LibGuides: Health Sciences Interest Group Resources: Resources

New Health Sciences Librarians

The Accidental Health Sciences Librarian by Lisa A. Ennis; Nicole Mitchell
ISBN: 9781573873956
Publication Date: 2010
Sparked by an aging baby boomer population, the dizzying pace of breakthroughs in medical research, and an unprecedented proliferation of health information, you may soon discover a career opportunity in health sciences librarianship -- if you aren't already a part of this exciting field. In The Accidental Health Sciences Librarian, Lisa A. Ennis and Nicole Mitchell offer a thorough and up-to-date overview along with guidance on a range of critical resources, tools, and functions. Their coverage of such essential topics as HIPAA and MeSH, along with a wealth of expert tips and advice, is a must for all new, prospective, and working health sciences librarians.
The Medical Library Association Essential Guide to Becoming an Expert Searcher by Terry Ann Jankowski
ISBN: 9781555706227
Publication Date: 2008
Ideal for use as a course text or a workbook for self-instruction, this utilitarian guide will teach you valuable strategies and techniques, regardless of your current skill level. Begin with the self-evaluation tool--find out where you are on the novice-to-expert continuum and then follow Jankowski through all of the components of an expert search, starting with the reference interview. A useful interview checklist and examples of librarian-user interactions will help you plan a successful, efficient search. Jankowski then guides you through the basics of search construction, offers practical guidelines for deciding what resource to start with, passes on tips and tricks from expert searchers, and reviews the usefulness of some of the most popular health science databases, like MEDLINE and PubMed, PsychInfo, CAB Abstracts, ABI/Inform, ERIC, and more. Featuring a dozen checklists and 30 exercises plus tips and strategies for maintaining and growing your skill set over time, here is your direct path to becoming an expert health information searcher.

Rambling musings on using the medical literature (2011) by Mark Crislip
Blog Post.
"For those who are new to the blog, I am nobody from nowhere. I am a clinician, taking care of patients with infectious diseases at several hospitals in the Portland area. I am not part of an academic center (although we are affiliated with OHSU and have a medicine residency program). I have not done any research since I was a fellow, 20 years ago. I was an excellent example of the Peter Principal; there was no bench experiment that I could not screw up."
From Advocacy to Implementation: The NIH Public Access Policy and Its Impact (2008) H. D. Joseph
Journal of Library Administration, 48(2), 207–217.
On December 26, 2007, President Bush signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 1 1. Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:H.R.2764: (accessed July 6, 2008).
View all notes
into law. The bill contained language requiring all investigators funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to place a copy of manuscripts resulting from NIH-funded research into the National Library of Medicine's online repository, PubMed Central, to be made publicly available within one year of publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The policy will take effect April 7, 2008, and will impact three constituencies on college and university campuses: NIH-funded investigators; institutional research administrators and legal counsel; and librarians. This paper will explore the new policy's requirements of each constituency, the roles each may consider playing to ensure effective compliance with the policy, and the new opportunities that are afforded to all of the three groups by this groundbreaking initiative.
Breaking the barriers of time and space: the dawning of the great age of librarians (2012) by T.S. Plutchak
Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA, 100(1), 10–19. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.100.1.004
Purpose:
This lecture, reflecting on future roles, posits the potential dawning of a “great age of librarians,” if librarians make the conceptual shift of focusing on their own skills and activities rather than on their libraries.
Discussion:
In the digital age, physical libraries are becoming less relevant to the communities that they serve. Librarians, however, are more necessary than ever in helping members of their communities navigate the increasingly complex information space. To meet their social responsibilities requires that librarians seek new roles and recognize that their most important activities will take place outside of the physical library.
Conclusion:
A great age of librarians is possible, but not guaranteed. We are at the very beginning of the development of a digital culture that parallels the print culture that has been dominant for five hundred years. Innovative and creative librarians have the potential to shape the development of that culture in ways that will truly serve the needs of their communities.
Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn't. (1996) By D. L. Sackett, W.M. Rosenberg, J.A. Gray, et al.
BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), 312(7023), 71-72.
It's about integrating individual clinical expertise and the best external evidence
Reference librarians' perceptions of the issues they face as academic health information professionals. (2004) by C.S. Scherrer
Journal of the Medical Library Association, 92(2), 226-232. PMC385304
Background: Leaders in the profession encourage academic health sciences librarians to assume new roles as part of the growth process for remaining vital professionals. Have librarians embraced these new roles?
Objectives: This research sought to examine from the reference librarians' viewpoints how their roles have changed over the past ten years and what the challenges these changes present as viewed by both the librarians and library directors.
Method: A series of eight focus groups was conducted with reference librarians from private and public academic health sciences libraries. Directors of these libraries were interviewed separately.
Results: Reference librarians' activities have largely confirmed the role changes anticipated by their leaders. They are teaching more, engaging in outreach through liaison initiatives, and designing Web pages, in addition to providing traditional reference duties. Librarians offer insights into unanticipated issues encountered in each of these areas and offer some creative solutions. Directors discuss the issues from their unique perspective.
Conclusion: Librarians have identified areas for focusing efforts in lifelong learning. Adult learning theory, specialized databases and resources needed by researchers, ever-evolving technology, and promotion and evaluation of the library are areas needing attention. Implications for library education and continuing professional development are presented.
A primer on Open Access. (2004) by P. Suber
This article originally appeared in Against the Grain, vol. 16, no. 3 (June 2004). The published version is not open access.
Why Current Publication Practices May Distort Science. (2008) by N.S. Young, J.P.A. Ioannisdis, and O. Al-Ubaydli
PLoS Medicine, 5(10), e201. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050201
This essay makes the underlying assumption that scientific information is an economic commodity, and that scientific journals are a medium for its dissemination and exchange. While this exchange system differs from a conventional market in many senses, including the nature of payments, it shares the goal of transferring the commodity (knowledge) from its producers (scientists) to its consumers (other scientists, administrators, physicians, patients, and funding agencies). The function of this system has major consequences. Idealists may be offended that research be compared to widgets, but realists will acknowledge that journals generate revenue; publications are critical in drug development and marketing and to attract venture capital; and publishing defines successful scientific careers. Economic modelling of science may yield important insights (Table 1).
Information literacy competency standards for nursing. (2013) by S. Phelps, L. Hyde, and J. Planchon Wolf
Teaching Tips Mapping to the Information literacy competency standards for nursing. (2013) S. Phelps, L. Hyde, and J. PLanchon Wolf

