What to do when everyone wants to be your partner
Transcript of What to do when everyone wants to be your partner
WHAT TO DO WHEN EVERYONE WANTS TO BE YOUR PARTNER
Sandy Campbell* and Marlene DorganJohn W. Scott Health Sciences LibraryUniversity of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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POPULATION SERVED BY THE JOHN W. SCOTT HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY
High quality systematic reviews seek to: Identify all relevant published and
unpublished evidence Select studies or reports for inclusion Assess the quality of each study or report Synthesis the findings from individual
studies or reports in an unbiased way Interpret the findings and present a
balanced and impartial summary of the findings with due consideration of any flaws in the evidence.
Hemingway, Pippa and Nic Brereton. “What is a Systematic Review?” Evidence Based Medicine, 2nd Ed., 2009. http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/painres/download/whatis/Syst-review.pdf. Accessed Feb. 16, 2012
HOW ARE SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER REVIEWS?
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WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE FACULTY/LIBRARIAN RELATIONSHIP?
Some granting agencies and journals in the health sciences now require that a librarian be a part of the research team.
Greater awareness of the skills that librarians bring to expert searching and instruction.
3. Synthesis Methodsiii. Identifying potentially eligible studies
“The next stage is to develop sensitive search strategies to identify studies that potentially meet the inclusion criteria. This is a highly technical task and should rarely be undertaken without the support of a trained information specialist (librarian).”
Grimshaw, Jeremy. A Guide to Knowledge Synthesis. Canadian Institutes of Health Research. http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/41382.html Accessed August 27, 2013
INCREASE IN DEMAND FOR RESEARCH CONSULTATIONS
Consultations in the Health Sciences Library
2010 210 2013 (Jan – August) 354
MANAGEMENT PLAN
Strategic Actions: 1. Ensuring that work is done at the correct
level2. Building searcher capacity in the
community3. Lobbying for additional librarian positions4. Redefining service policies for external
users5. Better organizing search support resources6. Educating users
1. ENSURING THAT WORK IS DONE AT THE CORRECT LEVEL
Librarians no longer assigned desk hours, except in remote (on-site) locations. Most librarian level reference work is done by
appointment, by telephone or e-mail Basic instruction is done by senior non-academic
staff Review and revision of instructional materials In-class delivery of instruction Marking of basic assignments
2. BUILDING SEARCHER CAPACITY IN THE PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY
Including non-University librarians in classes Include non-health sciences University
librarians in classes both as students and as instructors/assistants
Offer classes on systematic reviewing through the local health libraries association (NAHLA)
Scott Librarians taught SLIS 520 – Introduction to Health Librarianship (7 graduates)
3. LOBBYING FOR ADDITIONAL LIBRARIAN POSITIONS
Ongoing encouragement of faculties with high demand for searching to hire their own research librarians.
4 arrangements in place, where research librarian is employed 80% by a department or institute and 20% at the Scott Library.
4. REDEFINING AND CLARIFYING SERVICE POLICIES FOR DIFFERENT USER GROUPS
External Users In the past, the Library sold excess capacity to
the general public. Currently – no excess capacity
Non-Uof A clients are referred to freelance searchers. Health authority employees are referred to their own
librarians
5. BETTER ORGANIZING SEARCH SUPPORT RESOURCES
Protocol form available for all searchers to e-mail to searchers in advance of a consultation
Filters recorded in OVID for immediate use
Filters for all search platforms Health Sciences Filters Page
http://guides.library.ualberta.ca/content.php?pid=448005&sid=3671216
6. EDUCATING USERS
Introduction to Systematic Review Searching Class 3 hour workshop hands-on computer lab January 2012 – August 2013
18 classes (258 researchers) Increased in-course Instruction
RESULTS
Moving librarians away from basic teaching and desk duty has freed time for consultations and expert searching
Increased demand Painting targets on our backs More opportunities for librarians to collaborate and
co-author Teaching programs have been excellent publicity
for the Libraries Many more people trained in the basics
Clientelle is more likely to have basic SR Knowledge More of the consults are shorter interactions
More attention in research administration to systematic reviews as a research method.
RESULTS CONTINUED
More courses in Systematic Reviewing being offered across the health-related Faculties Public Health Sciences Nursing Orthodontics Physical Education Nutrition Rehabilitation Medicine Pharmacy
Instructors attend our SR Search classLibrarians are invited to teach in these classes
CONCLUSIONS
The strong demand for our work is evidence that it is highly valued, so we need to continue providing the services.
We do not know when, or if, we will reach peak demand.
Have to focus on the primary aspects of the Libraries mission support for teaching and research
Have to pick and choose on what projects we agree to collaborate
Shifting resources does help, but stopping doing things to do something else is always difficult
Thank you for your attention.
Questions?
CONTACT INFORMATION
Sandy CampbellJohn W. Scott Health Sciences Library
2K3.28 Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre
University of Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2J8
+01 780-492-7915