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20
Posted by Carolyn Martin on October 20th, 2025
Posted in: Guest Post, Medical Librarians, News from NNLM Region 5
Tags: librarian roles, medical librarian, Medical Librarians Month
October is National Medical Librarians Month and to celebrate, NNLM Region 5 has invited guest blog posts from the medical librarians in our region. We thank Andrea Harrow, Clinical Librarian at Keck Medical Center of University of Southern California and the Norris Medical Library, for her post highlighting the important role of medical librarians in clinical care.
Access to trustworthy, accurate health information is critical for patient care. Medical librarians help to bridge the gap between critically appraised, evidence-based resources and clinical decision-making. Our expertise in information retrieval saves valuable time and enhances the quality and safety of patient care. We provide expert services in navigating medical databases, accessing clinical guidelines, and finding the latest research. We also manage our resource collections to ensure value and train our partners in how to best utilize resources and tools for their own research, information management and in staying current with emerging evidence. Many times, we serve as a “second brain” getting into the details of a search in order to provide the best possible search strategy and advice. Our collaboration helps our partners to better define what it is they want to know.
Andrea (standing first on the right) and members of Keck Medicine of USC’s Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Council with their poster at their 2nd Annual Nursing Symposium
Medical librarians foster interprofessional collaboration. We serve as integral members of healthcare teams, participating in patient care rounds, systematic review projects, evidence-based practice and quality improvement initiatives. By providing evidence-based information through expert search methods, we align team members around shared knowledge and best practices. This collaboration strengthens communication among disciplines and promotes a culture of continuous learning—empowering clinicians to independently access and evaluate information throughout their careers.
The current information and healthcare environments can be confusing. We also help patients to be better able to assess the health information that they find, as well as promote literacy strategies to develop better communication between patients and providers. By teaching evidence-based practice skills, critical appraisal, and health information literacy, medical librarians contribute to the education and professional development of the entire healthcare team. We also help to facilitate the research cycle and scholarly communication process by providing guidance in how to format work to submit to conferences and publications and for assessing where to disseminate work.
Medical librarians are more than custodians of information—we are active, valued partners in clinical care, research and professional development. Our specialized skills are transferable to all areas of healthcare, improving practice and patient outcomes and supporting collaborative, high-quality care.
ABOUT Carolyn Martin