Krafty Librarian

Tutorials, Guides, Exercises

Repositories for Information Literacy Materials:

ACRL Search this Guide Student Learning and Information Literacy Committee
Information LIteracy.uk
MERLOT
Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning & Online Teaching provides links to a variety of open resources that educators and librarians can use for classes. Some of the items included in MERLOT are open textbooks, case studies, assignments, presentations, and quizzes.
National Forum on Information Literacy
"The National Forum on Information Literacy is a robust collaborative of 100 + national and international organizations working together, on various levels, to mainstream this critical, 21st century educational and workforce development concept throughout every segment of society."

More Hands-On Information Literacy Activities by Fiona Hunt; Jane Birks
ISBN: 9781555706487
Publication Date: 2008
This book is a collection of library and classroom activities that support both secondary and undergraduate college students' information literacy skill development and better use of library tools and resources.

Materials for Course Readings and/or Textbook Use:

Research Strategies by William Badke
ISBN: 9781532018039
Publication Date: 2017
We live in a time when there is more knowledge available to us than ever before. Yet we struggle to make sense of it. When a research deadline looms and all you see is a confusing fog of data, you know you need help. In this sixth edition of Research Strategies, author William Badke helps you make sense of it all. He will show you how to navigate the information fog intelligently, and he will detail how to use it to your advantage to become a better researcher. Badke focuses on informational research and provides a host of tips and advices not only for conducting research, but also for everything from finding a topic to writing an outline to locating high quality, relevant resources to finishing the final draft. Study guides, practice exercises, and assignments at the end of each chapter will help reinforce the lessons. As an experienced researcher who has led thousands of students to ramp up their research abilities, Badke uses humor to help you gain a better understanding of today's world of complex technological information. Research Strategies provides the skills and strategies to efficiently and effectively complete a research project from topic to final product.
The Oxford Guide to Library Research by Thomas Mann
ISBN: 9780199931040
Publication Date: 2015
The information world has undergone drastic changes since the publication of the 3rd edition of The Oxford Guide to Library Research in 2005, and Thomas Mann, a veteran reference librarian at the Library of Congress, has extensively revised his text to reflect those changes. This book willanswer two basic questions: First, what is the extent of the significant research resources you will you miss if you confine your research entirely, or even primarily, to sources available on the open Internet? Second, if you are trying to get a reasonably good overview of the literature on aparticular topic, rather than just "something quickly" on it, what are the several alternative methods of subject searching - which are not available on the Web - that are usually much more efficient for that purpose than typing keywords into a blank search box, with the results displayed byrelevance-ranking computer algorithms?This book shows researchers how to do comprehensive research on any topic. It explains the variety of search mechanisms available, so that the researcher can have the reasonable confidence that s/he has not overlooked something important. This includes not just lists of resources, but discussions ofthe ways to search within them: how to find the best search terms, how to combine the terms, and how to make the databases (and other sources) show relevant material even when you don't know how to specify the best search terms in advance. The book's overall structuring by nine methods of searchingthat are applicable in any subject area, rather than by subjects or by types of literature, is unique among guides to research. Also unique is the range and variety of concrete examples of what to do - and of what not to do. The book is not "about" the Internet: it is about the best alternatives to the Internet - the sources that are not on the open Web to begin with, that can be found only through research libraries and that are more than ever necessary for any kind of substantive scholarly research. More than anyother research guide available, this book directly addresses and provides solutions to the serious problems outlined in recent studies documenting the profound lack of research skills possessed by today's "digital natives."
The Medical Library Association Essential Guide to Becoming an Expert Searcher by Terry Ann Jankowski
ISBN: 9781555706227
Publication Date: 2008
Ideal for use as a course text or a workbook for self-instruction, this utilitarian guide will teach you valuable strategies and techniques, regardless of your current skill level. Begin with the self-evaluation tool--find out where you are on the novice-to-expert continuum and then follow Jankowski through all of the components of an expert search, starting with the reference interview. A useful interview checklist and examples of librarian-user interactions will help you plan a successful, efficient search. Jankowski then guides you through the basics of search construction, offers practical guidelines for deciding what resource to start with, passes on tips and tricks from expert searchers, and reviews the usefulness of some of the most popular health science databases, like MEDLINE and PubMed, PsychInfo, CAB Abstracts, ABI/Inform, ERIC, and more. Featuring a dozen checklists and 30 exercises plus tips and strategies for maintaining and growing your skill set over time, here is your direct path to becoming an expert health information searcher.

