history

On June 12, 1947, nineteen librarians formed a separate Pharmaceutical Section within the Science-Technology Division of SLA. This separate Section was created to meet the special needs of corporate, hospital, research, government, technical, and academic information professionals in the field of pharmaceuticals. Early projects included two publications: Unlisted Drugs and a Union List of Periodicals in Pharmaceutical Libraries.

In 1966, the Section was designated an official Division of SLA. A Biopharmaceutical Roundtable became an official subgroup in 1995. Members attending the 1996 annual business meeting voted to change the group’s name to include “Health Technology.” The new name recognizes the growing constituency drawn from medical device, diagnostics, and biotechnology industries. We are privileged to be one of two communities large enough and active enough to have a separate meeting outside of the SLA Annual Conference.

In 2020, as a result of an SLA restructuring, the position title of Chair was changed to President and Divisions were designated as Communities.

Previous PHT Chairs/Presidents

The PHT Community is honored to have a heritage of distinguished leaders since its inception in 1947: