THE INFORMATIONISTPUSHING THE BOUNDARIES

ELAINE MARTIN.DADirector of Library ServicesLamar Soutter LibraryUniversity of Massachusetts Medical School

One year ago….

• What does the informationist do?

• What are the evaluation outcomes/methods?

• What are the competencies?

Embedded with the Scientists: Librarians’ Roles in the Research Process   Fall 2012 Professional Development Day for New England Librarians

What Does the Informationist Do?

• Expert searching and filtering the literature

• Bibliographic management and training on use of tools

• Knowledge management (across multiple sites)

• Data management

• Co-authoring publications

What Does the Informationist Do?• Website development

• Consultation services

Evaluation Outcomes

• Participation in future grants and data management plans; co-author publications; partnerships with Office of Research/Grants and Contracts

• Identify what research team learned from informationist

• Identify what informationist learned from research team

Generic Measures and Project Specific Measures

• Generic--# of training sessions, # searches conducted, # of additional databases, # of articles identified for systematic review, # of studies critically appraised, # of studies organized and shared

• Project specific--example data dictionary in UMass project and increase in relevant, high impact literature identified re: protein function discovery in NYU project

Competencies Identified

• Information science

• Domain specific knowledge

• Understanding of the grant funding process

• Understanding of clinical and/or basic science research

Competencies Identified

• Project Management

• Database Management

• Database Design

• Statistics

Dissemination Strategy

One year later….

• Unexpected outcomes

• Preliminary characteristics of success

• Changing library structure to support model

• Lots of unanswered questions

Unanticipated Outcomes

• Balance

• Job knowledge (the learning curve)

• PI left the institution

• Informationist job changes

• Problems with research or study design

Preliminary Characteristics of Success

• Importance of mentoring

• Coherence of the team

• Be present

• …More to be determined

Library Infrastructure Required to Support Informationist Model

• Scholarly communication/research data management services unit

• Total reorganization (cohort of fellows)

• New service model (consultation and redefinition of liaison)

• Research focus

Questions Raised by the Model• Do you need a library to be a librarian?

• To whom does the informationist report administratively?

• To what extent will the library and/or other department fund the position? Will the funding model influence the informationist’s professional home?

The Evolution of the Informationist:Neither Fish nor Fowl

• Neither fish nor fowl

What is the Professional Identity?

Bounded Professional

Unbounded Professional

The Blended Professional

Informationist As Blended Professional

Member of an interprofessional team

Encourages the professions to learn with and from each other

Respect for the contribution of each professional

Forms partnerships and collaboration

Commitment to service not servitude

Fosters collaborative practice

Informationist as Blended Professional

• Embraces entrepreneurship and change

• Risk taking

• Independent research

• Pride in unique contributions of

of librarianship to the team

The Informationist

• Bounded professional moving to Blended professional

• Defining a new professional identity

• Needs additional model development and further study

Pushing the Boundaries