Integrating information literacy into the education of public health professionals: roles for librarians and the library |
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| Authors: | Laura Cobus |
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| Institution: | Email: , Head Librarian, Hunter College, Hunter College Health Professions Library, 425 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010 |
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| Abstract: | Objective: The paper reviews the core competencies for public health professionals presented in the Institute of Medicine''s (IOM''s) report, Who Will Keep the Public Healthy: Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century; describes improving information literacy (IL) as a mechanism for integrating the core competencies in public health education; and showcases IL as an opportunity for solidifying partnerships between academic librarians and public health educators.Methods: The IOM competencies, along with explicit examples of library support from a literature review of current IL trends in the health sciences, are analyzed.Results: Librarians can play a fundamental role in implementing the IOM''s core competencies in shaping public health education for the twenty-first century. A partnership between public health educators and librarians through a transdisciplinary approach is recommended.Conclusions: IL skills and competencies integrated into public health curricula through a collaborative partnership between public health educators and librarians can help integrate the IOM''s core competencies and improve public health education.Highlights- Exploring and solidifying transdisciplinary partnerships with public health educators and librarians through curriculum-integrated information literacy (IL) is one avenue to continue successful education of public health professionals.
Implications- Librarians can be considered public health collaborators essential to the twenty-first century education of health professionals.
- Future research is required to effectively evaluate the best practices of curriculum-integrated IL into public health education.
- Transdisciplinary research is advantageous for achieving the shared goal of educating public health professionals.
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