Medical Library Association Research Articles

Impact of a consumer health information specialization (CHIS) sponsorship program on the ability of public library staff to provide consumer health information.

Objective:In 2018, the Network of the National Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) launched a sponsorship program to support public library staff in completing the Medical Library Association's Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS). The objectives of our study were to: (1) determine whether completion of the sponsored specialization improved ability to provide consumer health information; (2) identify new health information services, programming, and outreach activities at public libraries; (3) investigate benefits of the specialization; and (4) determine the impact of sponsorship on obtaining and continuing the specialization.Methods:We used REDCap to administer a 16-question survey in August 2019 to 224 public library staff who were sponsored during the first year of the program. We measured competence in providing consumer health information aligned with the eight Core Competencies for Providing Consumer Health Information Services [1] as well as new activities at public libraries, benefits of the specialization to public library staff, career gains, and the likelihood of continuing the specialization based on funding.Results:More than 80% of 136 participants reported an increase in core consumer health competencies, with a statistically significant improvement in mean competency scores after completing the specialization. Ninety percent of participants have continued their engagement with NNLM, and more than half offered new health information programs and services. While more than half planned to renew the specialization or obtain the Level II specialization, 72% indicated they would not continue without NNLM sponsorship.Conclusions:Findings indicate that NNLM sponsorship of the CHIS specialization was successful in increasing the capacity of public library staff to provide health information to their communities.

Training needs of medical librarians in Nigeria: A survey.

Health library and information professionals need continuing professional development to update their skills and knowledge. There is very limited evidence on the training needs of medical librarians in Nigeria. To identify the training needs of medical librarians in Nigeria, principally the content topics required, preferred formats of training, and barriers to training. An online questionnaire was distributed to 94 registered members of the Medical Library Association of Nigeria. The majority of the 64medical librarian respondents wanted training in information systems and technology usage. The respondents also indicated that they prefer participating in seminar/workshops and being involved in face-to-face courses. Very few of the respondents have attended any specialist training aimed at their work in the medical field. The foremost challenge identified is the high cost of training. This study confirmed that the librarianship degree acquired from library schools only serves as a foundation for medical librarians, and it does not provide the specific subject training required to work successfully as medical librarians. There is a gap in knowledge base of medical librarians in Nigeria that needs to be filled by specific on-the-job training and courses which are affordable.

Memoriam: Lynn C. Westney (1947-2021)

References Davis, Ruth. 1987. ”Where will Technology Put the Library of the 21st Century.” Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 75, no. 1: 1-6. Chicago Tribune. 2021. “Dr. Lynn C. Westney.” Legacy Obituary. Accessed on 23 April 2021. Retrieved from https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicagotribune/name/lynn-westney-obituary?pid=197494288. Howard, Heather, Meara Habashi, and Jason Reed. 2020. “The Gender Wage Gap in Research Libraries.” College and Research Libraries 81, no. 4: 664-675. Irvine, Betty Jo. 1985. “Difference by Sex: Academic Library Administrators.” Library Trends 34, no. 2: 235–258. Kamalski, Judith. 2011. “The Woman Formerly Known As. Research Trends.” Research Trends. Accessed on 24 April 2021. Retrieved from https://www.researchtrends.com/issue21-january-2011/944/. Lynch, Clifford and Edwin Brownrigg. 1986. “Conservation, Preservation, and Digitization.” College and Research Libraries July: 379–382. Pellack, Lorraine and Lori Kappmeyer. 2011. “The Ripple Effect of Women’s Name Changes in Indexing, Citation, and Authority Control.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 62, no. 3: 440–448. Noordewier, Marret, Fremke van Horen, Kirsten Ruys, and Dierderik Stapel. 2010. “What’s in a Name? 361.708 Euros: The Effects of Marital Name Change.” Basic and Applied Social Psychology 32, no.1: 17–25. Ruhig DuMont, Rosemary. 1985. “Introduction: Woman and Leadership in the Library Profession.” Library Trends 34, no. 2: 163–169. Swisher, Robert, Rosemary Ruhig DuMont, and Calvin Boyer. 1985. “The Motivation to Manage: A Study of Academic Librarians and Library Science Students.” Library Trends 34, no. 2: 219–234. Tescione, Susan. 1998. “Research News and Comment: A Woman’s Name: Implications for Publication, Citation, and Tenure.” Educational Researcher 27, no. 8: 38–42. US Department of Labor. 2021. “Affirmative Action.” Accessed on 23 April 2021. Retrieved from www.dol.gov/general/topic/hiring/affirmativeact. Westney, Lynn. 2007. “From Courtesans to Queens: Recipes Named for Women.” Names 55, no 3: 277–285. Westney, Lynn. 2009. “E-journals Inside Out: The First Decade.” Journal of the Association of History and Computing 12, no. 1. Accessed on 24 April 2021. Retrieved from https://quod.lib.umich.edu/j/jahc/3310410.0012.105/--e-journals-inside-and-out-the-first-decade?rgn=main;view=fulltext;q1=westney.

