Medical Reference for Librarians

The Medical Library closed in 2010 due to state government reorganization and budget cuts, but we can still assist Iowa libraries that need assistance with medical reference questions, citations. or medical history.  The State Library has a variety of online medical databases and web sites that we can search for you or that we can assist you with in formulating search strategies. HealthInfoIowa at www.HealthInfoIowa.org is the State Library's consumer health web site which includes reliable health information web sites as well as information on how to find good sites.

In addition, there are other web sites available through EbscoHost and FirstSearch on the State Library web site that can be accessed with a State Library card. These include:,  Consumer Health Complete, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Health Source Consumer, Health Source Nursing,  and PubMed(Medline).

In addition to these online sites, the National Library of Medicine provides additional specialized medical databases for consumers and professionals that can be accessed free of charge from any computer. Go to http://www.nlm.nih.gov. We can also assist with verifying citations and location medical documents, journals, and books that are not available at the State Library. If you are looking for book, journal or av recommendations for your library, we can assist with that too. In addition, you are welcome to send library patrons directly to us for additional information and assistance. Please contact us at 515-281-4102 or 800-248-4483 or email us at is@lib.state.ia.us. Our fax number is 515-281-4118.