Information Literacy Videos for Discussion Starters:

JP Rangaswami: Information is food
How do we consume data? At TED@SXSWi, technologist JP Rangaswami muses on our relationship to information, and offers a surprising and sharp insight: we treat it like food.
Eli Pariser: Beware Online Filter Bubbles
As web companies strive to tailor their services (including news and search results) to our personal tastes, there's a dangerous unintended consequence: We get trapped in a "filter bubble" and don't get exposed to information that could challenge or broaden our worldview. Eli Pariser argues powerfully that this will ultimately prove to be bad for us and bad for democracy.
Lawrence Lessig: Laws the Choke Creativity
Lawrence Lessig, the Net’s most celebrated lawyer, cites John Philip Sousa, celestial copyrights and the "ASCAP cartel" in his argument for reviving our creative culture.

WebSites

AHRQ: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
AHRQ invests in research and evidence to make health care safer and improve quality.
American Hospital Association
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is the national organization that represents and serves all types of hospitals, health care networks, and their patients and communities. Nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and 43,000 individual members come together to form the AHA.
Through our representation and advocacy activities, AHA ensures that members' perspectives and needs are heard and addressed in national health policy development, legislative and regulatory debates, and judicial matters. Our advocacy efforts include the legislative and executive branches and include the legislative and regulatory arenas.
Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends.
American Medical Association (AMA)
The AMA is leading meaningful innovation to enable a better health care system for patients, physicians and the country.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- National Center for Health Statistics, Mental Health
Offers statistics on patients receiving outpatient mental health care, patients in hospitals, and mental illness data within nursing homes. Includes data on suicide.
The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care
For more than 20 years, the Dartmouth Atlas Project has documented glaring variations in how medical resources are distributed and used in the United States. The project uses Medicare data to provide information and analysis about national, regional, and local markets, as well as hospitals and their affiliated physicians. This research has helped policymakers, the media, health care analysts and others improve their understanding of our health care system and forms the foundation for many of the ongoing efforts to improve health and health systems across America.
MedlinePlus
MedlinePlus is the National Institutes of Health's Web site for patients and their families and friends. Produced by the National Library of Medicine, the world’s largest medical library, it brings you information about diseases, conditions, and wellness issues in language you can understand. MedlinePlus offers reliable, up-to-date health information, anytime, anywhere, for free.
Merck Manual of Medical Information
First published in 1899 as a small reference book for physicians and pharmacists, the Manual grew in size and scope to become one of the most widely used comprehensive medical resources for professionals and consumers. As the Manual evolved, it continually expanded the reach and depth of its offerings to reflect the mission of providing the best medical information of the day to a wide cross-section of users, including medical professionals and students, veterinarians and veterinary students, and consumers.
National Coalition on Health Care
The National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC) was formed more than two decades ago to help achieve comprehensive health system change and is currently led by John Rother.
We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of organizations. Our growing Coalition represents more than 80 participating organizations, including medical societies, businesses, unions, health care providers, faith-based associations, pension and health funds, insurers, and groups representing consumers, patients, women, minorities and persons with disabilities. Collectively, our organizations represent, as employees, members or congregants, more than 100 million Americans.
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health oversees biomedical research. The site provides funding information for grant-seekers and consumer health information organized into A-Z categories.
National Library of Medicine
World's largest biomedical library and serves as a national information service. Also, provides support for health information specialists. Use the search box in the upper right hand corner or click on one of the specific links.
World Health Organization -- Global Health Observatory (GHO) Data
Offers data on top global health priorities with themes that include diseases, mortality, urban health, and child health. Include information on trends, major publications, core indicators, and links to related websites on theme pages.

