Liaison Librarian to Clinical Services

Description

Under limited supervision, responsible for acting as senior resource person throughout library system in area of functional specialty. May lead or mentor lower level team members. Serves as the primary liaison librarian to the clinical enterprise of UT Health San Antonio, which includes the UT Multispecialty & Research Hospital, the Mays Cancer Center, UT Health Physicians, UT Dentistry Clinical Operations, UT School of Nursing, and Residents. Supports clinical activities by developing and providing high-quality, expert information services to clinical faculty, staff, residents, and students. 

• Promotes evidence-based practice by conducting database searches, participating in structured reviews, providing reference services, and delivering customized instruction.
• Works collaboratively with library administrators and clinical care unit administrators to plan, develop, and implement robust clinical library services. Coordinates assessment of clinical library services and surveys key constituencies to determine new and emerging information needs of clinicians.
• Assists with library-wide initiatives related to promotion and marketing of library services and with library grant-funded activities. Reports on clinical library service activities for university and library reports and publications. Participates in library planning activities and serves on library and campus committees.
• Perform additional or special duties as assigned. 

Responsibilities:

In support of the Mission and Vision of the UT Health San Antonio, the Liaison Librarian to Clinical Services reports to the Associate Library Director for Liaison Services for the following responsibilities:

1. Engages with a diverse community of providers, faculty, and students to identify and implement library services that advance continuous improvement in patient care, teaching, learning, research, and other clinical outcomes. Promotes library and information services, instruction, and outreach to clinical departments and teams.
2. Evaluates and recommends information resources appropriate for clinical needs and explores potential areas for collection development to enhance the existing collections and resources, considering opportunities for collaboration with the clinical enterprise to support its clinical and research needs.
3. Selects, promotes, and evaluates scholarly communications within traditional and emerging paradigms.
4. Develops and teaches classes and workshops, integrating evidence-based practice, information literacy, responsible conduct of research, and emerging technologies.
5. Participates in the library’s structured review service and responds to requests for complex literature syntheses that support patient care, quality initiatives and standards, education, and research.
6. Conducts extensive and exhaustive searches of medical literature to address research questions and issues related to patient care using PubMed, OVID, CINAHL, Scopus, and other databases.
7. Provides reference and research consultations through both face-to-face meetings and electronic communication methods (e.g., email, chat, Zoom).
8. Staffs the library’s virtual reference service, promoting evidence-based health information and assisting users. Provides guidance on search strategies, interlibrary loan requests, and bibliographic verifications. Refers users to other staff, libraries, or agencies as appropriate.
9. Creates instructional materials in multiple formats (videos, online tutorials, guides, etc.) for use by students, residents, faculty, and staff in multiple clinical environments.
10. Participates in the library's orientation and instruction programs, providing consultations on the use of library resources (library catalog, Ovid, PubMed, CINAHL, evidence-based practice tools, Internet sites), reference tools, citation management software, and emerging technologies.
11. Assists with library-wide initiatives related to promotion and marketing of services and with library grant funded activities, reporting on these activities for library reports and publications.
12. Contributes to organization-wide planning for new service launches and other library initiatives.
13. Participates in strategic and annual planning activities for the Liaison Librarian Division and other library initiatives by collaborating with colleagues to support the library’s vision, mission, and strategic priorities.
14. Leads and/or serves on library and campus committees as appropriate.
15. Participates in professional development opportunities to maintain knowledge of developments in information resources and services for healthcare, education, and research.
16. Contributes to the profession and represents the UT Health Science Center Libraries in academic, scholarly, and professional community.
17. Completes additional or special duties as assigned.

Requirements

The candidate must meet the criteria for appointment at the Librarian-Senior level and have professional library experience in an academic, health sciences, or biomedical libraries environment or in an affiliated clinical/research environment. The position requires the ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a team that seeks to learn together and support each other. Candidates should demonstrate a commitment to providing high-quality customer service in clinical settings. Additionally, the candidate must be able to manage multiple priorities effectively while aligning current library tools, services, and opportunities to support clinical library services in hospital and clinical settings.

Education:  Master's degree in Library or Information Science is required.

Preferred: Candidates with demonstrated expertise in evidence-based practice, conducting structured reviews, providing reference and instruction, and developing and teaching classes on the use of information resources to support clinical care and quality improvement are desired. Familiarity with the research process and the funding policies of federal agencies is also preferred.

Experience:  Five (5) years of library experience with increasingly responsible work assignments.

LICENSE AND CERTIFICATION:  ALA-accredited MLS is required.