An analysis of research methods utilized in five top, practitioner-oriented LIS journals from 1980 to 2019

PurposeThis study examines research methods utilized in five practitioner-oriented research journals – College and Research Libraries, Information Technology and Libraries, Journal of the Medical Library Association, Library Resources and Technical Services and Reference and User Services Quarterly. The study fills gaps identified in existing content analyses of methods in practitioner-based LIS research publications.Design/methodology/approachBased on analysis standards and coding schemes supplied by the studies of Kalervo Jarvelin and Pertti Vakkari, as well as Heting Chu, this study identifies the primary research method utilized in 6,387 articles published in these five journals from 1980 to 2019. Trends in the frequencies with which various research methods were used are identified and presented using a series of visualizations.FindingsSignificant shifts have occurred in the research methods used by articles in these practitioner-based journals over the past four decades. Notably, the proportion of case studies has dropped substantially, particularly among College and Research Libraries and Journal of the Medical Library Association articles. Diversity of research methods utilized in articles has increased over time, with College and Research Libraries, in particular, having a significant proportion of articles in recent years that employ data analytic or qualitative approaches.Originality/valueWhile similar approaches have been used to examine research methods among other LIS journals, this study is the first to focus primarily on practitioner-based journals and document continuous change (as opposed to sampling a few years) over an extended, 40-year period.

A Pilot to Initiate Research Data Management Services Within Academic Libraries Helps Librarians to Learn About, Engage With, and Enhance Skills Within Their Research Communities

A Review of: Read, K. B, Koos, J., Miller, R. S., Miller, C. F., Phillips, G. A., Scheinfeld, L., & Surkis, A. (2019). A model for initiating research data management services at academic libraries. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 107(3), 432–441. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2019.545 Abstract Objectives – To initiate or expand research data management (RDM) services within the participating libraries serving health sciences populations. Design – Case report. Setting – Six institutions consisting of three academic health sciences and three university libraries within the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Middle Atlantic Region in the United States of America. Subjects – Between two and eight librarians participated from each institution, for a total of twenty-six librarian participants. Methods – Pre-pilot phone interviews were conducted and included open-ended questions about RDM services, the library’s motivation for participating, and their degree of institutional commitment. To deepen their understanding of RDM, the participants were required to complete eight educational modules that included text, videos, and quizzes. The participating institutions received data interview questions to connect with their research community to be better informed about their attitudes, language, and practices. The participants also received a Teaching Toolkit, complete with slides, a script, and an attendee evaluation form. The participants were provided with a data series, consisting of branded classes for teaching over a designated period with instructors from within and outside of the library. Collaboration with library partners was encouraged as was the use of a focused marketing plan. In fact, a major component of the pilot was the expert support, provided through biweekly meetings that included marketing tips and presentations on such topics as clinical research data management and data visualization. Finally, post-pilot program interviews were conducted, and the open-ended questions covered the pilot program as a whole and its individual components. Main Results – Of the six participating institutions, five institutions rated the RDM educational modules very positively. Conducting data interviews was valuable for all six institutions because it allowed the librarians to meet with researchers, build relationships, and use what they learned to develop RDM services for the future. The Teaching Toolkit was rated positively by the six institutions, especially for its adaptability, the time saved over developing the content from scratch, and its usability. Finally, the two institutions that held the data series courses stated that the series succeeded in further marketing the RDM services developed by the library. Conclusion – The pilot project met its objectives: the librarians at the participating institutions completed the educational modules, administered the data interviews, and taught an RDM foundations class based on the Teaching Toolkit. In addition, a data series was hosted at two institutions. The components of the pilot project had the intended results at each institution, and the classes were reviewed favorably. Based on the pilot participants’ positive outcomes, the authors are certain that the freely available program materials would achieve success elsewhere.