Datasets

UCSF Accelerate: Research Resources
The Accelerate website, powered by UCSF's Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), is designed to provide a single place for UCSF and affiliated investigators to access CTSI research services and resources, find funding and training opportunities, and develop skills.
Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
Subscription-based access to the largest social science data archive in the U.S.
CDC Wonder
This database includes statistical research data, reference materials, reports and guidelines on health-related topics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP)
The database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP) was developed to archive and distribute the results of studies that have investigated the interaction of genotype and phenotype.
Distributed Structure-Searchable Toxicity (DSSTox) Database
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) has initiated a High Throughput Screening (HTS) Project to explore new approaches to evaluating chemicals across a spectrum of high-throughput biological assays.
GEO DataSets
This database stores curated gene expression DataSets, as well as original Series and Platform records in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) repository. Enter search terms to locate experiments of interest. DataSet records contain additional resources including cluster tools and differential expression queries.

Writing for Publication

Finding Journals:

Cabells (must have institutional subscription)
Ulrich's (must have institutional subscription)
Library Literature & Information Science Index (must have institutional subscription)
Library, Information Science And Technology Abstracts (must have institutional subscription)

Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
Includes open access journals in all subject areas, including psychology. Has rigorous criteria for inclusion in directory - most journals are gold and peer reviewed.

Examples of Alternative Publication Outlets:

Digital Humanities Now
Digital Humanities Now is an experimental, edited publication that highlights and distributes informally published digital humanities scholarship and resources from the open web. Since 2009, DHNow has been refining processes of aggregation, discovery, curation, and review to open and extend conversations about the digital humanities research and practice.
In the Library with the Lead Pipe
In the Library with the Lead Pipe is an open access, open peer reviewed journal founded and run by an international team of librarians working in various types of libraries. In addition to publishing articles and editorials by Editorial Board members, Lead Pipe publishes articles by authors representing diverse perspectives including educators, administrators, library support staff, technologists, and community members.
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
Includes open access journals in all subject areas, including psychology. Has rigorous criteria for inclusion in directory - most journals are gold and peer reviewed.
JOVE Journal of Visualized Experiments
JoVE creates the ultimate solutions for advancing research and science education by making and publishing videos of scientific experiments from the top laboratories around the globe.

Some factors used to establish journal reputation include:

Acceptance and rejection rates
How long the journal has been publishing
Where (in which databases) a journal is indexed
How widely the journal is circulated - number of subscribers, libraries that own it
How the journal is reviewed - blind peer-review, editorial panel, single editor
Intended journal audience - academia, trade, or both
JCR Impact Factor (ISI Impact Factor from Journal Citation Reports)

Copyright Information for Authors:

CIC Author Addendum
This contractual addendum is available for authors who wish to retain more of their copyright than some standard journal contracts allow.
SHERPA RoMEO
SHERPA RoMEO is an online resource that aggregates and analyses publisher open access policies from around the world and provides summaries of self-archiving permissions and conditions of rights given to authors on a journal-by-journal basis. RoMEO is a Jisc service and has collaborative relationships with many international partners, who contribute time and effort to developing and maintaining the service.

