Bridging the ‘Know‐Do Gap’: a role for health information professionals?

This feature briefly examines the development of knowledge translation, knowledge transfer and the knowledge broker role as constituting the next manifestation of the movement that brought us evidence based medicine and its derivatives. It examines the extent to which health information professionals currently meet the specification for a knowledge broker role. In doing so it assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the profession when ranged alongside the five components of the knowledge transfer process that is, problem identification; knowledge development and selection; analysis of context; knowledge transfer interventions; and knowledge utilization. Current deficiencies also lie in a need for political astuteness and awareness and in a lack of knowledge of the most significant models of behavioural change. The feature concludes by examining the potential for knowledge team approaches arguing that gains from a wider perspective that encompasses the entire knowledge process may be even more significant than the pooling of collective knowledge, skills and expertise.     

‘Héloïse’: towards a co‐ordinated ecosystem approach for the archiving of scientific publications?

With the continued development of open access policies, it is important to promote consensus‐building projects with the various stakeholders. This article gives an account of how such collaboration has facilitated the construction of the project Héloïse. This project is a French information service dedicated to describing the policies of French publishers on the self‐archiving of scientific publications. Héloïse represents a real tool of mediation whose development involved much debate between publishers and research stakeholders. This article seeks to demonstrate that the development of trust between the actors involved in the project was a major component of its success.     

Who is blocking access to PubMed? Educational ‘Escape Room’ for medical residents

Teaching students how to conduct bibliographic searches in health sciences’ databases is essential training. One of the challenges librarians face is how to motivate students during classroom learning. In this article, two hospital libraries, in Spain, used Escape rooms as a method of bringing creativity, teamwork, communication and critical thinking into bibliographic search instruction. Escape rooms are a series of puzzles that must be solved to exit the game. This article explores the methods used for integrating escape rooms into training programmes and evaluates the results. Escape Rooms are a useful tool that can be integrated into residents’ training to support their instruction on bibliographic searches. This kind of learning stablishes competences like logical thinking and deductive approaching. These aspects aid participants to make their own decision and to develop social and intellectual skills.     

Rewarding reviewers – sense or sensibility? A Wiley study explained

In July 2015, Wiley surveyed over 170,000 researchers in order to explore peer reviewing experience; attitudes towards recognition and reward for reviewers; and training requirements. The survey received 2,982 usable responses (a response rate of 1.7%). Respondents from all markets indicated similar levels of review activity. However, analysis of reviewer and corresponding author data suggests that US researchers in fact bear a disproportionate burden of review, while Chinese authors publish twice as much as they review. Results show that while reviewers choose to review in order to give back to the community, there is more perceived benefit in interacting with the community of a top‐ranking journal than a low‐ranking one. The majority of peer review training received by respondents has come either in the form of journal guidelines or informally as advice from supervisors or colleagues. Seventy‐seven per cent show an interest in receiving further reviewer training. Reviewers strongly believe that reviewing is inadequately acknowledged at present and should carry more weight in their institutions' evaluation process. Respondents value recognition initiatives related to receiving feedback from the journal over monetary rewards and payment in kind. Questions raised include how to evenly expand the reviewer pool, provide training throughout the researcher career arc, and deliver consistent evaluation and recognition for reviewers.     

Parents’ information seeking during adolescent career development: a test of the theory of motivated information management

Parents are an important source of advice when adolescents are faced with decisions about postsecondary education and career planning; however, parents often need to seek information to facilitate their child’s career development. This study applies the theory of motivated information management (TMIM) to evaluate the decision-making process parents undergo in this context and tests the boundaries of TMIM by considering how individuals use face-to-face (FtF) and online sources to alleviate uncertainty-related anxieties. A community sample of parents (N?=?937) completed a survey regarding their information seeking behaviors surrounding their adolescent’s career development. Parents reported using both FtF and online sources to seek information about their child’s postsecondary plans, and they engaged in different evaluative processes depending on the source of information. Theoretical implications related to TMIM and practical implications related to parents as sources of information in adolescent career development are discussed.     

