A Library Journal Club as a Tool for Current Awareness and Open Communication: University of British Columbia case study

Abstract

Keyword Continuing Education, Academic Libraries, Journal Club, Canadian Libraries, Professional Development Journal clubs are well-established in many scientific disciplines as a means for academics and students to discuss research and topics of interest. In 1875, Sir William Osler started the first recorded medical journal club at McGill University. Osler realized the advantages of sharing ideas in a social milieu, and encouraged journal club participants to apply the knowledge they gleaned to relevant patient cases (Kraemer 136-137; Linzer 475-478). The structure of journal clubs varies from institution to institution, and from profession to profession. However, most tend to meet regularly to discuss research articles and improve their understanding of research design, statistics and critical appraisal methods. Some overlapping goals include developing critical analysis skills, promoting the value of research and scholarship, and networking with peers (Deenadayalan et al. 898-911). The origin of journal clubs in academic librarianship is unclear. Their usefulness, however is well-demonstrated as a collective effort, enabling librarians to read the literature and apply it accordingly. Unfortunately, library professionals often do not have enough time to discuss issues found in the literature, even if they impact day-to-day operations. Why is this? Professional staff are often absorbed with other tasks, duties and responsibilities. Moreover, innovative issues are less likely to be disseminated for discussion (Hickman and Allen 642-644). Certainly, some dialogue takes place informally between individuals, but outside of a context in which more individuals could benefit professionally by sharing opinions and experiences. Without such a forum, many new ideas have little chance of succeeding. Professional communication in the workplace therefore, is often not as rigorous as it might be. Staff meetings historically draw a large professional audience, but typically these meetings use a formal reporting structure that does not accommodate a more relaxed dialogue around related or pertinent topics (Hickman and Allen 642-644). Moreover, staff meetings do not work for big academic libraries that have numerous branch locations on campus. Library literature does not offer much research on journal clubs. That said, it seems clear that such clubs, whether formal or informal, are not common in academic libraries (Kraemer 136-137; Hickman and Allen 642-644; Pearce-Smith 32-40; Tomlin 1-3). Fortunately, journal clubs are well-covered in the health sciences professional literature (Ebbert, Montori and Schultz 455-461; Goodfellow 107-110; Melchior and Meals 972-976; Sidorov 1193-1197) and were recently the focus of two systematic reviews that examine clubs and their effectiveness as tools for continuing education (Deenadayalan et al. 898-911; Ebbert, Montori and Schultz 455-461). The author of this article felt that starting a journal club at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Library could assist library staff in staying abreast of research in library science. UBC Library is the third-largest academic library in Canada and consistently ranks among the top university research libraries in North America. UBC Library is spread across the campus and the city of Vancouver and has 21 branches and divisions. Its diverse staff of more than 300 employees includes librarians, support, management and professional staff. Health sciences research suggests that one characteristic of a successful journal club is the establishment of regular meetings and appropriate times (Deenadayalan et al. 898-911). At UBC, we decided to meet monthly, starting in April 2008. No meetings were held, however, during the busiest and quietest months (when librarians are away for vacations) - September, January and August. Meeting times are consistent and advertised on the journal club's blog, found at http://blogs. …