Introduction

A growing body of literature demonstrates a role for libraries to support innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization activities at their institutions and in the broader start-up community. Despite multi-trillion-dollar global health care markets, there are few examples of how medical libraries can help advance organizational priorities focused on translating research and clinical innovations into viable health care products and services. This presentation aims to explore the landscape of medical library support for innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization and begin a conversation about how medical library workers can collaborate with students, faculty, staff, and other affiliated users they support to become an integral part of the innovation community.

Description

Using examples from the literature and the authors’ experiences, this presentation introduces how libraries help advance organizational and community goals to support and grow innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization initiatives, with a focus on health care. The information needs and information seeking behaviours of entrepreneurs, and how these may differ from typical medical library users, will also be discussed.

Discussion

There is an emerging opportunity for medical libraries to demonstrate their value as partners within health innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization ecosystems. Success may mean rethinking or reimagining the vision medical libraries have of themselves as research, learning, and clinical partners. As library budgets continue to tighten, supporting health innovation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization activities may also open the door to new funding opportunities for libraries, library workers, and the communities they support.