Evidence-Based Medicine and the Development of Medical Libraries in China

This article elaborates on the opportunities and challenges that evidence-based medicine (EBM) has posed to the development of medical libraries and summarizes the research in the field of evidence-based medicine and achievements of EBM practice in Chinese medical libraries. Issues such as building collections of information resources, transformation of information services models, human resources management, and training of medical librarians, clinicians, and EBM users are addressed. In view of problems encountered in EBM research and practice, several suggestions are made about important roles medical libraries can play in the future development of EBM in China.     

Courting Apocalypse: Creating a Zombie-Themed Evidence-Based Medicine Game

In 2015, two librarians at the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences at the University of Iowa turned their dreams into a reality and secured funding to build a zombie-themed evidence-based medicine game. The game features a “choose your own adventure” style that takes students through a scenario where a disease outbreak is taking place and a resident is asked to use evidence-based medicine skills to select a screening and diagnostic tool to use on potentially infected patients. Feedback on the game has been positive, and future plans include building additional modules on therapy, harm, and prognosis.     

Foundations of Database Searching: Integrating Evidence-Based Medicine into the Medical Curriculum

Library integration into the medical school curriculum is a crucial aspect of meeting Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Accreditation Standards and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Medical School Objectives Project (MSOP) guidelines. To accomplish this, academic health sciences libraries seek to develop evidence-based medicine (EBM) literature searching classes within the medical school curriculum. Establishing a basic understanding of the fundamental concepts behind health sciences database searching among medical students is a prerequisite for a more demanding evidence-based literature searching curriculum. The George T. Harrell Health Sciences Library, Penn State College of Medicine, sought to incorporate an evidence-based medicine literature searching structure by working within the existing problem-based learning system during the preclinical years. Students in the clinical years will participate in evidence-based assignments during their rotations. A fourth-year EBM elective will be created to reinforce and round out students' exposure to these concepts.     

中美高校图书馆员关注的问题及引发的思考

2006年3月,北京师范大学图书馆与美国高校图书馆员代表团进行了座谈。双方就高校图书馆员的教师角色问题、电子资源与印本资源的关系问题、信息技术对图书馆的影响问题,以及Google数字计划给图书馆带来的影响等问题进行了座谈。由此,交流了经验,双方都得到了有益的启示和收获。     

Leisure Activities and Personality Traits of Medical Librarians

Objectives: This study examines medical librarians’ personality based on their leisure activities to find out which personal characteristics prevail among working medical librarians.

Methods: An electronic survey was administered among medical librarians of the New England/South East regions. The collected statistics was compared to the national leisure statistics and previously published studies on personality traits.

Results: The respondent group exhibited prevailing Artistic, Investigative, and Conventional types, with a slightly higher number of introverts.

Conclusions: Personalities of the respondents fit into the job environment quite well, which could positively influence their interaction with patrons and the overall quality of work.     

Creating an Evidence-Based Culture Within the Schools of Public Health and Medicine

Information technology is having a huge influence on health care. With ease of access and an abundance of information, today's health care personnel are expected to practice and develop policies or programs based upon evidence in order to avoid inefficiency and ineffectiveness. Our library has the responsibility to serve the needs of students, faculty, and practitioners of medicine and public health and strives to create an information literate workforce. In this article, the authors reflect on the library's instruction program and evaluate and plan for the future order to determine if the library's instruction program is properly developing an evidence-based medical and public health workforce.     

Librarian Participation in Expanding the Pool of Potential Medical Students

This article reports on the results of an exploratory survey to determine if librarians actively participate in medical school student recruiting programs. It looks specifically at what librarians are doing to assist with recruitment and what biomedical career resources their libraries offer. The survey link was e-mailed to all U.S. medical school library directors, who were asked to forward it to the appropriate librarian. Out of 113 medical schools, 68 (60%) responded to most questions. Forty-three (86%) of 50 item respondents do participate in such activities, and 29 (67%) of 43 item respondents have been doing so for more than five years. Thirty-two (64%) of 50 item respondents provide resources on biomedical careers in the libraries.     

