Embedded Librarians and Library Services Impact Nursing Excellence and the Magnet® Journey

Two master's-trained hospital librarians, a director, and a medical librarian are employed by a comprehensive healthcare system in the Northeast to provide library services to four hospitals varying in size, services, and populations. Three of the four hospitals have been recognized with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet® designation, and one hospital is pursuing the ANCC Pathway to Excellence Program® designation. The 2 librarians support clinical and nonclinical staff at all 4 hospitals in the conduct of literature searches, securing full-text article requests, managing library database access, offering current awareness services, and designing and running educational classes. The librarians participate as regular members on nursing councils, including those that support Shared Governance, an organizational structure which empowers nurses to take part in shared decision-making at the hospital. The librarians also partner with nursing to maintain a culture of nursing inquiry, practice evidence-based nursing, and strive for nursing excellence. In doing so, the librarians have become an important element of the hospital's Magnet® designation success. Embedded librarians have a positive impact on nurses' utilization of library services and support nurses' evidence-based practice, research, and quality improvement initiatives. There is an opportunity in the future to closely track the number of nurses who use library services, to continue to observe the impact librarians have on the pursuit of nursing excellence, and to research the effect of librarians on Magnet® recognition.