Journal profile · Social Sciences-Library and Information Sciences
Medical Reference Services Quarterly
ISSN 0276-3869 · eISSN 1540-9597 · Taylor & Francis
Medical Reference Services Quarterly: subscription journal; APC charged, amount not published; review about 28 days (submission to first decision, publisher); acceptance rate 57% (journal website); 40 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Medical Reference Services Quarterly is published by Taylor & Francis. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Health Sciences Research and Education, Web and Library Services and Library Science and Information Literacy, together about 40.1% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
This highly acclaimed, peer-reviewed journal is an essential working tool for health sciences and hospital librarians. For those professionals who provide reference and public services to health sciences personnel in clinical, educational, or research settings, Medical Reference Services Quarterly covers topics of current interest and practical value in the areas of reference and information literacy services in medicine and related specialties, the biomedical sciences, dentistry, nursing, and allied health. This exciting and comprehensive resource regularly publishes brief practice-oriented articles relating to health science reference services, with an emphasis on user education, database searching, and electronic information. Columns feature Online Updates, Hospital Information Services, Book Reviews, Emerging Technologies, Trends, and Informatics Education. The journal extensively examines the areas of information management education and resources, technology applications to libraries, and end-user searching. Research articles and case studies in which practical application is analyzed and clearly presented are also included. Medical Reference Services Quarterly has explored topics related to health sciences librarianship such as: Use of the Internet for providing medical information Utilization of biomedical databases Innovations in medical reference services Continuing education of health sciences librarians Clinical medical librarianship Hospital librarianship Marketing library services Staffing and administration in health sciences libraries User education Legal aspects of medical reference Use of technology for providing reference services Document delivery Consumer health education and information resources Collection management of electronic and print resources Evidence-based medical librarianship Use of social media in health sciences librarianship Diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. Peer Review Policy: All manuscripts submitted to Medical Reference Services Quarterly are peer reviewed using a rigorous, double anonymized process; reviewers are assigned based on subject expertise. The Editor accepts or rejects manuscripts based on the recommendation of two peer reviewers.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Library and Information Sciences
Editor-in-chief Molly KnappPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Health Sciences Research and EducationHealth Professions20.9%
- Web and Library ServicesComputer Science10.2%
- Library Science and Information LiteracySocial Sciences9%
- Innovations in Medical EducationMedicine4.6%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering4.5%
- Library Collection Development and Digital ResourcesComputer Science4.3%
- Library Science and AdministrationSocial Sciences4.3%
- Electronic Health Records SystemsHealth Professions4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPubMedEmbaseCINAHLPublisher website
Other: ProQuest, OCLC, De Gruyter Saur, EBSCOhost, Academic Search Complete, Biological Abstracts, Current Abstracts, H.W. Wilson, MasterFILE Complete, TOC Premier, Elsevier BV, National Library of Medicine, ArticleFirst, Library Literature, LISA: Library & Information Science Abstracts, Thomson Reuters, BIOSIS Previews, U.S. National Library of Medicine
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.36LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.36Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.5LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.5Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 42OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 296OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.85OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 67,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,021 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 22 | 5 | 2 |
| 2025 | 40 | 4 | 20 |
| 2024 | 39 | 7 | 64 |
| 2023 | 40 | 6 | 122 |
| 2022 | 41 | 6 | 196 |
| 2021 | 47 | 7 | 397 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
Too few articlesOnly 1 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 57%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 28 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted4
- commentComment | Published online: 27 Aug 2026Length not stated
- editorialEDITORS-IN-CHIEF Molly Knapp, MA, AHIP, Data Management Librarian, Research Services Department, University of Houston Libraries, USASECTION EDITORS Lindsay Bla…Length not stated
- reportReport | Published online: 20 Jul 2026Length not stated
- research articleResearch Article | Published online: 17 Aug 2026Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Zero Embargo Green OA Policy: authors retain copyright and may post Accepted Manuscripts immediately upon publication. Model summary
Medical Reference Services Quarterly is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discov…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review policy: double anonymized review; editor decides based on two reviewers' recommendations. Model summary
All manuscripts submitted to Medical Reference Services Quarterly are peer reviewed using a rigorous, double anonymized process; reviewers are assigned based on subject expertise. The Editor accepts or rejects manuscripts based on the recommendation of two peer reviewers.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 0276-3869
- Electronic ISSN
- 1540-9597
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 45, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Medical Reference Services Quarterly
How long does peer review take at Medical Reference Services Quarterly?
The publisher reports about 28 days (submission to first decision); first decisions include desk rejections; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 57%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index Medical Reference Services Quarterly?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Medical Reference Services Quarterly is indexed in Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase and CINAHL; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Medical Reference Services Quarterly open access, and what is the APC?
Medical Reference Services Quarterly is a subscription journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .