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About the Library

Mayo Clinic is served by an integrated system of libraries, knowledge centers, and archives including extensive online resources and efficient delivery systems. The libraries include a large collection of electronic resources accessible 24/7 to all Mayo Clinic staff and students, and physical locations and collections in the Florida, Minnesota, Arizona and Wisconsin.

Resources available to employees and students include a rich collection of digital and traditional resources networked throughout all Mayo sites. The collections cover the entirety of clinical medicine, nursing, biomedical research, medical humanities, and related fields including administration and management of healthcare. The Mayo library system contains an extensive collection of traditional journals and books totaling around 400,000 archival volumes. Mayo employees and students have access to over 6,000 electronic journals and over 2,000 electronic textbooks and finding tools. These resources can be accessed from anywhere in the world. 

Mayo Clinic libraries use a variety of commercial and custom-built systems to provide services, including database discovery tools, library and archives management systems, faculty publications database (Mayo Authors Database), electronic Document Delivery system, automated current awareness system, subject guide system, and link resolver and article finder systems. 

Services provided by the Mayo Clinic Libraries include traditional services such as circulation, electronic document delivery, and interlibrary loan. A full range of training and staff-mediated services is also available: online database training, evidence-based medicine training, expert literature searching for staff and students, consultation on online retrieval strategy, in-depth reference and consultation services, current literature alerts, and scanning services. Mayo libraries participate in regional and national interlibrary loan networks including the Network of the National Library of Medicine and can obtain material not owned or licensed by a Mayo library from a variety of library collaborators and commercial sources.

Special collections include hospital-based patient libraries supporting the needs of hospitalized patients and their families with special knowledge centers serving the needs of students and faculty of Mayo Medical School and Mayo School of Health Sciences and, archival collections illustrating and documenting the history of Mayo Clinic. Rare medical works (books from 1479; journals from 1665) of scholarly significance, first descriptions, and classic accounts as well as works which help explain the development of medicine are housed in the Mayo History of Medicine Library. The "Locations" link on the library website provides access to more details about these specific libraries.

Mission

The Mayo Clinic Libraries and their staff link people, authoritative health sciences knowledge and technology to support the clinical, research and educational goals and initiatives of the Mayo Clinic and affiliated organizations.

Organization Chart

Code of Conduct

Vistors and Staff of the Mayo Clinic Libraries and Historical Units are expected to adhere to the following Code of Conduct.  This will provide a professional and safe learning environment for all and ensures the proper use of physical spaces and materials. 

Policies

General Library policies are published in the Mayo Clinic Policy Library. Service specific policies and procedures are listed below. 

Vision

The Mayo Clinic Libraries focus on delivering excellent customer service and educational, scholarly and supportive resources for patients, caregivers, faculty, students, clinicians, researchers and allied health staff.

Service and Collection Statistics

Mayo Clinic Libraries 2023 Year in Review

Values

  • Compassion – We will provide professional, conscientious and responsible service and seek service delivery that exceeds the expectations of our clients.
  • Healing – We will remember our goal is to educationally support clinically-driven patient initiatives with excellence.
  • Respect – We will apply respect and sensitivity as we encourage the discovery, dissemination and evaluation of knowledge spanning from historical to emerging medical content.
  • Integrity – We will adhere to ethical practices that demonstrate honesty, trustworthiness and professionalism.
  • Teamwork – We commit to collaborative teamwork, both internally and externally, sharing knowledge, resources, ideas and expertise to fulfill our mission.
  • Innovation – We will proactively pursue the use of new methods and technologies in order to provide essential and outstanding services to our clients.
  • Excellence – We will actively seek to meet and exceed client needs, providing accurate and timely information. We will collaborate with individuals and pursue viable partnerships to strengthen our opportunities for service excellence.
  • Stewardship – We are dedicated to the responsible and creative stewardship of library resources, especially as we face financial, clinical and technological challenges.

2022-2025 Strategic Plan for the Mayo Clinic Libraries and Historical Units

“ADVANCING Through”

            1. Assessment

            2. Communications and Service Delivery

            3. Educational Opportunities and Tools

            4. Resource and Technology Enhancements 

ADVANCING Through Assessment

  • Conduct assessments of patron satisfaction and information needs
  • Conduct a needs assessment regarding addition of a Data Management Librarian and the provision of data visualization education by library staff

ADVANCING Through Communications and Service Delivery

  • Develop promotional resources and mechanisms to increase visibility and understanding of resources available for onsite and remote workers
  • Outreach Team to target audiences at each geographic site with communications using multiple method
  • Feasibility Review for a Clinical Informationist Service
  • Launch a Library Virtual Chat Service

ADVANCING Through Educational Opportunities and Tools

  • Develop style and training guide for Argus archival cataloging system
  • For patrons, develop short video tutorials about library services and resources
  • For staff development, offer a series of workshops on common software and technology issues faced by library and historical unit staff

ADVANCING Through Resource and Technology Enhancements

  • Increase business resources by adding digital subscriptions/licenses and other e-resources 
  • Migrate library.mayo.edu to the Springshare platform and incorporate new functionality 
  • Establish guidelines for creation, maintenance, and retention of LibGuides