The Boston Children's Hospital Medical Library supports the mission of the hospital in the areas of patient care, education, and research.
- Location: Karp Commons at 1 Blackfan Circle. First floor of the Karp Building, accessible through the main lobby.
- Mailing address: 300 Longwood Avenue, BCH 3044, Boston, MA 02115
- Phone: 617-355-7232
- Online catalog: http://chb.softlinkliberty.net/liberty
- Manager, Library Services: Chloe Rotman, MLIS
- Library Committee Chair: S. Jean Emans, MD
Hours
Doors are unlocked 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The library is not staffed on Boston Children's holidays. Open 24/7 to Boston Children's personnel with ID badges.
Who we serve
The library serves the entire hospital staff, including physicians, nurses, researchers, allied health staff, and hospital administration.
Facilities
Computers are available for Boston Children's employees to use. There are also two printers for copying, scanning, and printing. Study and reading spaces are located throughout the library. The collaboration room and the media room have large wall-mounted screens with HDMI and VGA hookups. The media room also has a computer. The collaboration room is bookable by contacting the library.
Library services
To meet the wide range of information needs of physicians, nurses, researchers, fellows, residents, students, and all other staff, the Boston Children's Hospital Medical library offers:
- literature searches conducted by librarians and systematic review support
- interlibrary loan and document delivery
- training on various databases, citation management software, and evidence-based medicine for departments, groups, and individuals
- Library Lunch Topics, a series that provides an in-depth look at library and information topics
- current awareness services for departments or individuals that feature the latest content in relevant professional journals or topic-based searches
- scanning service for articles available in print in the library
- journal management, assessment, and ordering for the entire hospital
- discount book-ordering
Collections
The library has a core collection of medical books. A specialized professional development collection includes books on management, leadership, and business topics, as well as resources on scientific writing and presentations, practice management, and academic careers. The leisure reading collection includes popular fiction and nonfiction titles.
The historical book collection includes books written by Boston Children's staff. The journal collection includes both online and print content, many titles with extensive back files. The collections, while focused on pediatrics, are multi-disciplinary in nature.
Boston Children's Hospital Archives Program
The Boston Children's Hospital Archives Program was established in 1993 to acquire, preserve, and make available the historical records that document the ongoing history of Boston Children's, its staff, support personnel, patients, and families.
Capturing our spirit
A record of the institution's history is found in many sources — on wall plaques, in the voices of patients treated and cured, and in the careers of physicians, nurses, and administrators. Such testaments are of great value to Boston Children's and the entire field of pediatrics. Original records attest to Boston Children's many ground breaking contributions to pediatric health care, teaching, and research. They also mirror the institution’s policies and organization — and capture the spirit of an era.
Maintaining our guiding principles
The archives maintains a wide variety of collections comprised of letters, publications, photographs, artifacts, oral histories, and other records, which document the evolution of the institution as well as the guiding principles that have inspired generations of physicians, nurses, and other professionals to provide the best care for sick and injured children.
Investing in our future
Serving as the hospital's memory, the Boston Children's Hospital Archives Program is fertile ground from which scholars can study the institution, the field of pediatrics, and the role of health care workers.
For more information on the archives and its collections, visit childrenshospital.libguides.com/archives.