1.1 Introduction

The Medical Library Department serves as the main information hub of the hospital. It is saddled with the responsibility of Selecting, Acquisition, Organizing, Managing, Dissemination and Evaluation of Information & Information Resources: e.g. Physical (print) collections like Books, Journals, Newspaper, Magazines & Periodicals. Non Physical (non-print) collections like online electronic & digital resources. Usually, under the supervision of a Professional Librarian with the core objective of satisfying the information needs of its users and the mother organization.

2.0 Former Head of Department (HODs)

1. Mallan Adamu Ciroma 1979 -1994
2. Mallam Abubakar Mohammed 1994 – 2012
3. Mrs Lucy Obinor 2012 – 2017

3.0 The Medical Library Operational Guidelines

     1. The library facility is strictly for a registered users; staffs, students, patients &   

         Relations with a valid identification card to access where necessary.

     2. Users usually surrender & dropped their bags at the entrance for scrutiny.

     3. Prohibition of entering the library with certain items like beverages, food items etc.  

         These can attracts rodents & insects that are harmful to the resources

     4. Vocal use of mobile devices is prohibited in the library.

     5. Conversation among users is limited.

     6. Noise creating activities are prohibited.

     7. Books borrowed must be returned within the stipulated time or renewed before 

         expiration of the deadline.

4.0 Functions of Hospital Medical Library Department
      The department play the following roles in the hospital;

      1. Serves as information Resource Centre for research, training and treatment

      2. Aids the teaching and learning activities of the courses offered in the hospital 

          Schools, such as literature search and research topics

       3. Conducting literature searches to support and inform clinician’s guidelines and     

            protocols

       4. Identifying resources relevant for health professional development and internal  

           education

       5. Collaborating with other libraries on healthcare professionals & research, grants,    

            patient care initiatives, and hospital community. 

       6. Ordering information resources or materials that aren’t online or maintaining  

            consumer health collections for staffs, students, patients and families who visit the  

            hospital

      7. Organizes and preservation management of information resource & services of the   

          hospital e.g. bibliographic compilation and reprographic services

      8. User Education & Training Services (UES) of IT Students, library users and other 

          Supportive staff on the operational guidelines for quality services

      9. Also serves as recreation and relaxation center for the staff, readers and patients of  

          the hospital.

5.0. Units of the Department

      1. Circulation section

      2. Collection Development Section

      3. Reserve section

      4. Reference Section

      5. Serial section

      6. Binding section

      7. Automation section (e-library)

      8. Cataloguing & Classification Section

      9. Audio Visual Section (in View)

6.0 Materials
In terms of materials especially books and journals, the library maintain a huge collections of 3,438 volumes of document
In addition, the journals forming the largest portion of the collection and also most current materials are over 5,000 volumes. However, the library has a few collections of non-medical books that include Novels, Magazine, Leaflets, Gazettes, Manual etc. also in relation to internet, the library has had over 500 soft copies of medical books coupled with a hundred non-medical soft copies.
The library subscribes to local and international journal intermittently.
7.0 Staff Strength
The staff strength of the department is 20

8.0 Opening Hours
The usual opening hours is maintained as follows:
Monday – Friday 7:30 – 10:00pm
Saturday 8:00am – 1:00pm
However, the library is closed on Sunday and public holidays.

9.0 Membership
The membership of the Medical library is opened to the eligible members of staff, students of the hospital and around the hospital community, patients &their relatives.

10.0 Achievement
The hospital management has purchased additional 48 medical books to the library collections including; Pharmacology & Nursing Books, SOCAST Books. The upgrade of the Internet Service, also the library is enjoying a Solar System courtesy of the management

11.0 Brief Profile of the HOD
Monday Amos Benjamin (DPA. ADIM. BSc. MSc. PhD. CLN.) A graduate librarian from the prestigious Bayero University Kano, Nigeria. Currently lecturing at School of Orthopaedic Cast Technology NOH-Dala Kano, also the school’s SIWES Coordinator.

12.0 Conclusion

Medical Libraries and Medical Librarians have been involved in staffs, students and patient health education over-time. Increasingly, the library and librarians have focused on improving the hospital community’s access to high-quality health information, expanding their involvement in research to address health literacy disparities, and producing inclusive training programs and evaluation tools. This increased activity by the library and librarians is due to support and funding from the hospital management. Medical Librarians’ Education and Training prepare them to efficiently locate answers to clinical questions within the scholarly literature. In addition to a graduate degree in library and information science (which includes classes in information access, organization, and retrieval). The medical librarians may receive training in cataloging, data management, and document preservation as the library is fully connected to internet.