The education and training needs of health librarians?the generalist versus specialist dilemma

Survey of bioinformatics courses and concentrations in ALA-accredited master's programs

Introduction

The interdisciplinary field of bioinformatics is considered an information-based discipline by many. Yet, it is unclear how Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degrees prepare librarians to apply their expertise in this unique, often non-textual information environment. The goal of this study is to identify the availability of MLIS-based bioinformatics educational opportunities to provide an update to the current bioinformatics landscape in North American MLIS programs or iSchools.

Methods

We conducted a survey of available bioinformatics courses and program concentrations within 69 ALA-accredited master’s programs. Using course catalogues and program descriptions on department websites, we identified the existence of courses and concentrations specific or related to the field of bioinformatics. We also surveyed the availability of associated certificate programs or degree alternatives.

Results

Only two library and information science (LIS)-based bioinformatics courses are currently offered to MLIS students in ALA-accredited programs. There are no bioinformatics concentrations offered in the programs surveyed, however two graduate certificates could be applied towards an ALA-accredited master’s degree. Students interested in related fields can pursue degree alternatives, including eight dual degree options.

Discussion

The scarcity of LIS-based bioinformatics courses and program concentrations may suggest that LIS has not adopted bioinformatics into their field nor curricula. As a result, students interested in pursuing careers in bioinformatics and related disciplines must actively seek out opportunities for education and professional development. Bioinformatics degree options within MLIS or iSchools points towards an increased dialogue and acceptance of the connection between bioinformatics and information science, but the lack of ALA -accreditation limits possibilities for emerging librarians.

Developing Pathways to Health Sciences Librarianship with an Introductory Course and Mentoring Program

Because of gaps in the offerings of Library and Information Science programs and librarian continuing education programs, library students and early-career librarians may not be aware of opportunities in health sciences librarianship. There is a need for introductory educational offerings on the foundations of health sciences librarianship. There is also a need to address barriers that may obstruct members of underrepresented groups from becoming health sciences librarians. The article explores the possibility that online education and mentoring can address gaps in introductory educational offerings in health sciences librarianship. The article describes the development of a pilot program for an online Introduction to Health Sciences Librarianship course and mentoring program, reflects on results from a survey of program participants, and identifies areas for further research and program development. The article also discusses the potential implications the program may have for addressing equity, diversity, and inclusion in health sciences librarianship.

Search Club: Using peer support to develop search skills and share knowledge in a specialist NHS team

The newly-formed Knowledge Management team at Health Education England (HEE) established an internal "Search Club" for their Knowledge Specialists to share good practice, exchange ideas, and discuss approaches to developing search strategies. The article describes how this was initiated and run online. The sessions improved the Knowledge Management team skills, and gave them an opportunity to share and learn from each other. A further benefit has been the creation of resources such as a "synonyms bank", search strategies, and a bank of grey literature sources. These reduce duplication of effort, save time, and improve consistency across the team's output. D.I.

Building capacity among health care librarians to teach evidence-based practice-an evaluation

Objective:

An innovative funding scheme for health care librarians to attend an intensive short course in teaching evidence-based practice was established in the West of England in 2016. This evaluation aims to understand the value of the scheme and the impact of the training opportunity for the librarians, establish an evidence base for continuing with the funding scheme, and inform the development of plans to build additional capacity among health care librarians to provide critical appraisal training.

Methods:

Seven librarians working in health care system settings were funded by the scheme between 2016 and 2018. Post-course feedback forms gathered initial views on course content and delivery, which informed the development of questions for the qualitative phase of the evaluation. All seven librarians participated in group discussions and individual interviews.

Results:

The course boosted confidence, provided valuable new skills, and positively impacted careers of the librarians through access to new opportunities. It inspired the development of new approaches to critical appraisal training. An important need was identified among the librarians for more education in teaching. Librarians funded by the scheme have successfully cascaded the training to their colleagues.

Conclusion:

This evaluation supports the continuation of the funding scheme to further build capacity among health care librarians to teach evidence-based practice. It suggests additional investment in this type of specialist training, as well as in education in teaching skills, would be beneficial for health care librarians. Evidence from this evaluation is informing new plans to support these professionals with the vital service they provide, which contributes to the evidence-based culture of their organizations and to patient outcomes.

Training needs of medical librarians in Nigeria: A survey

BACKGROUND

Health library and information professionals need continuing professional development to update their skills and knowledge. There is very limited evidence on the training needs of medical librarians in Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES

To identify the training needs of medical librarians in Nigeria, principally the content topics required, preferred formats of training, and barriers to training.

