The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)awarded the UNC School of Information and Library Science a grant to work with Duke University to study the concept of the medical informationist or medical information specialist – a person with a medical degree who is also trained in library and information science. The funding was made available through the IMLS "Librarians for the 21st Century" grant program and was designed to address IMLS Priority 1: "Educate the next generation of librarians."

The purpose of this project was to train individuals who understand both the needs and challenges facing the user (physician, scientist) and the information resources and systems that ideally should support their clinical decisions and research. The project presented a potential model for dual degree programs at other medical schools. Formal grand funding will end in December 2008. The last phase of the grant involves an evaulation of the program and analysis of the data collected over its duration.

The second and last cohort of students was enrolled in the program in fall 2007 and will complete the program in summer 2009.

IMLS Grant provided financial support for fall 2006 and 2007 enrollment:

• NC resident tuition for two years for two students (possibly 3)– one (1) enrolled Fall 2006, and three (3) enrolled in Fall 2007
• Stipend of $21,000 per student for the two years
• Health insurance coverage during the program
• Support for attending one conference per year
• Relevant field experience for 10 hours each week

Student Participation

Students receiving funding from the IMLS grant were asked to participate in the evaluation of the program and its accomplishments during the degree program and after it's completion. Specifically, students will:

• Meet with program faculty and the coordinator on a regular basis to discuss progress, degree requirements, and any problems encountered
• Complete all course evaluations
• Participate in surveys and interviews with project staff designed to assess the satisfaction with the program
• Participate in interviews before, during and after the degree program to assess the impact on the program of career goals

One of the evaluation measures will also be the student's performance while at SILS, including grades, portfolios of work, records of publication of projects and papers, and other work during each semester. Only the SILS faculty and project staff will have access to and review the performance data.

Students in this special program complete the normal degree requirements and have a faculty advisor at UNC SILS and a mentor at Duke School of Medicine.

The Duke Medical Center Library staff have been available to students to identify projects, provide learning experiences, answer questions, and provide them with opportunities to learn more about the operation of libraries and the management and delivery of information resources.

The results of the study will be shared with other library and medical schools through publications, presentations at national meetings, and this Website.

Project Staff

If you are interested in applying to the regular dual-degree program (not part of the IMLS grant), please contact Pat Thibodeau at thibo001@mc.duke.edu or (919) 660-1150 by January 7, 2009!