Main description:

Access to Medical Knowledge answers the question, "What makes the medical librarian committed to the fundamental value of providing medical information to all who need it?" What are the underlying values of the profession that support this strong commitment to the public good? In answering these questions, author Frances Groen identifies three core professional values of librarians: providing access to information, preserving the accumulated knowledge of the past, and helping the public to understand how to help themselves to this information. While these values are shared by all library specialties, Groen explores their unique meaning within the field of medical librarianship by taking a careful look at its genesis through a thorough review of the literature demonstrating these perennial values in the practice of medical librarianship. The book describes the transformative nature of information technology that has provided new opportunities to revolutionize clinical medical information delivery and patient information, and it explores the impact of the digital revolution in providing a new paradigm for scientific communication and a more open approach to accessing the literature through the Open Access movement. Groen demonstrates the medical librarian's successful adaptation to this changing information paradigm while simultaneously adhering to the perennial values of the profession. Access to Medical Knowledge also addresses the need for intensified collaboration between branches of librarianship as a result of the digital library world bringing all library practitioners closer together. This book will interest all medical librarians because of its coverage of developments in international medical librarianship.

Contents:

Part 1 Preface Part 2 Introduction: Libraries as a Public Good-Why? Part 3 PART I: LIBRARIANS AND THEIR VALUES Chapter 4 1. Librarians, Values, and the Public Good Part 5 PART II: THE ORIGIN OF MEDICAL LIBRARIANSHIP Chapter 6 2. Early Days in the Porfession Chapter 7 3. The Emergence of the Medical LIbrary in the Twentieth Century, 1900-1960 Chapter 8 4. The War and After, 1940-1960 Chapter 9 5. Gaining Ground in Medical Libraries, 1960-1990 Part 10 PART III: MEDICAL LIBRARIES IN THE AGE OF THE INTERNET Chapter 11 6. Digitization and the Internet: A Revolutionary Context for Libraries Chapter 12 7. Consumer and Patient Information: Convergence on the Internet Chapter 13 8. New Approaches to Clinical Medical Information Part 14 PART IV: IS THERE A BETTER WAY? Chapter 15 9. The Economics of Scientific and Medica Information Chapter 16 10. Toward Open Access Chapter 17 11. New Solutions in Access to Medical Information Chapter 18 12. Controlling Copyright: The Necessary Balance Part 19 Conclusion: Advancing the Role of the Medical Librarian in the Public Good Part 20 Bibliography Part 21 Index Part 22 About the Author