This highly acclaimed, peer-reviewed journal is an essential working tool for health sciences and hospital librarians. For those professionals who provide reference and public services to health sciences personnel in clinical, educational, or research settings, Medical Reference Services Quarterly covers topics of current interest and practical value in the areas of reference and information literacy services in medicine and related specialties, the biomedical sciences, dentistry, nursing, and allied health.
This exciting and comprehensive resource regularly publishes brief practice-oriented articles relating to health science reference services, with an emphasis on user education, database searching, and electronic information. Columns feature Online Updates, Hospital Information Services, Book Reviews, Emerging Technologies, Trends, and Informatics Education. The journal extensively examines the areas of information management education and resources, technology applications to libraries, and end-user searching. Research articles and case studies in which practical application is analyzed and clearly presented are also included.
Medical Reference Services Quarterly has explored topics related to health sciences librarianship such as: • Use of the Internet for providing medical information • Utilization of biomedical databases • Innovations in medical reference services • Continuing education of health sciences librarians • Clinical medical librarianship • Hospital librarianship • Marketing library services • Staffing and administration in health sciences libraries • User education • Legal aspects of medical reference • Use of technology for providing reference services • Document delivery • Consumer health education and information resources • Collection management of electronic and print resources • Evidence-based medical librarianship • Use of social media in health sciences librarianship • Diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.
Peer Review Policy
All manuscripts submitted to Medical Reference Services Quarterly are peer reviewed using a rigorous, double anonymized process; reviewers are assigned based on subject expertise. The Editor accepts or rejects manuscripts based on the recommendation of two peer reviewers.
Publication office: Taylor & Francis, Inc., 530 Walnut Street, Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106.
Journal metrics
Usage
75K annual downloads/views
Citation metrics
4.0 (2023) CiteScore (Scopus)
Q1 CiteScore Best Quartile
1.066 (2023) SNIP
0.706 (2023) SJR
Speed/acceptance
52 days avg. from acceptance to online
publication
Understanding and using journal metrics
Journal metrics can be a useful tool for readers, as well as for authors
who are deciding where to submit their next manuscript for publication.
However, any one metric only tells a part of the story of a journal’s
quality and impact. Each metric has its limitations which means that it
should never be considered in isolation, and metrics should be used to
support and not replace qualitative review.
We strongly recommend that you always use a number of metrics, alongside
other qualitative factors such as a journal’s aims & scope, its
readership, and a review of past content published in the journal. In
addition, a single article should always be assessed on its own merits and
never based on the metrics of the journal it was published in.
Usage and acceptance rate data above are for the last full calendar year
and are updated annually in February. Speed data is updated every six
months, based on the prior six months. Citation metrics are updated
annually mid-year. Please note that some journals do not display all of
the following metrics
(find out why).
Usage:
the total number of times articles in the journal were viewed by users
of Taylor & Francis Online in the previous calendar year, rounded to the
nearest thousand.
Citation Metrics
Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles published in the
journal within a two-year window. Only journals in the Clarivate Science
Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI),
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) and the Emerging Sources
Citation Index (ESCI) have an Impact Factor.
Impact Factor Best Quartile*:
the journal’s highest subject category ranking in the Journal Citation
Reports. Q1 = 25% of journals with the highest Impact Factors.
5 Year Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal
within a five-year window.
CiteScore (Scopus)†:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal over
a four-year period.
CiteScore Best Quartile†:
the journal’s highest CiteScore ranking in a Scopus subject category. Q1
= 25% of journals with the highest CiteScores.
SNIP
(Source Normalized Impact per Paper):
the number of citations per paper in the journal, divided by citation
potential in the field.
SJR
(Scimago Journal Rank):
Average number of (weighted) citations in one year, divided by the
number of articles published in the journal in the previous three years.
Speed/acceptance
From submission to first decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision. Based on manuscripts receiving a
first decision in the last six months.
From submission to first post-review decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision if it is sent out for peer review.
Based on manuscripts receiving a post-review first decision in the last
six months.
From acceptance to online publication:
the average (median) number of days from acceptance of a manuscript to
online publication of the Version of Record. Based on articles published
in the last six months.
Acceptance rate:
articles accepted for publication by the journal in the previous
calendar year as percentage of all papers receiving a final decision.