“What is Less or More than a Touch?” Multimedia Classics and Hypermedia Hermeneutics

Hypermedia is so diverse that it is in need of documentation, analysis, and methodology. For more than 20 years, online and offline applications of hypermedia technology have combined text, image, video, animation, and sound into a total work of art (Gesamtkunstwerk). This essay provides an insight into my research project, Multimedia Classics and Hypermedia Hermeneutics, focusing on why it is so difficult to describe and analyze hypermedia applications on cultural topics. It suggests how the functions, contents, and forms of hypermedia could be analyzed; to do so, it looks at Notzimmer, an interactive website story about a knockdown furniture construction kit designed by Jewish refugee Mauritius Ehrlich during World War II.     

The Cynefin framework: A tool for analyzing qualitative data in information science?

Interpreting qualitative research data and presenting it in ways that enable potential beneficiaries of the research to use it readily and appropriately is increasingly important in the context of the research impact agenda. One way of doing uses the Cynefin framework. Cynefin, which is rooted in knowledge management and complexity science, has been used in a range of contexts to support decision-making and strategy development in dynamic and challenging situations. However, it has not been widely used as a data analysis technique or in the information science discipline. An exploratory evaluation uses it to interpret the rich, nuanced qualitative data from a three-year research project that engaged people worldwide to explore issues and practical strategies for managing electronic records, a significant information management challenge. The evaluation demonstrates that the Cynefin framework provides a strategic lens through which to view electronic records management (ERM). Cynefin prompts new questions to be asked, leading to new insights and a deeper understanding of the ERM challenge. Most significantly, it provides a new construct for re-perceiving the challenge in a holistic way and offers a strategic approach to taking action for change. This evaluation suggests that it is an appropriate and effective framework for use in qualitative research on challenging information management problems, with the potential to support the transfer of research into practice.     

Plant Collection “Half‐life:” Can Botanic Gardens Weather the Climate?

Botanic gardens are organized around plant collections, and climate change will affect those collections. Land loss is expected for gardens near sea level, prompting a loss of plants from the collection. Future collection development requires planning for these losses, which in turn requires assessment of the extent and rate of collection loss. We examined collection inventory change over time using records at Montgomery Botanical Center (MBC), to formulate a plant collection half‐life concept. This half‐life was used to project changes in MBC's plant collection over the next 100 years within the context of sea level changes. Comparing predicted rates of collection change with projected rates of loss due to sea level rise, we expect plant collection development to keep pace with climate change. As actively curated resources, botanic garden plant collections can adapt to environmental change faster and more deliberately than natural systems.     

What is a Media Company? A Reconceptualization for the Online World

The current understanding of a media company is based on the idea of a publisher or broadcaster producing or aggregating, bundling, and distributing content. In this scenario, the content creation mainly is done by professionals. However, with the advent of mobile devices and ubiquitous Internet access, users have been enabled to produce content themselves. This gave rise to a new form of media companies: the platform operators, who aggregate, manage, and distribute user-generated content. Based on a historical summary, this article delineates the characteristics of this new approach of content distribution, draws comparisons to the traditional media companies, derives implications for the media markets, and provides a definition for the term media company that is valid in both the online and offline world.     

Textbook Affordability: Is There a Role for the Library?

Try searching the library catalog, as many students do each semester for the latest version of the textbook being used in a class at many universities and you will likely come up empty-handed. Many academic libraries—due to high prices, frequently issued new editions, and a tendency to go missing from the collection—have justifiably chosen to play only a marginal role in the provision of textbooks on campus. However, the dynamics of the textbook market are changing rapidly and this presentation explored the question: Should libraries reconsider the roles they play in the provision of course materials on campus? This session focused on the issue of affordability in the context of the rapid evolution and increased availability of e-textbooks (electronic versions of textbooks). Topics covered included: an overview of the e-textbook market, purchasing options and outlets for e-textbooks, new business models for institutional access to e-textbooks, potential savings from e-textbook adoptions, information on negotiating with publishers and platform providers, and why the library is well-positioned to play a prominent role in the provision of e-textbooks.