Collection Management

Selecting new materials:

A review of electronic journal acquisition, management, and use in health sciences libraries by S. Burrows
Journal of the Medical Library Association 94.1 (2006): 67–74.
Purpose: The paper describes patterns of electronic journal usage in health sciences libraries during the past decade.
Method: The paper presents a case study, documenting the pattern of acquisition, management, and usage at the Louis Calder Memorial Library of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Results: Health sciences journals were early to offer electronic alternatives to print. As a result, health sciences libraries, their patrons, and the public at large were early to embrace the new versions and continue to embrace the significant changes in scholarly communication they enable. Although the patterns of electronic journals among health sciences libraries and other special and academic libraries have similarities, they also have differences. Broad studies of electronic journals in non–health sciences libraries have been published, but a retrospective review of electronic journals in health sciences libraries has not.
Development of a new academic digital library: a study of usage data of a core medical collection by B. Shearer, C. Klatt, and S. Nagy
Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA 97.2 (2009): 93–101. PMC.
Objectives: The current study evaluates the results of a previously reported method for creating a core medical electronic journal collection for a new medical school library, validates the core collection created specifically to meet the needs of the new school, and identifies strategies for making cost-effective e-journal selection decisions.
Methods: Usage data were extracted for four e-journal packages (Blackwell-Synergy, Cell Press, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, and ScienceDirect). Usage was correlated with weighted point values assigned to a core list of journal titles, and each package was evaluated for relevancy and cost-effectiveness to the Florida State University College of Medicine (FSU COM) population.
Results: The results indicated that the development of the core list was a valid method for creating a new twenty-first century, community-based medical school library. Thirty-seven journals are identified for addition to the FSU COM core list based on use by the COM, and areas of overlapping research interests between the university and the COM are identified based on use of specific journals by each population.
Conclusions: The collection development approach that evolved at the FSU COM library was useful during the initial stages of identifying and evaluating journal selections and in assessing the relative value of a particular journal package for the FSU COM after the school was established.

De-selecting (Weeding) the collection:

Rethinking the reference collection: exploring benchmarks and e-book availability. by JT Husted, and LJ Czechowski
Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 31:3, 267-279, DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2012.698166
Librarians in the Health Sciences Library System at the University of Pittsburgh explored the possibility of developing an electronic reference collection that would replace the print reference collection, thus providing access to these valuable materials to a widely dispersed user population. The librarians evaluated the print reference collection and standard collection development lists as potential benchmarks for the electronic collection, and they determined which books were available in electronic format. They decided that the low availability of electronic versions of titles in each benchmark group rendered the creation of an electronic reference collection using either benchmark impractical.

Books on Collection Development:

Collaborative Collection Development by James Burgett; Linda L. Phillips; John M. Haar
ISBN: 9780838908815
Publication Date: 2005
They say two heads are better than one, and nowhere is this more evident than in the possibilities that grow out of libraries collaborating on collection development. To encourage these synergies requires systematic planning, selecting appropriate partners, and a long-term commitment from all parties. In this authoritative and practical guide, three leaders whose institutions have successfully collaborated for a decade share their expertise so others can incorporate their winning strategies. They explain the theoretical principles along with real-world strategies and results from their own experiences and from other consortial projects. For those libraries, both public and academic, interested in stretching limited budgets, Collaborative Collection Development provides the keys to. Expanding your collection; Improving user access; Sharing scarce resources; Overcoming barriers to partnering; Addressing economic issues; Creating a framework for success; Promoting and publicizing to attract new users; Building from these successful collaborations, librarians, directors, administrators, managers, deans, and team leaders will find practical planning models that include research, budgeti

CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries

ebooks

Aggregator platforms:

OVID
Both subscription model and perpetual access models available
Myilibrary
One time purchase – perpetual access model available
StatRef
Subscription base model only

Publisher based platforms:

McGrawhill
Subscription based model
Clinical Key
Subscription based model – replacing MDConsult in 2014
Karger Medical E-books
Subscription and perpetual access models
MDConsult e-books
Subscription based model and a perpetual access model – being replaced by Clinical Key in 2014
Oncology Nursing Society
One time purchase/perpetual access model
ScienceDirect library of e-books
one time purchase model
Thieme E-book library
Subscription based model
Wiley/Blackwell Library of E-Books
One time purchase model

Embedded Librarianship

Resources for Embedded Librarianship:

Embedded Librarianship by Alice L. Daugherty (Editor); Michael F. Russo (Editor)
ISBN: 9781610694131
Publication Date: 2013
In the ongoing evolution of the academic library, embedded librarianship has become an important topic of debate across levels and departments. This book delves into the concept, examining everything from theory to best practices. Includes a foreword by Steven J. Bell, president of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), addressing blended librarianship within the context of embedding the library into the curriculum or the librarian into the course Provides a detailed introduction to the embedded librarian concept and information to help a novice undertake the role of the embedded librarian Explores the opportunities and reasons for embedding, the demand for it, the challenges involved, and the potential benefits Presents several feasible models of embedding for the academic library setting
Embedded Librarians by Cassandra Kvenild; Kaijsa Calkins
ISBN: 9780838985878
Publication Date: 2011
The Embedded Librarian by David Shumaker
ISBN: 9781573874526
Publication Date: 2012

