Health Informatics for Medical Librarians

Citation

Shelton, M.E. (2010), "Health Informatics for Medical Librarians", Collection Building, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 119-119. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604951011060420

Few names come to mind when the topics of medical librarianship and medical informatics are raised. Dr Ana Cleveland is one of those few that has the authority to write a book called Health Informatics for Medical Librarians that merges the two topics. Unlike most books on medical informatics that focus on the technical aspects of the field, the Clevelands, who have authored numerous books together, bring the topic down to earth to give librarians a better understanding of the field and their role in it. This book gives the reader a broad overview of the subject matter, almost to the point of being a textbook for the student who hopes to be a medical librarian. Those who are already medical librarians may want to jump over the first few chapters of the book.

The first part of the book provides background information that at times is very simple. Descriptions are given of many different kinds of medical professions, environments, and services. It is not until Chapters 3 and 4 that the authors really begin to paint a picture of the importance of medical informatics and data, and how and where systems are being employed to address medical issues with the technology. Chapter 5 deals with medical librarianship in more depth, with explanations of possible roles and a description of an “informationist,” a clinical and information expert. Chapter 6, which can also be skipped if the reader is a practicing medical librarian, covers such rudimentary topics as medical terminology, bibliographic control, and the medical literature.

The remaining chapters of the book really delve into several core systems, such as the electronic health record and medical imaging systems, their purpose and value. Genomics and medical ethics are also covered.

In some of the chapters, there is a short paragraph that does describe various opportunities for medical librarians with respect to the systems described. Also, near the end of each chapter, the reader will find described an “Informatics in Action” scenario, where a medical librarian is called to participate or manage a real‐world project related to the topic of the chapter. These short cases bring some of the theory into practice. The authors also provide a glossary at the end of the book for reference. This is a good general book although there are better books for the advanced medical librarian. It would be a good addition to an academic library.