Mitigating implicit bias in reference service and literature searching

In the past few years, medical and allied health schools have developed curricula to address implicit bias and provide better care for patients. Libraries, too, have created material to address personal biases. We expand upon both of these bodies of literature by considering the impact of implicit bias on finding and accessing the scientific literature. Health sciences librarians play a crucial role in ensuring access to the health sciences literature and as such, teaching librarians to recognize and address implicit bias in reference interviews and literature searches holds the potential to improve health sciences education and ultimately patient care. In this chapter, we aim to provide a relatively comprehensive review of the growing body of literature on implicit bias within health sciences libraries; to briefly describe our workshop on identifying and addressing implicit bias within the reference interviews and searching; and to leave the reader with concrete strategies for addressing implicit bias within their own reference and research process.