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Molly Knapp, Network of the National Library of Medicine, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah, USA
SECTION EDITORS Kate Daniels Clinical Librarian, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, GA (Hospital Information Services) Helen-Ann Brown EpsteinInformationist, Health Sciences Library, Virtua Health, Mt. Laurel, NJ (Hospital Information Services) David Petersen Research & Learning Services Librarian, Preston Medical Library Health Information Center, University of Tennessee Medical Center, Knoxville, TN (Book Reviews) Tariq Rahaman Reference & Instruction Librarian, Tampa Bay Regional Campus Library, Nova Southeastern University, Tampa, FL (Emerging Technologies) Deborah J. Rhue Clinical Services Librarian, Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (Hospital Information Services) Priscilla L. Stephenson Tampa, FL (Hospital Information Services) Emily Vardell Associate Professor, School of Library and Information Management, Emporia State University, Emporia, KS (Online Updates) Borui Zhang Natural Language Processing Specialist (Assistant University Librarian), Health Science Center Library, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (Emerging Technologies)
EDITORIAL BOARD Lisa Adriani Research & Instruction Librarian, Edward & Barbara Netter Library, Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT Nancy Allee Director, Taubman Health Sciences Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI Brian L. Baker Library Services Program Manager & Literacy Program Coordinator, Medical Library, Valley Children’s Health Care, Madera, CA Amy Blevins Associate Director for Public Services, Ruth Lilly Medical Library, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN Ellen Brassil Director, Health Sciences Library, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA Stewart Brower Director, Schusterman Library, University of Oklahoma, Tulsa, OK Amber Burtis Health Sciences Librarian / Associate Professor, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL Deborah H. Charbonneau Associate Professor, Wayne State University School of Information Sciences, Detroit, MI Amy J. Chatfield Information Services Librarian & Liaison to the School of Pharmacy, Norris Medical Library, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA Jeannine Creazzo Director, Medical Library, Continuing Education, and Research Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, Somerville, NJ Jill Deaver Reference Librarian, Liaison School of Medicine, Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL Jonathan Eldredge Associate Professor, Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center, School of Medicine, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM Rolando Garcia-Milian Research and Education Librarian for Bioinformatics, Lecturer in Epidemiology, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT Nancy R. Glassman Assistant Director, D. Samuel Gottesman Library, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY Terri Gotschall Scholarly Communications Librarian, Harriet F. Ginsburg Health Sciences Library, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando, FL Colette Hochstein Technical Information Specialist, Division of Specialized Information Services, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD Shannon D. Jones Director of Libraries, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC Janna C. Lawrence Deputy Director, Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA Nancy T. Lombardo Librarian, Head of Digital Publishing, Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT Peace Ossom-WilliamsonAssociate Director, NNLM National Center for Data Services, NYU Health Sciences Library, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY Melissa L. Rethlefsen Executive Director, UNM Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM Michele R. Tennant University Librarian, Health Sciences Center Libraries and Program Director, Academic Research Consulting and Services (ARCS), Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL Kaitlin F. Throgmorton Data Librarian for the Health Sciences, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, Yale University, New Haven, CT Borui Zhang University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Abstracting and indexing
Medical Reference Services Quarterly is abstracted/indexed in: De Gruyter Saur; IBZ - Internationale Bibliographie der Geistes-und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Zeitschriftenliteratur; EBSCOhost; Academic Search Complete; Biological Abstracts; CINAHL Plus; Current Abstracts; H.W. Wilson; MasterFILE Complete; TOC Premier; Elsevier BV; EMBASE; Scopus; National Library of Medicine; PubMed; OCLC; ArticleFirst; Library Literature; ProQuest; LISA: Library & Information Science Abstracts; Thomson Reuters; BIOSIS Previews; MEDLINE; and U.S. National Library of Medicine.
All Library & Information Science journals are subject to the Zero Embargo Green OA Policy, which states that authors retain copyright of their article & are entitled to Green Open Access, allowing authors to post their Accepted Manuscripts to repositories, social media, personal webpages, etc. immediately upon publication. More information on the Zero Embargo Green OA Policy can be found here.
Open access
Medical Reference Services Quarterly is a hybrid open access journal that is part of our Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research.
Why choose open access?
Increase the discoverability and readership of your article
Make an impact and reach new readers, not just those with easy access to a research library
Freely share your work with anyone, anywhere
Comply with funding mandates and meet the requirements of your institution, employer or funder
Rigorous peer review for every open access article
Article Publishing Charges (APC)
If you choose to publish open access in this journal you may be asked to pay an Article Publishing Charge (APC). You may be able to publish your article at no cost to yourself or with a reduced APC if your institution or research funder has an open access agreement or membership with Taylor & Francis.
Would you like to advertise in Medical Reference Services Quarterly?
Reach an engaged target audience and position your brand alongside authoritative peer-reviewed research by advertising in Medical Reference Services Quarterly.
Taylor & Francis make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contained in our publications. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents (including the editor, any member of the editorial team or editorial board, and any guest editors), and our licensors, make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor & Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to, or arising out of the use of the Content. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions .
Ready to submit?
Start a new submission or continue a submission in progress
![Sample our Information Science journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/110813/Subject-Sample-2021-Information-Science.jpg"})