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Like many librarians today, solo medical librarians have adapted, reinvented, and renamed themselves. Considering the different job titles they hold, the number of solo medical librarians (librarians working apart from other librarians) is on the rise, though the numbers vary with the subject domain, location, and job title.(1-3) The reasons for the increase vary. Some librarians go solo when an organization reorganizes and eliminates staff positions. Others appear de novo with the recognition that the knowledge assets of an organization have to be organized by someone. Yet other solo positions arise due to the desire of an organization, department, or team to employ an embedded librarian. (Embedded librarianship is a term in vogue today and describes a concept that, at least in the medical library world, can describe a spectrum that includes the “Clinical Medical Librarian,” “Information Specialist in Context,” and “Clinical Informationist” among others.) Changes in both the information environment and the economic climate have led to a change of roles for many librarians.(4) The phenomenal growth of online resources over the past few years(5) has changed the way people use libraries.(6, 7) Although online resources have fostered an increased recognition of the role that information plays in the mission of healthcare organizations, library budgets have not kept pace with the increase in prices of books and subscriptions. Libraries coped with this first by cutting many journal subscriptions, then by reducing purchases of monographs and generally cutting print collections to make way for electronic journals and e-books. Libraries formed consortia, and directors made difficult decisions; prices continued to increase. With all this came attempts at redefining information needs and reassessing the need for librarians.(4) In turn, this led to the loss of librarian jobs and the creation of solo librarian positions in organizations that once had multiple librarians. The reduction in this professional workforce has led, in some cases, to a reduction in the scope and quality of service. This, in turn, led to organizations or departments hiring their own librarian to bridge the gap and provide more individualized information services. In other situations, the library saw a need and sent its librarians out into the organization. Both of these are types of embedded librarians. The difference between these two embedded librarian positions is subtle but meaningful. It is the difference between “Who can we (the organization) get to do this for us?” versus “What can we (the library) do for the organization or individual?” Who saw the need? Who pays the salary? To whom does the librarian owe allegiance? The answers to these questions influence the attitude of those needing the information. They also influence the collection of materials: Is there a formal collection? How do we decide what to buy for it? What is its nature? Who pays for it? Who owns it? Who houses it (whether it is physical space or space on a server somewhere)? How is the collection managed? As a librarian employed by a medical specialty department in an academic medical center rather than a library, my own experience is a case in point: I have both the best and the worst of the situation. Like my departmental colleagues, I have at my fingertips the resources of a large and eclectic collection paid for by the university library. However, I have very little say in the materials collected by the library. I am dependent upon the university library for interlibrary loan, their link resolver and proxy server, their choice of e-journal and other resource packages. Remarkably, this works for my department most of the time. Monetary donations by departmental alumni and others have enabled me to supplement what is missing from the university library with a small collection of print books. They also enable me to purchase individual articles and other materials from publishers and document delivery services when time is of the essence. I am also able to maintain a facility for this small collection and to give my departmental colleagues a quiet workspace and computer resources so they can study and work comfortably without distraction. References
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