METHODS

An online questionnaire was distributed to 94 registered members of the Medical Library Association of Nigeria.

RESULTS

The majority of the 64 medical librarian respondents wanted training in information systems and technology usage. The respondents also indicated that they prefer participating in seminar/workshops and being involved in face-to-face courses. Very few of the respondents have attended any specialist training aimed at their work in the medical field. The foremost challenge identified is the high cost of training.

DISCUSSION

This study confirmed that the librarianship degree acquired from library schools only serves as a foundation for medical librarians, and it does not provide the specific subject training required to work successfully as medical librarians.

CONCLUSION

There is a gap in knowledge base of medical librarians in Nigeria that needs to be filled by specific on-the-job training and courses which are affordable.

An Investigation of the Backgrounds of Health Sciences Librarians

The purpose of this study was to investigate the educational and professional backgrounds of health sciences librarians currently working in the U.S. and Canada. A survey consisting of 15 questions was created using the software program Qualtrics. 389 total surveys were received. Respondents reported having a wide variety of educational and professional backgrounds. Only about 22% of respondents reported having health sciences work experience prior to entering the field. Recruitment into the field of health sciences librarianship should take a broad approach, and professional development efforts should appeal to a wide array of experience levels.

Continuing education and professional development of library staff involved with makerspaces

Purpose

This paper reports the results of a survey of library staff members working with a library makerspace or with makerspace-related technologies. The purpose of this paper is to identify who is working with library makerspaces, what methods of training they have used, what training methods they prefer, and what topics they would like to see included in professional development and continuing education.

Design/methodology/approach

A 17-question survey was posted to two library makerspace-related listservs for two weeks.

Findings

The survey results found a varied array of job title of individuals working with library makerspaces. It also identified the preferred training methods, as well as the varied topics requested for professional development, showing a large need for a makerspace training in library staff.

Originality/value

This is the first study conducted about the preferred methods and topics of professional development and continuing education of library staff members working with makerspaces or makerspace-related technologies.

Demonstrating the impact of your teaching: benefits of Higher Education Academy Fellowship for librarians

This feature suggests that health librarians who teach or support Higher Education (HE) students can and should gain accreditation and recognition for their teaching by the route of HEA Fellowship. We outline the process by which Fellowship could be attained by those working within HE and those in NHS libraries who work with HE students, suggesting which aspects of librarianship practice could provide the necessary evidence for Fellowship. The synergies between Fellowship and Chartership are examined and the criteria for HEA (UK Professional Standards Framework or UKPSF) are mapped against those for Chartership (Professional Knowledge and Skills Base (PKSB). D.I.

Learning Instruction: How an Academic Librarian Transitioned to a Health Sciences Environment

This guest column details the experience of an early career academic librarian learning how to instruct and assist students in health sciences programs. It includes information on mentoring, peer coaching, formal and informal trainings, and proficiencies needed for reference and instruction services. The author shares sources of specific knowledge and skills that empowered her to transition to health sciences librarianship.

Musings of a student librarian: a case report of taking a course in health librarianship

One student's experience with taking a course in health librarianship at the graduate level is presented. Reflective practice is used to discuss course content, instructional methods, student learning outcomes, and the challenges presented by the course material and in-class environment. Student reflections are combined with a discussion of relevant issues in health sciences librarianship.

The State of Clinical Librarianship in Canada: a Review of the Literature, 1970–2013

This paper examines the history of clinical librarianship in Canada from 1970 to 2013 as seen through the lens of practitioner narratives and published literature. While no reviews of clinical librarianship in Canada were found in the literature search, there were many project descriptions in articles and published reports that have provided insight into the field during its formative period in Canada from the 1970s. In addition to tracing narrative histories from 1970 to 2013, the author has continued to wonder why these important stories have never properly been told. Was it because the scope of clinical librarianship, its expected and embodied professional duties, was not regulated (as it is in the United States and United Kingdom)? Is it because the American Library Association accredited library schools in Canada do not offer appropriate curricula and professional training? It seems clear that some librarians in Canada were pioneers in the way that Gertrude Lamb was in the United States, but they did not call themselves clinical librarians. Consequently, they opted for more generic job titles such as medical librarian and health librarian. Whatever the reasons for this, it is within this framework that the author begins an exploration of clinical librarianship in Canada. The paper's aim is to provide a view into clinical librarianship in Canada back to the 1970s to ensure the story is properly told.

