Presentation: History of Medical Librarianship at NAHSL

Abstract

In 2023, Network of the National Library of Medicine, Region 7 (NNLM R7) hosted a webinar on the History of the Rochester Study: Literature Discussion. We identified the Rochester Study topic by watching discussions on the Medical Library Association’s Hospital Libraries Caucus listserv. On the listserv, librarians expressed curiosity about this historic research. During the webinar, the chat discussion was lively, creating 16 pages of commentary that was saved, anonymized, and distributed to the registrants and on the Hospital Libraries Caucus listserv. ​In 2024, we will deepen our conversation on this history of medical librarianship by taking three months to read A History of Medical Libraries and Medical Librarianship by Michael and Jennie Kronenfeld. The Moodle course starts in February and closes at the end of April. Participants can choose to join discussion forums and Zoom meetings to share ideas with their peers. This presentation will hit the highlights of the Rochester Study literature discussion. This includes participant remarks about the historic changes in federal requirements, information access, aspects of care as well as commentary on future research directions. The presentation will conclude with a synopsis of the Kronenfeld book, with surprising details about the history of medical librarianship. The NNLM training program had 162 registrants for the History of the Rochester Study: Literature Discussion. Judging from these counts, health sciences librarians are interested in the history of their profession. NNLM supports the work of health sciences librarians and looks forward to providing a learning opportunity for this population.