Adapting to Change: A Survey of Evolving Job Descriptions in Medical Librarianship

Abstract

In the past decade, the role of health sciences librarians has been redefined by technology and emerging trends. Traditional medical librarian positions are becoming less common as adaptations are made to fit rapidly changing library environments. As new roles for librarians are defined, position descriptions are being created or revised so that they are in line with current duties. Via a survey, the authors collected current position descriptions from health sciences libraries and compiled them into a Medical Library Association DocKit. This article describes the process and results of the project. Issues and problems encountered during the project are also discussed.

Keywords:

• emerging trends
• health sciences librarianship
• job descriptions
• MLA DocKit
• survey

Notes

© Karen D. McMullen and Felicia Yeh