The response of clinical medical librarians to the COVID-19 pandemic: a case study

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world with a large part of the population in lockdown for months. Given the need medical teams have for information, clinical medical librarians have played an important role in searching for the best scientific evidence. The objective of this paper is to describe the role of librarians in Brazil during the pandemic in public and private hospital libraries and in the Health Technology Assessment Service. This is a case study report of the work of clinical medical librarians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper is drawing on experience from three clinical medical librarians acting in the private hospital, philanthropic hospital and Health Technology Assessment Service in the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The report describes the activities of clinical librarians in providing clinicians with information on how to care for patients with COVID-19. In Brazil clinical medical librarians play an important role in supporting medical teams by identifying reliable sources of information and assisting with research.