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October is National Medical Librarians Month! This year’s theme is Avoid Misinformation! Take the Right Path: Partner with Your Medical Librarian. The Medical Library Association is raising awareness of the value health sciences librarians bring to clinical information needs. Health sciences librarians can find the best evidence to answer your questions. 

Graphic displaying findings of the 2013 NN/LM study demonstrating impact of medical librarians in patient care

In 1992, the landmark “Rochester Study”1 demonstrated a relationship between information services provided by health sciences librarians and improved patient outcomes. The study sampled a group of 448 physicians in the Rochester, NY area. 80% of the 208 physicians who returned their questionnaires said that they probably or definitely changed some aspect of patient care based on information received from a hospital librarian. The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) sponsored a follow up study whose results were published in 2013.2 Focus groups, surveys, and phone interviews gathered input from physicians, residents and nurses from 118 hospitals about a recent incident in which they had sought information for patient care. The key findings were:

Library and information resources were perceived as valuable, and the information obtained was seen as having an impact on patient care.

Electronic access to information resources from multiple locations has increased the ability of health professionals to use these resources for improved patient care.

The roles of librarians are diversifying to include management of electronic resources, user instruction and support, specialized research and clinical information search services, and involvement in institution-level quality improvement.

Marshall et al. (2013)

A similar 2016 study conducted in the UK measured clinical librarian’s impact on patient outcomes. It found a wide range of positive interventions including “direct contributions to choice of intervention (36%) diagnosis (26%) quality of life (25%), increased patient involvement in decision making (26%) and cost savings and risk management including avoiding tests, referrals, readmissions and reducing length of stay (28%).”3

Librarians at Himmelfarb are all well versed in the principles of evidence-based practice. Many are expert searchers, with advanced training on databases like PubMed and Scopus. Our reference team has years of experience conducting systematic reviews and other in depth searches. When you have an information need, whether it be for research or patient care, turn to our team of professionals at Himmelfarb Library! You can reach us at himmelfarb@gwu.edu or call 4-1850 or chat with us 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday.

  1. Marshall JG. The impact of the hospital library on clinical decision making: the Rochester study. Bull Med Lib Assoc. 1992 Apr;80(2):169–78. PMID: 1600426
  2. Marshall JG, Sollenberger J, Easterby-Gannett S, Morgan LK, Klem ML, Cavanaugh SK, Oliver KB, Thompson CA, Romanosky N, Hunter S. The value of library and information services in patient care: results of a multisite study. J Med Libr Assoc. 2013 Jan;101(1):38-46. doi: 10.3163/1536-5050.101.1.007. PMID: 23418404
  3. Brettle A, Maden M, Payne C. The impact of clinical librarian services on patients and health care organisations. Health Info Libr J. 2016 Jun;33(2):100-20. doi: 10.1111/hir.12136. Epub 2016 Feb 17. PMID: 26887653.

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Have you noted some new faces at the Information Desk on the Himmelfarb Library first floor or manning our library chat service? We are pleased to introduce you to Rachel Brill, Reference and Instruction Librarian, and Corinne Petro, Evening/Weekend Reference Specialist.

Rachel recently completed her Masters in Library Science at Indiana University and worked previously as a reference assistant at Wells Library at Indiana University. She also has instructional and scholarly publishing experience, including utilizing NVivo for qualitative analysis. At Himmelfarb, she joins our team of reference and instruction librarians who provide research support and online database search services, and instructional services, including serving as embedded librarians in the first and second year MS Practice of Medicine curriculum. You can reach Rachel at rgbrill@gwu.edu.

Here are some more things to know about Rachel!

What are you enjoying most about your experience at Himmelfarb Library so far?

That everyone has been so friendly! The Himmelfarb staff was so welcoming to me. I feel like I’m already a part of the Himmelfarb family. I’m also really excited to start working with med students in the POM class.

What has surprised you?

That we have a real human skeleton on the 3rd floor!

Tell us a bit about your background.

I hail from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, outside of Philadelphia. I got my bachelor’s degree in classics at Princeton University, and then I got master’s degrees in library science and history from Indiana University. I have always wanted to be a librarian, especially in a role in which I could assist students and scholars conducting research. It is a dream job for me because I get to learn new things all the time.

What do you like to do in your free time?

You can usually find me reading a book, watching a funny TV show, or listening to show tunes.

Corinne is currently working on her Masters in Library Science at San Jose State and has a Bachelor in Philosophy and Women and Gender Studies from Colorado State. Corinne has extensive experience in educational settings, including work as a tutor and parent liaison at tutoring and child care services. She also has experience as a writing instructor and as an office administrator. Corinne will primarily staff the first floor information desk and the library chat service at Himmelfarb in the late afternoon and evenings during the week and on Saturday afternoons. You can reach Corinne at corinnepetro@gwu.edu.

Here are some more things to know about Corinne!

What are you enjoying most about your experience at Himmelfarb Library so far?

I’ve really enjoyed getting to know my coworkers, everyone is very helpful and kind. I’m also just happy to be working at the reference desk so I can put what I’m learning in my classes into practice.

What has surprised you?

I’m happily surprised about the many 3-D printed frogs that live here.

Tell us a bit about your background.

I studied Gender Studies and Philosophy during my undergrad at Colorado State University. Now I am studying for my Master’s in Information and Library Science at San Jose State University. I also work part time as a teacher and as a pet-sitter.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I like spending time with my pets, reading, writing, and playing games. I also enjoy hiking.

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Medical librarians have been important advocates for health literacy, so it’s appropriate that we celebrate the profession the same month we recognize the importance of health literacy. Healthy People 2030 updated their definition of health literacy to include both personal and organizational health literacy:

  • Personal health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
  • Organizational health literacy is the degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.

The National Library of Medicine and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) play a key role in delivering health literacy programs and information resources. MedlinePlus piloted in 1998 as a consumer health information website. It provides a trusted, evidence-based information resource that includes resources in Spanish and over 40 other languages on medical topics, tests, drug information, and genetics. Health check tools including calculators and questionnaires are available.  MedlinePlus Connect is a free service that allows linkage of patient information to the EHR.

Medical librarians support health literacy through programs like InformationRx services that provide tailored patient education materials assembled by librarians to patients at the request of attending physicians. Medical librarians also do outreach initiatives, like train the trainer programs for community lay health workers, frequently supported by NNLM grants. The Medical Library Association provides consumer health information specialization training for librarians who provide health information services to the public.

Medical librarians have been active in the fight against the Covid infodemic. At the Eskind Biomedical Research Library, Vanderbilt University, librarians supported nursing staff to make sure they had easy access to the most up to date information when communicating with patients and they did outreach to nurse educators and patient advocacy groups. The Medical Library Association maintains a Covid-19 Resource Guide for Patients and the Public.

Looking for quality consumer health information resources? Himmelfarb Library has a Consumer Health Resources Guide including patient education materials from AccessMedicine and ClinicalKey for Nursing, consumer health websites, and drug information. Need more help?  Contact our reference staff at himmelfarb@gwu.edu or chat us!

Walker P. (2021). The library's role in countering infodemics. Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA, 109(1), 133–136. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2021.1044

Whitney, W., Keselman, A., & Humphreys, B. (2017). Libraries and Librarians: Key Partners for Progress in Health Literacy Research and Practice. Studies in health technology and informatics, 240, 415–432 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5724359/

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