Connecting the Dots in a Research Program to Develop,Implement, and Evaluate Strategic Literacy Interventions for Struggling Readers and Writers

This article follows the development of three literacy programs that were designed by researchers at Michigan State University to support struggling readers and writers. The literacy interventions focus on strategy instruction in both writing and reading, and they culminate in the development of an integrated reading‐writing program to support the acquisition of read‐to‐learn and write‐to‐learn strategies in the content areas. The common thread that unifies the programs is an emphasis on text structure instruction with the provision of instructional scaffolds to support students' participation in a literacy discourse and strategies in advance of independent performance.     

Designing a search strategy to identify and retrieve articles onevidence-based health care using MEDLINE

Thepractice of evidence-based health care requires that information on methodology be identifiedfrom databases such as MEDLINE. Up until this year there have been no designated medicalsubject headings (MeSH) for evidence-based health care. ‘EVIDENCE-BASEDMEDICINE’ appears as a MeSH term from 1997. The absence of designated MeSH forthis concept prior to 1997 provides a challenge to the searcher. This paper describes the creationof a MEDLINE search strategy to retrieve articles on the methods of evidence-based health carepublished prior to the introduction of the new term, where an optimal combination of free-textand MeSH terms is required to identify relevant material. The study examines both free-text andsubject heading searching and attempts an optimal balance of sensitivity and specificity. It beginsby examining separate free-text and subject heading searches. Sensitivity of the subject headingsearch was 33% and specificity 80%, while the free-text search produced asensitivity of 50% and a specificity of 67%. The final strategy, combining bothapproaches, was more successful with sensitivity reaching between 82 and 90% andspecificity 83%. It is therefore possible to devise a search strategy to retrieve articles on themethods of evidence-based health care with relatively successful rates of sensitivity andspecificity. The limitations of MEDLINE, however, necessitate the use of additional approachesin identifying articles on the methods of evidence-based health care.     

New measures for new roles: defining and measuring the current practices of health sciences librarians

The roles of academic health sciences librarians are continually evolving as librarians initiate new programs and services in response to developments in computer technology and user demands. However, statistics currently collected by libraries do not accurately reflect or measure these new roles. It is essential for librarians to document, measure, and evaluate these new activities to continue to meet the needs of users and to ensure the viability of their professional role. To determine what new measures should be compiled, the authors examined current statistics, user demands, professional literature, and current activities of librarians as reported in abstracts of poster sessions at Medical Library Association annual meetings. Three new categories of services to be measured are proposed. The first, consultation, groups activities such as quality filtering and individual point-of-need instruction. The second, outreach, includes activities such as working as liaisons, participating in grand rounds or morning report, and providing continuing education. The third area, Web authoring, encompasses activities such as designing Web pages, creating online tutorials, and developing new products. Adding these three measures to those already being collected will provide a more accurate and complete depiction of the services offered by academic health sciences librarians.