Librarians against machines. Librarians are having difficulty adopting the new technology because they have no professional philosophy.
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Comparative usefulness of MEDLINE searches performed by a drug information pharmacist and by medical librarians.
The usefulness of MEDLINE searches conducted by a drug information pharmacist who had received online training was compared with the usefulness of searches conducted by medical librarians. Searches for literature pertinent to select drug information requests received at a university drug consultation service during a three-month period were conducted independently by the pharmacist and one of three reference librarians. The three librarians had received extensive online search training and were experienced in conducting MEDLINE searches; the pharmacist was trained by a fourth experienced librarian-searcher using National Library of Medicine (NLM) training materials. For each drug information request, the pharmacist and the librarian searched two MEDLINE files on the NLM service. The printouts generated by the two searchers were evaluated by two drug information pharmacists in terms of how useful each list of citations would be in enabling the drug information pharmacists to answer the related question. The majority of printouts in 48 sets of searches were judged to be useful. Of the 96 possible "best search" votes (two votes for each of the 48 sets of printouts), the pharmacist's searches received 34 votes, the librarians' searches received 28 votes, and there were 34 tie votes. The numbers of useful primary and alternate citations were found to be the best predictors of whether a given printout would receive the "best search" rating. MEDLINE searches performed by a drug information pharmacist with online training, in response to drug information requests, were judged by drug information pharmacists to be as useful as searches performed by librarians.
Drug Information Services↗
A clinical librarian program in the intensive care unit.
OBJECTIVES: Clinical decision-making in the intensive care setting frequently requires the physician to obtain additional resource information. Physicians typically consult with colleagues, use personal medical books or files, or use library materials. Clinical librarians may also be used. This study evaluates the effectiveness of an ongoing clinical librarian program in the intensive care setting. DESIGN/SETTING: During a 3-month period, house officers in the medical and coronary ICUs in a major teaching hospital asked the clinical librarian 66 patient-care questions. Attached to the information selected by the clinical librarian was a questionnaire asking how the information was applied. MAIN RESULTS: There was an overall response rate of 65.1%. House officers indicated that the information: a) aided in diagnosis (37.2%), b) contributed to a better understanding of the therapy (51.2%), and c) resulted in improved patient management (30.2%). In some instances, the information was multibeneficial. The clinical librarian spent an average of 47 mins/question, and accumulated an average computer charge of $3.59. Personnel and on-line charges over the 3-month study period averaged $45/question. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical librarian programs may deliver patient-specific information in a timely, cost-effective manner. This information has an impact in the intensive care setting.
Connecticut↗
Authorship outlets of academic health sciences librarians.
Journal articles are the most common publication format for U.S. academic health sciences librarians. This is consistent with the findings of other researchers. Of the total publications in this study, 68% were in journals. Watson found that 69% of the academic librarians' publications were published in some type of journal [8]. Similarly, Yerkey and Glogowski found that 67% of the publications in their study were journal articles, although their population consisted of all types of authors of library/information science materials [9]. Both the present study and Watson found that monographs were the second most common publication outlet. Watson found that 16% of the total publications were monographs; the current study identified 14.8% of the total publications as monographs [10]. Although Watson's findings are similar to the newer results, it is important to note that Watson's study was conducted in a different manner and included book reviews, which were not counted in the present study. The health sciences librarians in the present study published more than two thirds of their articles in library/information science journals and 27% in health sciences journals. Similarly, in Yerkey and Glogowski's study, the second-largest number of library/information science articles appeared in medical and health sciences journals [11]. Fang also found that 22.57% of the journal articles on health sciences librarianship or by health sciences librarians were in medical journals [12. This seems to demonstrate the desire of health sciences librarians to communicate with the health professionals. Yerkey and Glogowski that library and information science is an interdisciplinary field, "borrowing and supplying information to and from other disciplines"[13].
Authorship↗
Work/training programs for international health science librarians in American medical school libraries.
World understanding is more than a desirable goal today: it may be crucial to our survival. Many universities realize this and have in the past decade spent a great deal of time and money to ensure a steady flow of faculty and students between the U.S. and other countries. Librarians with faculty or academic status may benefit from promoting such relationships themselves. Job exchanges and training programs offer librarians in the United States the opportunity to become acquainted with their counterparts in other countries. Such programs enable librarians of various countries to become aware of one another's special needs and common problems, and allow them to share ideas and expertise. This paper presents an overview of international training programs for foreign librarians in the United States, focusing on programs for health sciences librarians in United States medical school libraries. Information is given on the availability and types of institutionally sponsored programs, as well as on MLA's Cunningham Fellowship Program. Some of the difficulties and the benefits of such programs are discussed.
Foreign Professional Personnel↗
The role of the medical librarian in SDI systems.
Many ongoing selective dissemination systems designers assume that the librarian can be omitted from active participation in execution of the master plan. ISI's four years of experience with ASCA(R) service have shown that librarians must be an integral part of the system and engage in an active dialogue between users and the machine. Specific examples of how librarians can best serve the information needs of scientists using SDI systems are examined. It is the basic contention of this paper that the librarian should serve as an intermediary between users and the numerous new information media. In this manner the librarian can filter and translate the requirements of individual scientists to conform with the inherent limitations of all machine systems while exploiting their capabilities to the fullest.
Information Systems↗
Academic health sciences librarians' publication patterns.
This study examines the publication patterns of U.S. academic health sciences librarians. A survey was sent to a random sample of Medical Library Association (MLA) members who work in academic settings. Some survey results are consistent with other research while others vary from the findings of previous studies. Faculty status requiring publication may be an incentive to publish; however, a large percentage of librarians in this study published despite the lack of a requirement. Academic health sciences librarians without advanced degrees other than a master's in library science produced about three quarters of the publications, whereas their colleagues with advanced degrees published slightly more than 25% of the publications. Results concerning professional maturity, position, and geographic location reflect findings of earlier studies of academic librarians' publication patterns. Publication productivity generally increased with professional maturity, most authors held administrative or supervisory positions, and many lived in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States. The differences in rates of publication between males and females was not statistically significant after controlling for respondents' professional maturity and position. Recommendations for future research are discussed.
Educational Status↗
How good are clinical MEDLINE searches? A comparative study of clinical end-user and librarian searches.
The objective of this study was to determine the quality of MEDLINE searches done by physicians, physician trainees, and expert searchers (clinicians and librarians). Its design was an analytic survey with independent replication in a setting of self-service online searching from medical wards, an intensive care unit, a coronary care unit, an emergency room, and an ambulatory clinic in a 300-bed teaching hospital. Participating were all M.D. clinical clerks, house, and attending staff responsible for patients in the above settings. Intervention for all participants consisted of a 2-h small group class and 1-h practice session on MEDLINE searching (GRATEFUL MED) before free access to MEDLINE. Search questions from 104 randomly selected novice searches were given to 1 of 13 clinicians with prior search experience and 1 of 3 librarians to run independent searches (triplicated searches). Measurements and main results from these unique citations of the triplicated searches were sent to expert clinicians to rate for relevance (7-point scale). Recall (number of relevant citations retrieved from an individual search divided by the total number of relevant citations from all searches on the same topic) and precision (proportion of relevant citations retrieved in each search) were calculated. Librarians were significantly better than novices for both. Librarians had equivalent recall to, and better precision than, experienced end-users. Unexpectedly, only 20% of relevant citations were retrieved by more than one search of the set of three, with the conclusion that novice searchers on MEDLINE via GRATEFUL MED after brief training have relatively low recall and precision. Recall improves with experience but precision remains suboptimal. Further research is needed to determine the "learning curve," evaluate training interventions, and explore the non-overlapping retrieval of relevant citations by different searchers.
Evaluation Studies as Topic↗
Factors influencing research productivity among health sciences librarians.
Secondary analysis was performed of data collected in 1989 from a random sample of members of the Medical Library Association. Results show that about half the sample had at least one publication; academic health sciences librarians were much more likely than hospital librarians to have published. Almost half the sample had taken formal courses in research, but only a small percentage had taken continuing education (CE) courses in research. Institutional support services for research were most available in academic settings. The combination of institutional support, CE training, and research courses explained 31.1% of the variation in research productivity among academic librarians; these factors were less important in hospitals and other institutional settings. The authors suggest that health sciences librarians working outside academia should seek support for research from sources outside the employing institution.
Humans↗
Assessment of MLA assertiveness training for librarians: students' behavior changes after taking C.E. 669, Assertiveness and Human Relations Skills.
C.E. 669, offered for three years, was MLA's first personal development continuing education course. Participants were asked to respond to a follow-up survey about their current assertive philosophy, awareness, and behavioral repertoire. They were also assessed by the Librarian's Assertiveness Inventory, a tool that indicates patterns of behavioral responses, for which some normative data were available from librarians who had not taken the class. Class participants were found to be more likely to behave assertively and less likely to behave aggressively than librarians who had not taken the class. In nine out of ten situational categories, librarians who had taken the class demonstrated assertive response patterns. They also reported remembering and using more than one third of the behavioral techniques covered in class, with particular use of the nonverbal techniques. A majority saw themselves as more assertive since taking the class, although most believed that others viewed them much the same as they had prior to the class. Positive progress toward reaching specific behavioral goals was also reported.
