عنوان مقاله [English]

An Analysis of the Educational Needs of Medical Science Librarians in Iran

چکیده [English]

M. Hariri (Ph.D.)
Library and information science educational programs in Iran were unable to prepare professionals to work in special libraries until 1977. Various problems were involved in this situation. The most important ones being ignoring the goals and demands of special libraries and leading the curriculum towards training general librarians. In 1977 the School of Medical Librarianship and Information Science was established and trained 16 medical librarians for graduate studies. The growth of Medical Science in the country and, as a res ult, the establishment of 32 universities of medical sciences, several independent schools, and many educational hospitals increased exponentially the number of medical students and faculty so that in 1990-91 more than 22.5% of students and 28% of faculty members of universities and institutions of higher education belonged to this group. Considering also specialists and practitioners of non-academic hospitals and organizations, the population of this group reaches to 201,100 person. These figures show the number of potential medical information users, demonstrate the importance of training medical science librarians, and reveal the need for more concrete and appropriate planning in this field. To some extent current programs have taken into account the needs for medical librarians. To improve their skills and capabilities, it is necessary to revise the existing programs and incorporate new topics, developments, and areas of special interest into the undergraduate and graduate programs. There must be also plan to promote professional awareness of practicing librarians through continuing education and in-service training.