Developing evidence-based librarianship: practical steps for implementation

Evidence-based librarianship (EBL) is a relatively new concept for librarians. This paper lays out a practical framework for the implementation of EBL. A new way of thinking about research in librarianship is introduced using the well-built question process and the assignment of librarian research questions to one of six domains specific to librarianship. As a profession, librarianship tends to reflect more qualitative, social sciences/humanities in its research methods and study types which tend to be less rigorous and more prone to bias. Randomised controlled trials (RCT) do not have to be placed at the top of an evidence 'hierarchy' for librarianship. Instead, a more encompassing model reflecting librarianship as a whole and the kind of research likely to be done by librarians is proposed. 'Evidence' from a number of disciplines including health sciences, business and education can be utilized by librarians and applied to their practice. However, access to and availability of librarianship literature needs to be further studied. While using other disciplines (e.g. EBHC) as a model for EBL has been explored in the literature, the authors develop models unique to librarianship. While research has always been a minor focus in the profession, moving research into practice is becoming more important and librarians need to consider the issues surrounding research in order to move EBL forward.     

Developing research capacity in health librarians: a review of the evidence

This critical review considers current issues of research capacity development in UK health care and the role of health librarianship in this context, placing particular focus on the use of research networks. There is a growing literature base recognising the need for librarians to engage more with research. The concepts of evidence-based health librarianship and clinical librarianship are discussed in the context of research and examples of existing good practice are reviewed. It is suggested that librarians should build on this through better consideration of evidence based methodologies, hierarchies of evidence, improvement of research skills, and a collective endeavour to identify research priorities. The importance research capacity is being given in the Department of Health R&D strategy and the use of networks in achieving this is discussed, and it is suggested that the utilisation of networks and collaboration should be undertaken and explored in more depth in developing research capacity in health librarianship. Areas where librarians currently engage with research and use networks and collaborative practices to contribute to the research base are reviewed. A co-ordinated approach to developing research capacity is called for and it is argued that the use of networks would be beneficial in assisting the process.     

Research Goes Digital: Some Methods,Frameworks, and Issues

Traditionally, librarians take a role in connecting researchers with resources. With the advent of the digital age, the nature of research is expanding; there are more, and different, sources of data, ways of collecting data, and methods of analyzing and interacting with data. If librarians are to remain relevant and able to serve their patrons, then they must engage in research as guides or even as partners in the research process. To do this, it is critical that librarians gain an understanding of the nature of research in the digital age and of the frameworks, methodologies, and issues related to digital research. The purpose of this article is to contribute to literature on digital research as it relates to librarianship.     

Research engagement in health librarianship: Outcomes of a focus group

It is widely recognised that there is a lack of research engagement in librarianship. Anecdotal and editorial based observations express concerns regarding this situation but there is a lack of research exploring it. The research which does exist has been conducted at a generic level with little relevance to specific disciplines of librarianship therefore weakening its impact and applicability at discipline level. To date, there have been no studies that examine issues of research engagement exclusively within the context of UK health librarianship. This study reports on the findings of a focus group conducted as part of a larger study which attempted to redress this current gap in the evidence base. The focus group aimed specifically to gain consensus on the top five key barriers and top five key priorities for research engagement in the UK health librarianship. The main findings suggest that barriers to research engagement are mainly contextualised within research addressing key matters for the profession of health librarianship, whilst priorities are mainly contextualised within the role health librarians have in supporting the research of the health professionals to whom they provide library services. Outcomes of the focus group provide early empirical evidence to confirm that whilst there is considerable goodwill towards research and the development of the evidence base in health librarianship, there are existing challenges between working for the interests of both the library service user and development of the evidence base in healthcare, and the evidence based progression of the health librarianship profession.     

A Mixed-Method Study of Undergraduate and First Year Librarian Positions in Academic Libraries in the United States

The aim of this study is to better understand the prevalence, scope, and unique challenges of undergraduate and first year librarians over the last decade, through the use of quantitative and qualitative data from job listings, online surveys, and phone interviews. The findings indicate that there is very little consensus about what the undergraduate librarian does, how the work is structured on a daily basis, and how its goals are negotiated and assessed. Further, undergraduate librarians face a number of issues, including navigating vaguely defined responsibilities, establishing their professional credibility, and communicating their role within the library and to the university. Survey participants reported experiencing tension between the traditional (reference, instruction, collection development) and undergraduate-specific aspects of their duties, indicating that it is difficult for them to prioritize engagement and outreach. While the literature on blended librarianship anticipates some of these issues, undergraduate librarians are unique because they provide an intersection between broader higher education priorities and the academic library. The author stipulates that the lack of definition, strain, and the perception of undergraduate librarianship as an entry-level position is incongruent with the importance colleges and universities place on undergraduate student success.     

