I posted on 11/08/2008 about a new role of Informationist I found described in the literature.  I have recently stumbled upon an article that is a follow-up to the original article.  Rankin et al did a systematic review of the literature from 2000 to present studying publications that discuss the concept of this role.  The number of articles published is generally on the rise.  Almost two-thirds of the articles were found in library journals, approximately 7% in informatics literature and the remainder in healthcare literature. 

 

The significance of the growing number of articles is related to the recognized need to access and use evidence-based literature for making practice decisions.  It also may be related to the recognition of knowledge and time deficits of practitioners.  The Informationist role may add value to the practice of patient care as someone educated in library and information management would have skills and knowledge of collections and be able to provide needed resources to clinicians.

 

 

Rankin, Jocelyn A., Suzanne F. Grefshelm, & Candace Canto.  “The emerging informationist specialty: a systematic review of the literature.” Journal of the Medical Library Association 96 (July 2008): 194-206.