title: Hospital libraries in perspective.
abstract: The proliferation of hospital libraries since World War II has created a generation of librarians who take for granted the existence of libraries in hospitals. A literature review for the first half of the twentieth century presents a picture of uncertainty and struggle for identity for the hospital library. Then as now, hospital libraries reflect the institutions within which they operate. A brief history of the development of the American hospital provides a context for describing the various roles that the hospital library has played within its parent institution during the twentieth century. Some personal reflections on working in a hospital library are also presented.
authors.affiliation: Columbia Hospital Medical Library Milwaukee, WI 53211.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Holst
mesh_terms: D004501:Education, Medical; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006761:Hospitals / Q000266:history; D007992:Libraries, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history*; D008500:Medical Records Department, Hospital / Q000266:history; D012579:Schools, Nursing / Q000266:history; D014481:United States