The Librarian as Mediator

This paper examines various aspects of librarianship in order to illustrate that the profession is one that requires the techniques of mediation. Both librarianship and mediation are crafts guided by and furthering the interests of democratic society. The concern of librarians with intellectual freedom and literacy is examined as it encompasses the challenges of homelessness and multiculturalism. These issues call upon librarians to mediate, and to do so dynamically because of changes in library theory, methods, and technology. Librarians mediate between clients and with themselves. Mediation is required in bibliographic selection and for every library policy. It is hoped that readers of this paper will imagine many other aspects of librarianship that are furthered by effective mediation.     

The changing role of the subject librarian,with a particular focus on UK developments,examined through a review of the literature

Using a literature review this paper examines the changing role of the subject librarian within UK higher education institutions. Identifies models of subject librarianship in different countries for comparison with the UK role. Defines the role of subject librarian before the Follett Report and highlights the impact the report has had on the role. Considers how the role has developed since the Follett Report from the perspective of library managers. The relationship between subject librarians and the academic departments they serve, and the subject knowledge required to execute this function, have always been areas of concern. Since the Follett Report the increasing involvement of subject librarians in teaching students has added a new dimension to the relationship with academic departments. The liaison the subject librarian provides between the library and academic departments is an enduring facet of the role and helps to explain why it has persisted.     

Young librarians unite: Possibilities for professional transformation in Japanese librarianship

The interorganizational networking communities have spontaneously emerged among young Japanese librarians in recent years. This study explores the role of the communities from the perspectives of professional knowledge management, social networks and social capital, and the possibilities to reconstruct the Japanese librarianship. The study examined the following research questions: 1) What outcomes did young librarians who had participated in the interorganizational social networking communities get especially in terms of knowledge acquisition and affections? And 2) What possibilities do the young librarians communities have to transform Japanese librarianship? Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with five librarians to gain insight into how they engage in and feel about outside social networking activities and training opportunities. The results showed that the young librarians’ voluntary communities helped build social networks, provided opportunities for the transfer of tacit knowledge, and were a source of motivation for the participants. They also suggested that the communities could have a significant impact on the transition of Japanese librarianship.     

Librarian as Professional

What does it mean to be a professional, and do librarians meet the academic definition of a professional? Professions are strongly related to identity, and stereotypes associated with the culture of a profession are going to have some effect on the public’s perceptions of that profession. The stereotype of the vaguely purposed but somehow controlling older person (who “shushes” patrons to maintain silence) does not contribute positively to the professional image of a librarian. Library users do not even superficially understand what librarians do, and this leads to an undervaluing of the impact and importance of librarians. In the modern environment of budget challenges, it is important to be able to articulate the value of both libraries and particularly librarians. This article explores the sociological academic literature on professions to determine if librarianship meets the requirements to be a profession, if library literature supports librarianship as a profession, and why it matters for librarians to be seen as professionals.     

Evidence-based librarianship: searching for the needed EBL evidence

This paper discusses the challenges of finding evidence needed to implement Evidence-Based Librarianship (EBL). Focusing first on database coverage for three health sciences librarianship journals, the article examines the information contents of different databases. Strategies are needed to search for relevant evidence in the library literature via these databases, and the problems associated with searching the grey literature of librarianship. Database coverage, plausible search strategies, and the grey literature of library science all pose challenges to finding the needed research evidence for practicing EBL. Health sciences librarians need to ensure that systems are designed that can track and provide access to needed research evidence to support Evidence-Based Librarianship (EBL).     

Sprouting STEMs: Recruiting future science librarians through an undergraduate science information internship

The challenge of recruiting science librarians is an ongoing issue, despite efforts to isolate, address, and remedy the deficiency. Most research has focused on investigating why current science librarians chose their careers and on ways library information science (LIS) programs can entice Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) candidates into science librarianship. At Brooklyn College, librarians created a science information internship for undergraduate science majors. By exposing these students to librarianship as a potential career path, we hope to attract and groom future science librarians. This article discusses the development of the internship, the challenges and successes of the pilot, and the assessment of the pilot for improvements and expansion.     

