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Abstract
The 1970s and 1980s comprised the “golden age” of hospital librarianship as the librarian's role as the key knowledge-based information (KBI) provider within the hospital was enhanced by the MEDLINE gatekeeper function. The explosive emergence of the Internet in the mid-1990s undercut the gatekeeper role as access to MEDLINE became available from a variety of sources including free access from the National Library of Medicine via PubMed. With the demise of the MEDLINE model of services, hospital librarians have been modifying the library's role as a portal to information housed anywhere in the world. This paper proposes a model to assist hospital librarians as they struggle to adapt their libraries and provides a framework and guide for hospital librarians working to meet the KBI needs of their institutions in a rapidly changing information environment.