Marketing is essential for medical and health science libraries. However, there has been no profession wide analysis of marketing definitions and incorporation for this specific field. A study was undertaken to investigate the current state of marketing understanding and practice in medical and health science libraries. Specifically, this study looks at individual, institutional, and profession wide marketing definitions, practices, trends, and gaps – creating a solid foundation and framework for future work.

This poster reports the preliminary results from a survey looking at current medical/health science library wide opinions and practices concerning medical/health science library marketing. The survey was distributed through various listserves and targeted emails to professional medical/health science librarians. Questions focused on an individual’s perceptions and definitions of marketing for themselves, within their institutions, and for medical librarianship as a whole. Results, explanations, and implications are detailed, as well as plans for further study and resource development based on findings.