Circuit librarianship: a twentieth anniversary appraisal.

The twentieth anniversary of circuit librarianship is a fitting occasion to reflect on its history and success. The tradition of circuit riders is traced and the hallmarks and achievements of circuit librarian programs are described. Providing information services to remote health professionals has been a longstanding concern of medical librarianship, and it is presently a major focus of the National Library of Medicine. It is suggested that widespread adoption of circuit librarianship would not only satisfy the information needs of unserved health professionals but could enhance the image of the profession given the centrality of the librarian, not the library, in this model.