Nigerian Medical Libraries Face Challenges With High Hopes for the Future

A Review of: Popoola, B., Uzoagba, N., & Rabiu, N. (2020). “What’s happening over there?”: A study of the current state of services, challenges, and prospects in Nigerian medical libraries. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 108(3), 398–407. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2020.607 Abstract Objective – This study examined the field of medical librarianship as it is currently practiced in Nigeria. Design – Mixed methods: electronic survey and in-person interview. Setting – The survey was advertised via an email list and a WhatsApp discussion group, both based in Nigeria. The interviews were requested directly by the authors. Subjects – Librarians working in medical libraries in Nigeria for the survey; library heads for the interviews. Methods – The survey was created in Google Forms and shared via the Nigerian Library Association’s email discussion list and the WhatsApp Group for the Medial Library Association of Nigeria. Question categories included personal and library demographics, library patronage/social media use, library services for users, and librarians’ training and challenges. Most questions were closed-ended. Survey data was analyzed in SPSS for response frequencies and percentages. The interviews were conducted in person. Questions covered topics such as demographics, challenges, and prospects (for medical librarianship in Nigeria). Interview transcriptions underwent thematic content analysis. Main Results – The majority of the 58 survey respondents (73%) reported seven or more years of medical library experience. There was no consensus on classifications schemes used throughout medical libraries in Nigeria, with 43% using the US National Library of Medicine classification and 32% using the Library of Congress. Social media use also varied, but the majority (approximately 45%) reported using social media less than monthly to promote their libraries or programming. Monographs were the main collection material reported by roughly 35% of respondents. Journals followed at approximately 24% while only 10% reported electronic resources as the main collection material. The majority of respondents (53%) noted that their library did not offer specialized services. Others (31%) reported “selective dissemination of information, current awareness services, or reference services” (p. 402) as specialized services; 7% reported literature searching. The majority of respondents (70-75%) rated their skill levels in evidence based medicine and systematic reviews as beginner/intermediate. Half of respondents reported that their libraries had not held any training programs or seminars for library users in the six months prior. Interviews with library heads revealed that they all had high hopes for the future of medical libraries in Nigeria but also noted many challenges. These included a lack of cooperation between libraries, a lack of interlibrary loan services, budget deficiencies, and insufficient access to the internet. This mirrored survey responses, 50% of which noted access to electronic information was a “significant barrier to improved services” (p. 402) along with a lack of training (53%) and low library usage (57%). Conclusion – Medical libraries in Nigeria face multiple challenges. Budgetary constraints, a lack of library cooperation, and internet accessibility limit the availability of electronic collections. The authors suggest that library associations in Nigeria focus on education and training opportunities for current and future medical librarians.

Defining a project proposal to enhance the Medical Library Association's annual meeting through Session-level assessment

Defining a project proposal to enhance the Medical Library Association's annual meeting through Session-level assessment

Research Roadmap Part 2

Part 2 of 2 from the Research Roadmap session presented at the Annual Meeting of the Medical Library Association in 2018.

Authorship Trends of Research Articles Published in Seven Scientific, Technical, Engineering, and Medical (STEM) Library Journals: Analysis of STEM Library Research from 2016 to 2019 Update

ABSTRACT Authorship patterns of research articles published in seven Scientific, Technical, Engineering, and Medical (STEM) library science journals have been examined previously for the five years from 2011 to 2015 by using bibliometric techniques. This study has now been updated for the years from 2016 to 2019 by analyzing 590 research articles. The same journals: Science & Technology Libraries, Issues in Science & Technology Librarianship, