Academic status for medical school librarians

Area of Science:

• Medical Librarianship
• Academic Administration

Background:

• Professional librarians in medical schools often lack consistent faculty appointments and benefits.
• The integration of librarians into the academic structure impacts their effectiveness and institutional standing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the current academic status of medical school librarians.
• To advocate for the importance of faculty status for medical librarians to enhance their roles.

Main Methods:

• Survey of medical schools regarding librarian academic status.
• Analysis of faculty appointment and benefit awarding practices.

Main Results:

• A majority of medical schools grant some level of academic status to librarians.
• Faculty appointments and benefits are not universally awarded to medical librarians.
• Some medical schools are designating libraries as academic departments.

Conclusions:

• Granting faculty status to qualified medical librarians is essential for their stature and effectiveness.
• Medical schools have a responsibility to award faculty status, and librarians must earn it.
• The trend towards academic department designation for libraries is growing.