Assertiveness↗
Academic status for medical school librarians.
Results of a survey conducted indicate that most medical schools grant academic status in some degree to their professional librarians. Faculty appointments and benefits are not always awarded. In order to upgrade the stature and effectiveness of the medical school librarian in relation to his institution and to the teaching faculty, his having faculty status is desirable. It is the medical school's responsibility to grant faculty status to librarians who possess necessary qualifications; likewise, it is the responsibility of the medical school librarian to merit faculty rank on a basis with other teaching faculty. In three new medical schools, the library is considered an academic department, and other schools are considering such designation.
Faculty, Medical↗
Librarian or educator: into the classroom.
There is a traditional view of librarians as keepers of information. This paper reports on the development of a post of Tutor Librarian who is actively involved in nurse education and inservice training. Project 2000 and its accompanying curriculum changes provide an opportunity to develop the Tutor Librarian's role.
Education, Nursing↗
Training at the postgraduate level for medical librarians: a review.
Postgraduate education for medical librarians is approachable from several perspectives, including internships, certificate programs, and continuing education programs. The diverse population of medical library personnel calls for a varied yet coordinated system of postgraduate education involving the Medical Library Association, regional medical libraries, library schools, and the National Library of Medical, in addition to active participation by all librarians in the health sciences field. Basic philosophies for each of the major types of programs are discussed and recommendations for future training of health sciences librarians are provided.
Education, Continuing↗
Hospital-based patient education programs and the role of the hospital librarian.
This paper examines current advances in hospital-based patient education, and delineates the role of the hospital librarian in these programs. Recently, programs of planned patient education have been recognized by health care personnel and the public as being an integral part of health care delivery. Various key elements, including legislative action, the advent of audiovisual technology, and rising health care costs have contributed to the development of patient education programs in hospitals. As responsible members of the hospital organization, hospital librarians should contribute their expertise to patient education programs. They are uniquely trained with skills in providing information on other health education programs; in assembling, cataloging, and managing collections of patient education materials; and in providing documentation of their use. In order to demonstrate the full range of their skills and to contribute to patient care, education, and research, hospital librarians should actively participate in programs of planned patient education.
Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
Biomedical librarians in a patient care setting at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine.
The biomedical librarian has been placed in a patient care setting working in the specific environment of a six-year medical school guided by the docent team concept (docent is defined as a clinician-scholar). Within this framework the specifically qualified Clinical Medical Librarians function within the docent unit. Three dissemination techniques or systems-LATCH, Current References, and Latest Topics-are discussed. Note is made of the Clinical Medical Librarian's role in teaching, demand search-document delivery in answer to anticipated and actual requests, and the design of the Patient Care Information System. Also presented are the unique aspects of a hospitable environment essential to the success of this project.
Education, Medical↗
Role of the librarian.
The librarian functions as one of the most important of medical educators. This role is frequently unrecognized, and for that reason, too little attention is given to this role. There has been too little attention paid to the research role that should be played by the librarian. With the development of new methods of information storage and dissemination, it is imperative that the persons primarily responsible for this function should be actively engaged in research. We have little information at the present time as to the relative effectiveness of these various media. We need research in this area. Librarians should assume an active role in incorporating into their area of responsibility the various types of storage media.
Forecasting↗
The clinical librarian and the patient: report of a project at McMaster University Medical Centre.
In June 1975 a clinical librarian project was initiated in the Gastroenterology Programme of McMaster University Medical Centre. The objectives of the project were to assist patients in participating more knowledgeably in their own health care and to assist health professionals in applying the latest information from biomedical literature to patient care. The implementation and development of the service are described, including the use of feedback from patients and health professionals to assess the impact of the librarians' participation in clinical settings. Benefits included: 1) increased accessibility of information resources to patients, 2) a greater awareness by health professionals of the usefulness of biomedical literature and the library in patient care, and 3) an opportunity for the librarian to gain a first-hand view of activities and information needs in a clinical setting. Key points in determining the successful implementation of the project are given.
Canada↗
The circuit rider librarian.
Many hospitals are unable to maintain a full-or even half-time professional librarian to support the professional and nonprofessional hospital staff, and to assist with the development of education programs. To answer this need, the Cleveland Health Sciences Library has developed the "circuit rider librarian" concept. A designated librarian from the staff visits a group of hospitals and, for a fee, provides library service which the hospital could not or would not readily supply for itself. The only limitations on the expansion of such a program are the interest of the hospitals, their geographic proximity to each other and to the resource library, and the ability of the latter to handle the increased demand.
Economics, Hospital↗