Librarians Flip for Students: Teaching Searching Skills to Medical Students Using a Flipped Classroom Approach

This article describes the development of a flipped classroom instructional module designed by librarians to teach first- and second-year medical students how to search the literature and find evidence-based articles. The pre-class module consists of an online component that includes reading, videos, and exercises relating to a clinical case. The in-class sessions, designed to reinforce important concepts, include various interactive activities. The specifics of designing both components are included for other health sciences librarians interested in presenting similar instruction. Challenges encountered, particularly in the live sessions, are detailed, as are the results of evaluations submitted by the students, who largely enjoyed the online component. Future plans are contingent on solving technical problems encountered during the in-class sessions.     

在《中图法》中增设循证医学类目的探讨

循证医学是近十几年发展起来的一门新兴临床学科。《中图法》(第四版)中未设相关类目,给有关文献的检索和利用带来不便。以循证医学学科性质和文献现状为依据,讨论循证医学的具体类目内容及类目排列方法,并以中文科技期刊数据库中部分循证医学为例,对类目设置的实用性予以检验。     

(1) U.S.A.

The authors of this study assess the attitudes and perceptions of academic librarians at three university libraries in China regarding library services for international students and scholars. The study directs particular focus on librarians at Shaanxi Normal University in Xi’an, Fudan University in Shanghai, and Wuhan University of Technology, China, and follows logically upon a study conducted in 2008 that explored the perceptions of international students at two Chinese universities regarding the effectiveness of library services and collections for their research needs. In particular, this study documents information about Chinese academic librarian perceptions regarding services for international students and attitudes toward future outcomes. The ultimate goal of the study is to lay a foundation for developing strategies for improving library services and resources for international students and scholars in Chinese academic libraries in particular, which in turn can serve to improve services for international students world-wide. The results support the assumption that academic librarians in China are strongly interested in improving services for international students and scholars while continuing to face challenges and trying to find ways to fulfill the information needs of international students and scholars.     

A Clinical Librarian Embedded in Medical Education: Patient-Centered Encounters for Preclinical Medical Students

Adding patient encounters and simulation to the preclinical years of medical school is becoming increasingly popular. This article describes the creation of active learning opportunities by a clinical librarian that are aimed at training preclinical students through the use of simulated patient scenarios. Scenarios for second-year students walk them through the evidence-based resources needed in clinical years and beyond through a standardized patient encounter. Scenarios for first-year students involve role-play of cases where the patient and physician bring contrasting ideas to the outpatient interaction. All scenarios are carried out under the guidance of a clinician and librarian.     

Partnering to Analyze Selection of Resources by Medical Students for Case-Based Small Group Learning: A Collaboration between Librarians and Medical Educators

Librarians and medical educators analyzed the quality of information resources used by first- and second-year medical students in their case-based small group learning summaries. Librarians provided instruction on using library resources and gave formal feedback to students about appropriate resources for basic science and clinical questions. The team found that students used a high number of clinical and basic science journal articles and textbooks with a number of factors influencing their resource choices. The study demonstrates numerous areas where librarians can play a key role in assisting students to find and assess information to answer clinical questions.     

The (Un)Common Instructor: A New Role for Medical Librarians Beyond Information Literacy

University common reading programs provide a shared experience as students transition into college life and develop critical thinking skills. Typically in such programs, all students in an incoming class read and discuss the same book. Conversely, the University of Florida Honors Program’s (un)common reads facilitates the same skills development through multiple small sections, each focusing on a different book and each with flexible and innovative assignments and activities. Health Science Center librarians have taught in these (un)common reads since the spring semester 2010–2011. This article describes librarian involvement in this program as well as the ensuing benefits for students, librarians, and the university at large.     