Websites/Blogs:

Embedded Librarian 101: How to Get Started
As librarians, we can’t wait for students to ask us questions. We know that! That’s why we’ve had “virtual” reference services since the early 2000’s. But it’s simply not enough to have an online presence. The key is being online where the students are. For most universities, this means the learning management system (Moodle, Blackboard, D2L, etc…). It’s where students spend their academic time. It’s where librarians need to be. It’s embedded librarianship.
The Embedded Librarian
It seems like every time there’s a discussion of competencies for librarians, somebody brings up networking. That’s understandable, but sometimes the conversation gets superficial, as if the metric for networking was PPM (People Per Minute) — how many people can you speak to / shake hands with / exchange business cards with — in a given time. ...

Articles

Embedded librarianship in the research context: Navigating new waters by J. Carlson & R. Kneale
College and Research Libraries Vol 72, No 3 (2011)
As librarians seek to redefine themselves, the model of embedded librarianship is generating interest as an effective means of applying the knowledge and skills of librarians towards the information challenges of the digital age. Embedded librarianship takes a librarian out of the context of the traditional library and places him or her in an “on-site” setting or situation that enables close coordination and collaboration with researchers or teaching faculty.
New activities and changing roles of health sciences librarians: a systematic review, 1990–2012
Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA 101.4 (2013): 268–277. PMC.
Objective: The paper identifies and documents new health sciences librarian activities and roles during the period from 1990–2012.
Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted using MEDLINE, Library and Information Abstracts, Library Literature, Scopus, and Web of Science. To find new roles that might not yet have been described in the literature, job announcements published in the Medical Library Association email discussion list archives from 2008–2012 were searched. For inclusion, an article needed to contain a substantive description of a new role and/or activity performed by librarians and be in the field of medical or health sciences librarianship. Papers that did not describe an actual (rather than proposed) librarian role were excluded.
Results: New roles identified through the literature search were: embedded librarians (such as clinical informationist, bioinformationist, public health informationist, disaster information specialist); systematic review librarian; emerging technologies librarian; continuing medical education librarian; grants development librarian; and data management librarian. New roles identified through job announcements were digital librarian, metadata librarian, scholarly communication librarian, and translational research librarian. New twists to old roles were also identified: clinical medical librarian, instruction librarian, outreach librarian, and consumer health librarian.
Conclusions: While the main purposes of health sciences librarianship remain the same, the new roles represent major new activities so that, for many librarians, daily on-the-job work is completely different.
Implications: This list of new activities should inform students contemplating medical librarianship careers, guide formal and continuing education programs, and encourage other librarians to consider these new services.
Contemporary Instructor-Librarian Collaboration: A Case Study of an Online Embedded Librarian Implementation by M. Edwards & E. Black
Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, 6:3-4, 284-311, DOI: 10.1080/1533290X.2012.705690
This paper reports the results of a case study evaluation of an embedded librarian project at a large, land-grant, research institution. The case is comprised of learners who are full-time academic health care professionals enrolled in an online graduate educational technology program. The mixed methods methodology focused on assessing the embedded librarian's impact upon the information literacy competency of the participants. Results support the documented literature by indicating that embedded librarians are of value to online students. The course instructor's experience with the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the embedded librarian project are emphasized in the presentation, providing unique faculty insight into collaborating with librarians. Recommendations for the assessment of embedded librarian projects include the need for future studies to investigate various contexts and the use of other methodologies to provide stronger empirical evidence.
The librarian as research informationist: a case study by L. Federer
Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA 101.4 (2013): 298–302.
Question: How can an embedded research informationist add value to the scientific output of research teams?
Setting: The University of California–Los Angeles (UCLA) Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library is an academic health sciences library serving the clinical, educational, and research needs of the UCLA community.
Methods: A grant from the National Library of Medicine funded a librarian to join a UCLA research team as an informationist. The informationist meets regularly with the research team and provides guidance related to data management, preservation, and other information-related issues.
Main Results: Early results suggest that the informationist's involvement has influenced the team's data gathering, storage, and curation methods. The UCLA Library has also changed the librarian's title to research informationist to reflect the new activities that she performs.
Conclusion: The research informationist role provides an opportunity for librarians to become effective members of research teams and improve research output.
Embedded librarians: one library's model for decentralized service by G. Freiburger & S. Kramer
Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA 97.2 (2009): 139–142.
