Collaborative Approaches to Improving MeSH

Background: In June 2022, a group of medical librarians published an open letter to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) sharing concerns about the terminology used within NLM’s Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). The letter described problems with the opacity of the review process for new and revised terms in MeSH. NLM responded with a letter partially addressing concerns and announcing a series of listening sessions to facilitate communication about the updating of MeSH.

In response to the increased interest in MeSH among medical librarians and NLM’s efforts in transparency and partnership, a new program has started: the Medical Subject Funnel. The Medical Subject Funnel is an informal structure for library workers to collaborate on proposals for additions or revisions to MeSH.

Description: The members of the Medical Subject Funnel work together with an aim of accurate, up-to-date, culturally sensitive, and respectful terminology within MeSH, in the service of enhancing access to library resources. The funnel co-chairs coordinated with the Program for Cooperative Cataloging and the National Library of Medicine to create the new program, which is open to any library worker interested in medical terms in controlled vocabularies. Training sessions and monthly meetings were established to create opportunities for learning and discussion about potential improvements and how revisions might impact searching in PubMed and library catalogs.

Conclusion: Evaluation of the program will consist of periodic surveys which will assess members’ learning about the MeSH revision process and confidence in making proposals for change. Along with the revision of subject headings, this program is being created with the intention of acting as a welcoming space for all library workers (especially those new to libraries) to share information and ideas; survey questions will also ask participants about the collegial aspects of the Medical Subject Funnel as a space for peer-to-peer learning and shared creation.

In addition, the program will be appraised for its ability to make substantive changes in MeSH terminology by recording if and how members’ concerns were addressed within MeSH after the NLM yearly review process.