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.     

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.     

Standing at the Gates: A New Law Librarian Wonders About the Future Role of the Profession in Legal Research Education

ABSTRACT

There have long been complaints about the legal research skills of law school students and recent graduates. In this article the author focuses on the period between the release of two important reports on legal education, the MacCrate Report in 1992 and the Carnegie Report in 2007, examining how law librarians and other professionals involved were engaged in responding to the problem. The author concludes that if law librarians want to be involved more fully in legal research education, some changes or reexamination of our professional culture and positions may be necessary.