The Arizona Health Sciences Library (AHSL), housed in a building connected to the college of medicine, serves the colleges of medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and public health at the University of Arizona in Tucson, all in buildings located about 200 feet from each other around a large plaza. As in most other academic health sciences libraries, AHSL circulation and number of reference questions have been dropping [1,2]. The building is used primarily by students to study, as faculty members rely on the library's electronic collections to meet their information needs. Despite years of effort, the library was not integrated into the curriculum of most of the colleges. One exception has occurred due to the participation of library staff in planning a new curriculum in the college of medicine.
“You're just one of the group when you're embedded”: report from a mixed-method investigation of the research-embedded health librarian by Greyson & Devon
Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA 101.4 (2013): 287–297.
Objective: Embedded librarianship has received much attention in recent years. A model of embeddedness rarely discussed to date is that of research-embedded health librarians (REHLs). This study explores the characteristics of Canadian REHLs and the situations in which they are employed.
Methods: The authors employed a sequential, mixed-method design. An online survey provided descriptive statistics about REHLs' positions and work experiences. This informed a series of focus group interviews that expanded upon the survey. Through constant comparison, we conducted qualitative descriptive analysis of the interviews.
Results: Based on twenty-nine survey responses and four group interviews, we created a portrait of a “typical” REHL and discovered themes relevant to REHL work. REHLs may identify more strongly as researchers than as librarians, with corresponding professional needs and rewards. REHLs value “belonging” to the research team, involvement in full project lifecycles, and in-depth relationships with nonlibrarian colleagues. Despite widely expressed job satisfaction, many REHLs struggle with isolation from library and information science peers and relative lack of job security.
Conclusions: REHLs differ from non-embedded health librarians, as well as from other types of embedded librarians. REHLs' work also differs from just a decade or two ago, prior to widespread Internet access to digital resources.
Implications: Given that research-embedded librarianship appears to be a distinct and growing subset of health librarianship, libraries, master's of library and information science programs, and professional associations will need to respond to the support and education needs of REHLs or risk losing them to the health research field.
Nursing Faculty Collaborate with Embedded Librarians to Serve Online Graduate Students in a Consortium Setting by L. Guillot, B. Stahr, & B. Meeker
Journal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning, 4:1-2, 53-62, DOI: 10.1080/15332901003666951
Nursing and library faculty face many information literacy challenges when graduate nursing programs migrate to online course delivery. The authors describe a collaborative model for providing cost-effective online library services to new graduate students in a three-university consortium. The embedded librarian service links a health sciences librarian to students through a commonly used courseware management system. Recommendations are presented for faculty and librarians who may consider using a similar approach.
Continual evolution: The experience over three semesters of a librarian embedded in an online evidence-based medicine course for physician assistant students (2011) by S. Kealey
Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 30:4, 411-425, DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2011.609046
This column examines the experience, over three years, of a librarian embedded in an online Epidemiology and Evidence-based Medicine course, which is a requirement for students pursuing a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies at Pace University. Student learning outcomes were determined, a video lecture was created, and student learning was assessed via a five-point Blackboard test during year one. For years two and three, the course instructor asked the librarian to be responsible for two weeks of course instruction and a total of 15 out of 100 possible points for the course. This gave the librarian flexibility to measure additional outcomes and gather more in-depth assessment data. The librarian then used the assessment data to target areas for improvement in the lessons and Blackboard tests. Revisions made by the librarian positively affected student achievement of learning outcomes, as measured by the assessment conducted the subsequent semester. Plans for further changes are also discussed.
Assessment and impact of a new role as an embedded librarian in nursing online journal clubs. (2013) by E. Kean
Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA, 101(4), 335–338. http://doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.101.4.018
At the Christ Hospital—a 555-bed, not-for-profit, Magnet-designated, acute care facility in Cincinnati, Ohio—staff nurses are actively encouraged by the hospital's Research and Evidence-Based Practice Council to participate in a journal club. In addition to providing a discussion mechanism for improving patient outcomes and satisfaction through research and evidence, journal club participation may also contribute to the research component of the hospital's registered nurse (RN) professional advancement program.
Experiences as an embedded librarian in online courses (2010) by A. Konieczny
Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 29:1, 47-57, DOI: 10.1080/02763860903485084
Embedded librarianship gives librarians a prime opportunity to have a direct, positive impact in a clinical setting, classroom setting, or within a working group by providing integrated services that cater to the group's needs. Extending embedded librarian services beyond the various physical settings and into online classrooms is an exceptional way for librarians to engage online learners. This group of students is growing rapidly in numbers and could benefit greatly from having library services and resources incorporated into their classes. The author's services as an embedded librarian in fully online courses at a medium-sized university will be discussed, as will strategies, lessons learned, and opportunities for engaging in this realm. To develop a foundation of knowledge on embedded librarianship, an overview of this topic is provided.