发表于《循证医学》的干预类系统评价／Meta分析的方法学质量分析

目的：评价发表在《循证医学》期刊上的干预类系统评价／Meta分析（SR／MA）的方法学质量。方法：手工检索《循证医学》杂志2001-2011年发表的所有干预类系统评价／Meta分析文献,共纳入70篇,提取文献的基本信息,采用AMSTAR量表评价文献的方法学质量,将数据输入Excel,用SPSS17．0和MetaAnalyst软件进行统计分析。结果：质量评价标准以Cochrane偏倚风险评估工具为主（34篇,48．6％）,AMSTAR的发布、基金资助、作者数量、作者单位性质和数量,对纳入系统评价／Meta分析的方法学质量总评分影响不大,差并不具统计学意义。结论：《循证医学》杂志发表的干预类系统评价／Meta分析方法学质量中等,存在前期研究设计方案缺失、检索策略不够完善、未提供排除文献列表和未交待利益冲突等问题。     

Using Contingent Medical Librarians to Address Workforce Staffing Dilemmas

Abstract

Experienced medical librarians have been recruited by Mayo Clinic to provide contingency staffing. Functioning as just-in-time librarians, a nontraditional staffing plan was introduced in 2016 to affordably lessen stressors caused by fluctuating demands for library services such as literature searching. Contingent medical librarians were also needed to provide staffing coverage during the absences of existing full-time librarians, particularly Mayo’s librarians employed as solo librarians working in hospital and smaller academic libraries. A four-year, nontraditional staffing plan which incorporates contingent medical librarians has proved to be a helpful, affordable, and sustainable staffing alternative for the libraries at Mayo Clinic.     

The Disaster Information Specialist: An Emerging Role for Health Librarians

ABSTRACT

This article describes the emergence of disaster information (DI) specialists, with particular focus on their presence in health libraries. Although literature on the subject of disasters and libraries is dominated by accounts of librarians preserving collections and ensuring continuity of library operations following a flood, fire, or other disaster event, the work of DI specialists extends beyond these traditional roles. DI specialists conduct outreach in the community, providing information services to emergency managers and other disaster workers. This article recounts a history of disaster information service in which public librarians served communities during disaster recovery periods, and health librarians became involved in organizational disaster planning activities. DI products from the National Library of Medicine are introduced in addition to federal funding opportunities for DI outreach projects. The development of the Medical Library Association's Disaster Information Specialization Program is presented, and the article shares recommendations for library administrators to encourage DI training for librarians and support the development of outreach services to disaster workers.     

A Value-Added Partnership Between a Chief Learning Officer and a Medical Librarian

A community-based participatory research project was conducted to identify health information needs of clients (an underserved population) at a homeless shelter. Staff at the shelter, medical students, and public librarians were sought as outreach partners; their needs and challenges in accessing health information resources to serve underserved populations were also assessed. The community needs assessment yielded results that helped shape a medical library's efforts in supporting medical students’ service-learning activities related to humanistic education. The resulting data also informed library decisions on health information education outreach programs tailored to vulnerable, underserved populations and community partners serving the specific populations in the communities.     

基于循证医学本体论的临床元数据设计方法研究

临床实践中产生的海量临床信息是临床研究与临床实践最直接的证据,是医学领域不可或缺的、亟待科学挖掘的宝贵资源。基于循证医学本体论的临床元数据可用于临床元数据语言的需求体系设计、语义结构体系设计及语法结构体系设计,从而可以达成对各种异构的临床诊疗信息的科学整合与深度挖掘以及共享利用。     

Licensing Digital Content: A Practical Guide for Librarians. 2nd ed. Harris,Lesley Ellen

Abstract

Advances in technology create dramatic changes within libraries. The complex issues surrounding this new electronic, end-user environment have major ramifications and require expert knowledge. Electronic services librarians and electronic resources librarians are two specialized titles that have recently emerged within the field of librarian-ship to fill this niche. Job advertisements listed in American Libraries from January 1989 to December 1998 were examined to identify responsibilities, qualifications, organizational and salary information relating to the newly emerging role of electronic librarian.     

Medical library services in Switzerland: catching up with EBM

The feature is a part of the series about medical library services in various countries. It gives an overview of medical library services to support research, education and clinical practice in Switzerland. Data were collected by means of an online survey and set in the wider context of the Swiss healthcare system. Key findings are that library services, including support by academic librarians, are provided to health care staff in hospitals – both university and others, while there is no information service infrastructure to serve the large number of GPs and specialists who mostly run their own practice. The authors recommend that – if the health authorities take EBM seriously – information services should be introduced for these small practices. J.M.