Ethics in health sciences librarianship

Against a background of discussion about drafting of an ethical code for librarians and a review of articles confronting ethical issues in librarianship, the authors surveyed the 150 institutional members of the Health Science Librarians of Illinois (HSLI) regarding their perceptions of ethical concerns. Among the issues addressed in the survey are library organization, personnel policies, and professional competency, along with the traditional concerns of professional versus personal values, privacy and confidentiality, access to materials, and materials selection criteria in a health sciences context. Based on a 60% response rate, survey results indicate widespread agreement on some issues and a conspicuous lack of consensus on others. Further research is suggested in order to assess the need for a separate ethical code for health sciences librarians.     

Choosing Academic Librarianship: An Examination of Characteristics and Selection Criteria

Studies exploring librarians' backgrounds and motivations frequently focus on all librarian-types or on students seeking a degree in librarianship. Investigating particular subsets of librarians is a field ripe for study. Here, we employed a survey of 1872 academic librarians who obtained a graduate degree in librarianship to examine their undergraduate education and their general career paths leading them to academic librarianship. The study found that over two-thirds of respondents sought a librarianship degree more than one year after obtaining their undergraduate degree. A large majority spent time in the workforce before seeking a librarianship degree, with exposure to work in a library or contact with a librarian remaining a major influence on the decision to enter the field.     

A current perspective on medical informatics and health sciences librarianship.

OBJECTIVE: The article offers a current perspective on medical informatics and health sciences librarianship. NARRATIVE: The authors: (1) discuss how definitions of medical informatics have changed in relation to health sciences librarianship and the broader domain of information science; (2) compare the missions of health sciences librarianship and health sciences informatics, reviewing the characteristics of both disciplines; (3) propose a new definition of health sciences informatics; (4) consider the research agendas of both disciplines and the possibility that they have merged; and (5) conclude with some comments about actions and roles for health sciences librarians to flourish in the biomedical information environment of today and tomorrow. SUMMARY: Boundaries are disappearing between the sources and types of and uses for health information managed by informaticians and librarians. Definitions of the professional domains of each have been impacted by these changes in information. Evolving definitions reflect the increasingly overlapping research agendas of both disciplines. Professionals in these disciplines are increasingly functioning collaboratively as "boundary spanners," incorporating human factors that unite technology with health care delivery.     

国外嵌入式图书馆服务研究进展

在大量文献调阅与成功案例研究的基础上,对20世纪以来国外嵌入式图书馆服务的理论与实践进行梳理,认为嵌入式图书馆服务的概念逐步深入人心、理论与实践框架日益清晰、嵌入式馆员越来越受到人们青睐、嵌入式实践遍地开花、学术机构的嵌入式服务独占鳌头、不断探索嵌入式技术与应用等几大研究进展,希望能为我国的图书馆服务创新提供借鉴与启示。     

A New Look at the Background and Work Experience of Business Librarians

This study examines the current state of business librarianship. What are the educational backgrounds of business library and information practitioners? Where and in what manner are they providing business librarianship? How do they interact with their peers? Is business librarianship a field which is attracting new librarians? Perhaps most importantly, are business librarians happy in their profession? Past articles have focused specifically on academic business librarians. However, a significant amount of business librarianship occurs outside of academia. This survey benefited from data gathered from librarians from all types of libraries.     

Academic librarian's transition to blended librarianship: a phenomenology of selected academic librarians in Zimbabwe

This paper explores the shared experiences of practices of blended librarianship among Zimbabwean academic librarians to identify how adequately they comply with their dynamic roles and functions. The paper relies on the theoretical constructs from Bell and Shank's (2004, 2007) blended librarianship and Lave and Wenger's (1991) Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) to understand how Zimbabwean academic librarians practice blended librarianship in the workplace through engagement in legitimate work tasks. The investigators used phenomenology to explore academic librarians' experiences of blended librarianship. They selected a sample of 101 academic librarians and delivered a semi-structured questionnaire to the sample, conducted document research and interviewed key informants from the sample. The researchers collected data from the Bindura University of Science Education, Chinhoyi University of Technology, Lupane State University, Midlands State University, the National University of Science and Technology, and PHSBL80 Library which chose to be undisclosed. Each institution adopted blended librarianship in its way. Four (4) different categories of blended librarianship emerged from the experiences; that is “transcending blended librarians”, “partially blended librarians”, “intermittent blended librarians” and “aspiring blended librarians”, displaying each institution's level of instructional technology and instructional design roles. The study proposes that the “Academic librarian's transition to blended librarianship” two-by-two matrix that developed was in this inquiry needs further refinement. Further enquiries may test the matrix within the same sites or other locales altogether to corroborate if the results are replicable.