of health information professionals (HIPs) in a range of tasks and settings, as they adapt to varied user needs, while keeping up with changing medical landscapes to provide evidence-based information support in grand rounds and scholarly research. The review aims to inform library school students about expected entry-level job qualifications and faculty about adaptable changes to specialized HIP curricula.MethodsThe authors examined 268 peer-reviewed journal articles that concentrated on evolving HIP roles, professional settings, and contexts by retrieving results from several multidisciplinary databases.ResultsHIPs, who generally serve as “embedded librarians,” are taking on more active roles as collaborators, research experts, and liaisons, replacing more passive and exclusive roles as information providers and outreach agents or research assistants. These evolving roles in the reviewed literature were broken into nine categories in approximate order of prominence.ConclusionsA new model linking these evolving roles to the Medical Library Association (MLA) fundamental professional competencies was developed to provide an operational examination and research-based evidence for adapting HIP continuing education curriculum learning outcomes, course content and delivery, and student career pathways for existing graduate HIP specialization courses in library programs. The model indicates each role’s connection to the MLA professional competencies, based on MLA’s detailed description of each competency. A better understanding of HIP demands and expectations will enhance the capacity of library programs to prepare students in HIP specializations.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging roles of health information professionals for library and information science curriculum development: a scoping review

Stahl

Knotts

2018

jmla

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“…Furthermore, it did not distinguish between health librarianship and clinical librarianship and relied on questions about qualifications, educational background, and continuing professional development. In a second questionnaire, Polger [23] examined whether any distinction exists between informationist and clinical librarian models and the numbers of hospitals and health centres currently offering these services as of 2009. Polger's 12-question survey included a Canadian component, and it was developed and distributed to health library listservs over a 10-month period in both Canada and the US (MEDLIB-L and CANMEDLIB).…”

Section: Results: Narrating the Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The State of Clinical Librarianship in Canada: a Review of the Literature, 1970–2013

Halbert¹

2014

J Can Health Libr Assoc

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This paper examines the history of clinical librarianship in Canada from 1970 to 2013 as seen through the lens of practitioner narratives and published literature. While no reviews of clinical librarianship in Canada were found in the literature search, there were many project descriptions in articles and published reports that have provided insight into the field during its formative period in Canada from the 1970s. In addition to tracing narrative histories from 1970 to 2013, the author has continued to wonder why these important stories have never properly been told. Was it because the scope of clinical librarianship, its expected and embodied professional duties, was not regulated (as it is in the United States and United Kingdom)? Is it because the American Library Association accredited library schools in Canada do not offer appropriate curricula and professional training? It seems clear that some librarians in Canada were pioneers in the way that Gertrude Lamb was in the United States, but they did not call themselves clinical librarians. Consequently, they opted for more generic job titles such as medical librarian and health librarian. Whatever the reasons for this, it is within this framework that the author begins an exploration of clinical librarianship in Canada. The paper's aim is to provide a view into clinical librarianship in Canada back to the 1970s to ensure the story is properly told.

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“…The informationist was hailed as a new profession and a subject specialist with a ‘core of basic medical concepts, principles of clinical epidemiology and biostatistics’ . In Polger's review of the informationist role 10 years later, he reports that according to the bulk of the literature, what differentiates the informationist from other librarian roles is specialised subject knowledge, though there is inconsistency in how this knowledge is defined or obtained . Another main differentiation is work location – the informationist resides on clinical floors, not in the library.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of competencies needed for health librarians – a comparison of Irish and international practice

Lawton

Burns

2014

Health Info Libraries J

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Objectives: The purpose of this review was to uncover areas of competence which may lead to a baseline of skills for health librarians. A baseline could inform personal development plans for health librarians, criteria for job descriptions and curriculum for library and information science (LIS) courses. Methods: This research outlines existing competencies for librarians working in health care as defined by library associations, recent job descriptions and a mapping review of the library and information science literature. This is performed in the context of librarians working in the Irish health system with examples of practice drawn from the Irish experience. Results: Ten areas of competence were found to be common to three of five library associations, which were also common to recent job descriptions. The literature reveals an ever changing working environment for librarians working in health with opportunities for new and evolving roles. Conclusions: The challenge for librarians moving into these roles will be to stay relevant and to keep skills updated in a rapidly moving health and information environment.Keywords: competencies; health education; Northern Ireland; Southern Ireland (Eire); librarians; libraries; professional associations Key Messages• Professional library associations representing health librarians need to develop education policies that include specific competencies for librarians working in health care.• Library associations should consider collaborating internationally to formulate education policies and standards tailored specifically to health librarians and libraries.• The authors recommend fundamental revision of curricula in library and information schools in Ireland and the UK to include the baseline competencies described.• Health librarians should consider a baseline of 10 competency areas when drawing up personal professional development plans.

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The Informationist: Ten Years Later

Cited by 17 publications

References 16 publications

Emerging roles of health information professionals for library and information science curriculum development: a scoping review

Emerging roles of health information professionals for library and information science curriculum development: a scoping review

The State of Clinical Librarianship in Canada: a Review of the Literature, 1970–2013

A review of competencies needed for health librarians – a comparison of Irish and international practice

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