Embedded librarian within an online health informatics graduate research course: a case study (2014) S. Kumar, L. Wu, & R. Reynolds
Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 33:1, 51-59, DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2014.866485
The Health Sciences Library and the Department of Health Informatics & Information Management at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis piloted an embedded librarian project in summer 2012. The value and effectiveness of the pilot project was evaluated by analyzing the content of e-mail questions received from the students and the students’ answers to the pre- and post-class surveys. The project received positive feedback from the students and course faculty. Librarians collaborating with teaching faculty and interacting one-on-one with students in health information-intensive courses proved to be helpful for student learning.
The future of embedded librarianship: Best practices and opportunities (2012) by C. Kvenild
When initiating a new embedded project at your institution, it is important to consider the background of embedded librarians, best practices from the field, new opportunities for embedded projects, and how you will assess the project.
Fostering RN-to-BSN students' confidence in searching online for scholarly information on evidence-based practice (2013) by MS. McCulley, & M. Jones
The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing. 2014;45(1):22-27https://doi.org/10.3928/00220124-20131223-01
Graduates of bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) programs are increasingly expected to take an active role in assessing and improving nursing practice, and nurse educators are expected to prepare BSN students for this expanding role. Information literacy, the ability to search for, find, get, and use scholarly information to inform nursing practice, should be a critical component of nursing education. This article focuses on five strategies for teaching information literacy to registered nurse (RN)-to-BSN students in an online continuing education environment. These strategies include the addition of an embedded librarian to the online courses, collaboration between the librarian and nursing faculty, a subject guide with access to resources and tutorials at the point of need, student-centered learning with authentic assignments, and reflection on the learning process. Student reflections suggest that these strategies result in increased confidence in searching for and finding the evidence-based scholarship that they need.
Embedded librarianship, inside out (2010) by B. Norelli
Public Services Quarterly, 6:2-3, 69-74, DOI: 10.1080/15228959.2010.502879
Conquering evidence-based practice using an embedded librarian and online search tool. (2011) by J. Putnam, D. Faltermeier, J. Riggs, & K. Pulcher
Journal of Nursing Education. 2011;50(1):60-60https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20101220-03
Developing information literacy skills can be challenging, especially in an online environment. One strategy is to use an embedded librarian and an online search tool to promote the development of information management skills in an online evidence-based practice (EBP) course.
Rethinking library service to distance education students: Analyzing the embedded librarian model (2012) BY e. Sullo, T. Harrod, G. Butera, & A. Gomes
Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 31:1, 25-33, DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2012.641822
Since fall 2009, reference librarians at The George Washington University's Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library have been embedded in online classes through Blackboard within the School of Nursing and School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The authors sought to determine the types of questions asked of the librarian, with the goal of informing future interactions with distance education classes to help develop a standard “protocol” for working with this population of students. Eighty-two questions were categorized and qualitatively analyzed. The findings have prompted librarians to explore tools such as Elluminate Live!, a tool that allows librarians to provide synchronous instruction within the Blackboard environment.
Making meaningful connections: Evaluating an embedded librarian pilot project to improve nursing scholarly writing (2013) by L. Wu et al.
Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA 101.4 (2013): 323–326.
The Health Sciences Library, University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), serves 6 colleges (medicine, nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, allied health, and graduate health sciences) consisting of approximately 2,000 students and 800 faculty and researchers. The library liaison program has been in place for years, whereby each librarian is assigned as the key contact between the library and campus colleges and is readily available to answer questions in various ways (e.g., telephone, email, text message, and online chat). However, the use of traditional library service is declining, which signifies changing needs that lead to new ways to provide library services 1. Embedding librarians in academic courses might be one of the approaches to meet the changing needs 1.
Sustaining Librarian Vitality: Embedded Librarianship Model for Health Sciences Libraries (2013) BY L. Wu & M. Mi
Reference Services Quarterly, 32:3, 257-265, DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2013.806860
With biomedical information widely accessible from anywhere at any time, health sciences libraries have become less centralized, and they are challenged to stay relevant and vital to the mission and strategic goals of their home institution. One solution is to embed librarians at strategic points in health professions' education, research, and patient care. This article discusses a proposed five-level model of embedded librarianship within the context of health sciences libraries and describes different roles, knowledge, and skills desirable for health sciences librarians working as embedded librarians.

Information Literacy Competency

Information Literacy Competency Standards for Nursing
Approved by the ACRL Board of Directors, October 2013.