A community of practice: librarians in a biomedical research network

Providing library and reference services within a biomedical research community presents special challenges for librarians, especially those in historically lower-funded states. These challenges can include understanding needs, defining and communicating the library's role, building relationships, and developing and maintaining general and subject specific knowledge. This article describes a biomedical research network and the work of health sciences librarians at the lead intensive research institution with librarians from primarily undergraduate institutions and tribal colleges. Applying the concept of a community of practice to a collaborative effort suggests how librarians can work together to provide effective reference services to researchers in biomedicine.

International trends in health science librarianship: Part 2--Northern Europe

This is the third in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors were asked to reflect on developments in their country--viz. Austria, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Future issues will track trends in the Nordic countries, Southern Europe and Latin America. JM.

Content analysis as a means of exploring research opportunities from a conference programme

BACKGROUND

Health librarians should keep up-to-date in a dynamic environment and accept the importance of continuing personal development (CPD) and growth in their critical reflection and creative thinking skills. They also need to acknowledge the potential value of research activity and the challenges of ongoing improvement and development. Conference programmes may prove a useful source of stimulation, especially if supplemented by creativity techniques, action research and the ideal of 'finding flow'.

OBJECTIVES

The article analyses the themes and papers presented at the 10th International Conference on International Medical Librarianship (ICML) to identify opportunities for further research, literature reviews, assessment of practices and services, etc.

METHODS

Content analysis approach to conference papers and suggestions for further action including supplementing with techniques of creativity and group input.

RESULTS

A fairly extensive list of further actions (although not intended to be exhaustive) is suggested for the sixteen conference themes. Although subjective, the list might help to stimulate growth in research on health librarianship and demonstrate how one source of stimulation--conference programmes (regularly presented to medical library communities)--can be used.

CONCLUSIONS

Content analysis has proven a constructive means of generating research questions from a conference programme. Content analysis and other methods aimed at stimulating creative and progressive thinking, including brainstorming, force field analysis, De Bono's 6 hats, creative swiping and creative visualisation, may prove equally useful and require further investigation. To ensure an ongoing cycle, these can be linked to action research.

Expert searching in health librarianship: a literature review to identify international issues and Australian concerns

BACKGROUND

The traditional role of health librarians as expert searchers is under challenge.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this review is to establish health librarians' views, practices and educational processes on expert searching.

METHODS

The search strategy was developed in LISTA and then customised for ten other databases: ALISA, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, ERIC, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar. The search terms were (expert search* OR expert retriev* OR mediated search* OR information retriev*) AND librar*. The searches, completed in December 2010 and repeated in May 2011, were limited to English language publications from 2000 to 2011 (unless seminal works).

RESULTS

Expert searching remains a key role for health librarians, especially for those supporting systematic reviews or employed as clinical librarians answering clinical questions.

CONCLUSIONS

Although clients tend to be satisfied with searches carried out for them, improvements are required to effectively position the profession. Evidence-based guidelines, adherence to transparent standards, review of entry-level education requirements and a commitment to accredited, rigorous, ongoing professional development will ensure best practice.

Health librarians: developing professional competence through a 'legitimate peripheral participation' model

This feature considers the legitimate peripheral participation model in developing professional competencies in health librarianship. It is described how this model was used in the development of a framework for mapping and recognising the competencies gained by new health librarians at the Royal Free Hospital Medical Library. HS.

Information (and library) science at City University London; 50 years of educational development

The development of education for information and library science at City University London over a 50-year period is described in this article. The development of the Masters course in Information Science, and the later equivalent courses in Library Science and in Information Management in the Cultural Sector are described in detail, together with shorter-lived Masters courses in pharmaceutical and health information. The rationale for changes to the courses, and the influence of the professional and educational contexts, are analysed. Issues emerging from this analysis are discussed in seven themes: the nature of the discipline; the library/information spectrum; the student group; the academic/professional balance; curriculum design; local and global issues; and teaching methods. The discussions of the courses are set in the wider context of changes in library/information education over the period in the UK and worldwide.

Informationist education

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds biomedical research and conducts its own research. One way the NIH Library supports this work is by providing librarians with biomedical training and encouraging them to become embedded with researchers and administrators. Some of these "informationists" have degrees in scientific or health fields, and all engage in ongoing training, mostly through coursework at local institutions and at NIH itself. This article elaborates on the training of NIH informationists. Past research has indicated that patrons welcome librarians with biomedical training, which may in turn lead to greater communication between librarians and researchers.