The challenging world of hospital librarians

I read with interest your editorial in the July issue of the Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) [1]. I was heartened to see your description of mentoring another librarian through the Leadership Fellows program. This description affirmed what I do in the practicum that I offer to library science students at the University of Illinois. Although the students have some work that focuses on the specifics of health sciences librarianship, a significant portion of their experience involves participating in activities that, on first blush, have very little to do with the library. My goal is to show how the library fits into a larger organization.

I feel I must take issue, however, with your comments about hospital librarians. I myself am blessed to have one professional librarian and two part-time clerical staff. I can only speculate about staffing in other areas of the country. In our little end of the universe, most hospital libraries, if they still exist, are staffed by one person who may or may not hold a master's degree in library science. In addition to managing a library, my colleagues also find they are charged with other functions, such as coordinating continuing medical education or community outreach programs. Indeed, in a number of cases, they consider the library a part-time activity. These responsibilities are not trivial and can consume a large amount of the librarians' time.

Like all of us, they are dealing with shrinking budgets. Because of the hospital mission, direct patient care units tend to win out over support activities during budget allocation, as they should. These librarians also have to deal with new graduates of various programs learning that the highly subsidized resources they had access to in school may not be affordable by the larger institution to which the library belongs. As to technology platforms, those decisions are usually made without considering, or in some cases ignoring, input from the library. Add to these concerns that the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has loosened its standards concerning hospital libraries. JCAHO only requires access to information. So, rather than sighing and fighting the urge to holler, you might consider reflecting on their situation. Then give them the enormous respect they deserve for engaging in the continuous battle just to keep the library open.