Matheson-Cooper Report: The First Roadmap to the
Clinical Translational Science Awards

Darrell G. Kirch, M.D.
President and CEO, Association of American Medical Colleges
Washington, DC

Many reports state interesting facts.  Others stimulate change.  Precious few do both, while providing a remarkably accurate window into the future.  The Matheson-Cooper report—Academic Information in the Academic Health Sciences Center:  Roles for the Library in Information Management—is the rare item that accomplishes all three.  The report’s distinguished authors not only predicted the extent to which information technology would transform academic medicine, they empowered health sciences librarians as change agents in the transformation. 

When you recall that the report was written in 1982—years before patients went online prior to seeing their doctor, decades before “handhelds” replaced assorted books in the white coats of medical students, and at a time when libraries were thought of primarily as book repositories—its prophetic abilities are even more remarkable.  I think it is safe to say that the changes that have taken place in health sciences libraries these past 25 years have reflected the changes taking place in academic medicine’s three mission areas:  education, research, and patient care.

In education, for example, as we transition to an environment where “all teach and all learn,” the library has become less a storage place for books and more a true meeting place for ideas.  Increasingly, we find that stacks and carrels are giving way to small discussion rooms where learners meet to exchange ideas.  Further, as we place greater emphasis on the skills needed for a lifetime of learning, we find librarians teaching information management skills in classrooms and serving on curriculum committees.

In research, new technology has enabled librarians to help expedite one of the most critical and often time-consuming tasks of the investigative process: identifying and locating relevant scientific literature. As Matheson and Cooper observed, researchers seek information “in short bursts of effort; it is time away from the bench, time-consuming, and frequently unrewarding drudgery.”  ¹ In addition to helping researchers search the literature more effectively and efficiently, librarians also locate hard-to-find materials (so-called grey literature, such as unpublished or internal documents). 

In clinical care, instead of a doctor visiting the library to request database searches about a patient’s condition, new technology enables the library to come to the doctor.  Today, clinical informationists serve as active members of patient care teams.  By participating in patient rounds—and, in many cases, generating journal articles in place and in real-time—clinical informationists literally help bring “bench to bedside.”

The above examples provide only a snapshot of the many ways information technology has transformed academic medicine and the key role health sciences librarians now play as partners in our mission areas.  Today, the Association of American Medical Colleges continues to support and advance this partnership through efforts such as our Group on Information Resources, or GIR (http://www.aamc.org/members/gir/).   In fact, the GIR’s diverse membership – medical educators, librarians, informationists, research administrators, clinical researchers, physicians, and chief information officers— reflects the high degree to which IT is integrated into our daily operations.  

Today, as we observe the 25th anniversary of the Matheson-Cooper report, we also recognize its enduring value as a living document.  For over a quarter of a century, this important work by Nina W. Matheson and John A.D. Cooper has accurately predicted the functions information technology has come to play in our mission areas, even without “knowing” the exact forms such technology would take.   Additionally, the report has served to strengthen the longstanding partnership between the academic medicine and health sciences librarian communities.  I have no doubt that when we read the report 25 years from now, it will continue to provide new insight about technology’s role in medical education, research, and patient care.