Developing Pathways to Health Sciences Librarianship

Because most health sciences librarians enter the profession with little or no health sciences experience and new health sciences librarians often have to cobble together self-education programs, there is a need for more introductory training and mentoring opportunities. Creating new pathways to becoming a health sciences librarian can be valuable for increasing awareness of career possibilities in health sciences libraries and removing barriers to becoming part of the professional community of health sciences librarians. Participants in this session will generate ideas for developing and promoting introductory training and mentoring opportunities in health sciences librarianship, with a focus on making the profession more equitable, diverse, and inclusive.

The session will begin with short presentations to establish guiding questions for group discussion. Natalie Tagge and Greg Laynor will describe their backgrounds as health sciences librarians who came to the field with no prior health sciences experience, will share their research on the training and mentoring of health sciences librarians, and will discuss the introductory health sciences librarianship education and mentoring program they have developed. Emily Vardell will share her perspective as a library science faculty member who teaches courses in health sciences librarianship. Renée Rau, Juliana Magro, and Megan DeArmond will share their paths to health sciences librarianship. These short presentations will establish guiding questions for all session participants to discuss. Participants in the session will discuss the guiding questions in small groups moderated by discussion facilitators. The small groups will share the highlights of their discussions with the whole group.

Questions discussed in the session will include: 1) What methods have you used to develop the skills needed to work as a health sciences librarian? 2) What existing opportunities for introductory health sciences librarianship training and mentoring are you aware of? 3) How might these existing opportunities be better promoted so as to increase equity, diversity, and inclusion in health sciences librarianship? 4) What new introductory health sciences librarianship education or mentoring programs are needed in order to make health sciences librarianship more equitable, diverse, and inclusive? 5) Can you envision how you may want to become involved in existing and/or new health sciences librarianship education and/or mentoring programs?

Facilitators will compile the ideas generated in the session into a document shared with all participants after the session.