A Comprehensive Summary of Services and Resources Provided by Librarians in support of CODA Accredited Predoctoral (DDS/DMD) Dental Education Programs in the United States and Canada

Objective The objective of this study is to provide a summary of library services and resources that support dental education and research. This summary will demonstrate trends in dental librarianship as well as services and resources that can be adopted to serve the needs of dental related education programs. To date, there has not been a comprehensive summary of these services. Methods An environmental scan was carried out to take inventory of services that dental librarians (1) provide. The study population consisted of librarians who work in dental libraries or college / university libraries that serve dental programs. The librarians surveyed were from institutions with a CODA accredited DMD/DDS pre-doctoral program (2). Currently, there are 76 such programs within the United States and Canada, of which 71 responded. Conclusion Our data demonstrates that the majority of dental programs have a dedicated librarian or library liaison providing clinical, educational, and research support through a variety of approaches. Increasing awareness and utilization of available services and resources within the dental community can facilitate research and complement dental education. The service models cited here can be adapted in dental related education programs across North America