The San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center (SFGHMC) is an acute care hospital that operates under the jurisdiction of the City and County of San Francisco, as a part of the Department of Public Health. It is affiliated as a major teaching hospital of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

SFGH employs 1,790 SFGH/UCSF full-time equivalent employees and approximately 1,400 full-time equivalent University employees, including physicians and house staff. Through its affiliation with the UCSF School of Medicine, the hospital has over 230 active and courtesy members of the Medical Staff.

The Barnett-Briggs Medical Library's information services are managed and organized to meet the knowledge-based information needs of the medical and nursing staffs, researchers, administrators and managers, allied health care professionals, employees, students, patients and their families, and the general public. The library’s mission is to provide relevant, specific, and accurate health-related information to support the patient care, patient education, research, and program development activities at San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center.

The library is open seven days a week, with regularly posted hours. The library is closed on University (UCSF) holidays. Holiday closings will be posted at the entrance.