Clinician Search for Information

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Abstract
The use of a medical library by members of the faculty of a medical school was studied by questionnaire in an effort to ascertain the part the library played, among channels of communication, in work‐related information searches. The study described the population of users and the kinds of sources they utilized in an information search, in an effort to identify the factors influencing their choice of kinds of sources and leading to the possibility of predicting use of kinds of sources once the characteristics of the users were known. It brought out a high use of sources which are accessible and easy to use. The tabulations show the importance of co‐workers in informal communication. Low delegation of documentation tasks to libraries was apparent. The main user of the library studied was a clinician in the area of internal medicine who used journal articles about diseases for information to use in the treatment of his patients. The recommendations were made that journals should be shelved accessibly, with Index Medicus nearby. Books might be shelved less accessibly. Telephone access to the library is of major importance as is the provision of adequate photocopying facilities.
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