From Index Catalogue to Gopher space: changes in our profession as reflected in the Handbook and CPHSL

A fifty-year review of the history of health sciences librarianship, as reflected in four editions of the Handbook of Medical Library Practice and its successor, Current Practice in Health Sciences Librarianship, illustrates the significant changes our profession has undergone. Publication in 1943 of the first edition of the Handbook marked an important milestone in the development of the Medical Library Association, as a group of dedicated volunteers documented standard practice and recorded useful data. Administration of health sciences libraries has moved from art to science. Responsibility for the development of collections is now the sole purview of professional librarians. Automation and bibliographic standards have revolutionized the methods for controlling and providing access to information resources. And, the means by which assistance is provided to library users, through the use of computer and telecommunications technology, has changed dramatically.