A nurse has a patient care question. A resident is researching treatment options. A therapist is searching for best practices.

At Kettering Health, they don’t have to search for answers alone.

Across the system, a team of three experienced medical librarians helps connect caregivers with accurate, evidence-based information that supports patient care and research. During National Medical Librarians Month this October, the librarians hope to raise awareness of a resource many team members may not realize is available to them.

The librarians bring decades of experience to Kettering Health. Bette Sydelko spent more than 25 years supporting nursing and medical students at Wright State University before joining Kettering Health in 2019. Margaret Chappell has served Kettering Health employees for more than 20 years. Amy Rohmiller, who joined Kettering Health from the University of Dayton in 2022, works closely with residents, nurses and researchers throughout the system.

“I’m not sure if enough people in Kettering Health know that the library and the librarians are here to serve them,” Sydelko said.

That is one reason the team is using National Medical Librarians Month to raise awareness of the services available across Kettering Health.

“Our whole job is to connect people to the information that they’re looking for,” Rohmiller said.

Although the librarians are based at Kettering Health Dayton and Kettering Health Main Campus, their services are available to employees throughout the organization. Whether someone works in Miamisburg, Hamilton, Troy or another Kettering Health location, the team collaborates across facilities to provide support wherever it is needed.

The team helps employees find journal articles, conduct literature searches, support research and quality improvement initiatives, navigate the publishing process and access specialized medical databases. The librarians also support education efforts across the organization, working with residents, nurses and other caregivers to develop research skills and make effective use of evidence-based resources. Last year alone, they completed more than 700 literature searches and fulfilled about 1,900 article requests.

Many people still associate hospital libraries primarily with physicians and residents. In practice, the librarians support employees across Kettering Health.

“We serve everybody, from environmental services people to physical therapists to lab techs to nurses, and then the physicians and the residents,” Sydelko said.

Rohmiller said one of the biggest benefits of using the library is the time it can save busy caregivers.

“If they’re trying to find the answer and it is taking them longer than 10 minutes to find the answer, they should just stop and ask us,” she said. “Because our job is to save them time. We are the information professionals.”

The librarians’ expertise also helps employees navigate an increasingly complex information environment. They stay current through continuing education, professional organizations and collaboration with health sciences librarians throughout the region.

“We know what sources to look at; not Google,” Chappell said. “We know reputable databases and resources to look at.”

The librarians also help employees verify information and citations generated by AI tools.

“We see it when they say, ‘Can you find us this article?’ and they’re hallucinations,” Chappell said. “They weren’t even real. AI made them up.”

Whether employees need research support, journal articles, literature searches or help finding accurate information, the librarians want them to know expert assistance is available across the system.

“I love that I can contribute to the mission of people’s health,” Chappell said. “I can help doctors, nurses and administrators get accurate, true information to do their jobs.”

To learn more, access resources or connect with a librarian, visit the Medical Libraries page on the Kettering Health intranet.

Celebrating Medical Librarians Month

During National Medical Librarians Month, there are opportunities to celebrate.

The KH librarians will be hosting an online scavenger hunt to help team members learn about the library and its many resources. Additionally, there will be pop-up libraries where people can meet the librarians and learn more about how they can help. Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., the librarians will be at Main Campus (Oct. 13), Soin Medical Center (Oct. 20) and Hamilton (Oct. 28).