Educational services in health sciences libraries: a content analysis of the literature, 1987-1994

The recent literature (1987-1994) describing educational services of health sciences librarians was analyzed for content. Variables examined included publication journal, country, type of article (description, review, or advocacy), target audience of education services, and subject of article. Articles that reported research results also were identified. Of 123 articles studied, 82.1% were descriptive, 14.6% advocacy, and 3.3% reviews. Library users were the primary target audience (85.1%), an increase over the percentage reported in an earlier study of the 1975-1986 literature. Librarians were the target audience in 12.8% of the articles, a decrease from the previous study's findings. There was an increase in educational offerings by academic libraries, which sponsored 83.2% of programs, while hospital libraries' sponsorship decreased to 5% of programs reported in the literature. The analysis identified a major need for research related to educational activities in health sciences libraries.