Teaching Evidence-Based Practice in the Hospital and the Library: Two Different Groups,One Course

Key roles in teaching evidence-based practice (EBP) are of interest to many hospital and academic librarians. This article describes how three academic librarians, in collaboration with the academic medical center's EBP Nursing Council, developed a seminar consisting of three credit hours of instruction in the basics of evidence-based practice. The seminar consists of three core elements: basic principles of EBP and finding literature, clinical experience and integration of knowledge into the hospital setting, and patient education and participation. Emphasis is placed upon analysis of the literature, institutional models of practice change, and the importance of patient roles in guideline development.     

A Librarian-Centered Study of Perceptions of Subject Terms and Controlled Vocabulary

Controlled vocabulary and subject headings in OPAC records have proven to be useful in improving search results. The authors used a survey to gather information about librarian opinions and professional use of controlled vocabulary. Data from a range of backgrounds and expertise were examined, including academic and public libraries, and technical services as well as public services professionals. Responses overall demonstrated positive opinions of the value of controlled vocabulary, including in reference interactions as well as during bibliographic instruction sessions. Results are also examined based upon factors such as age and type of librarian.     

Sex,drugs and science: the IOC’s and IAAF’s attempts to control fairness in sport

Abstract

This paper traces the history of two important policies in sport: rules against drugs and ‘ambiguous’ athletes in women’s events. We identify three phases in the work of the International Olympic Committee’s and International Amateur Athletic Federation’s medical committees: (1) from the mid-1960s to the 1970s, the medical grounding of the committees and the members’ worldviews encouraged the groups to enlist scientific techniques to solve drug use and sex ambiguity issues; (2) from the 1970s to the 1980s, administrative confusion underscored both committees, but scientific personnel gained legitimacy and furthered their own agendas; and (3) from the 1980s to the mid-1980s, the seeds of diversion in sex and drug tests were sown. The central finding of this study is that the stakeholders who shaped anti-doping and sex testing policies took for granted concerns regarding ethics and instead increasingly relied upon medical, scientific, and technical practices to define and control fairness in sport.     

Values, Rights and Dilemmas

Professor Geoff Lindsay, Director of the Special Needs Research Unit at The University of Warwick, is the fourth of the new professors to contribute to the debate on the future of Special Education.     

SALUS: online co-operation between South Australian health libraries

The establishment of the South Australian Health Libraries Consortium led to the development of the SALUS project which enabled the online delivery of core health, clinical information and bibliographic databases with full-text resources across South Australian government health services. This was the first venture of Australian health librarians to create an online consortium. This article discusses the policy and management issues surrounding the implementation of the SALUS project and its influence on the evolution of the health Libraries Consortium over several years. Lessons learned during this process included: the necessity to plan well ahead yet to remain flexible in implementing those plans, to avoid procedure becoming more important than improvization during planning, to be willing to take well judged risks on occasions, and to be fully aware of changing circumstances in the project's funding and political environment. The importance of securing influential advocates outside of the participating libraries to support continued project funding is also considered.     

Aggregators: Cornerstone or Annex?

With the goal of building a high quality academic library collection in mind, the Serials Librarian and the Collection Assessment Librarian at Middle Tennessee State University evaluated the value of journal content accessed through a journal aggregator database. Data from EBSCOhost, UlrichsWeb, and Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Journal Citation Reports were used to evaluate content with respect for subject, quality, and coverage. An important goal of the project was to share the analysis with library liaisons in an effort to assist them with collection development responsibilities. The analysis raises questions about the relationship between discovery, access, and collection development.     

Personal experience as social capital in online investor forums

Research demonstrates that information disseminated and circulated in online forums may have a significant impact on investors and on the securities market. Therefore, an understanding of that environment is critical. This research uses social capital theory as a framework for understanding how information exchange is facilitated in online investor forums. Specifically, it explores whether or not personal experience may generate social capital in the online environment. This work reports on the relationships between sharing personal experience and information sharing and use in three investor discussion forums. Four hundred forty threads containing 2405 posts were analyzed for this study. Thread starter posts and responses were quantified and coded for statements of personal experience. Citations to information sources were also measured. Results demonstrate that explicitly stating personal experience or lack of personal experience affects the quantity and quality of ensuing discussion and information exchange. Possible implications of this work on both the study of online investor forums and the study of social capital are discussed.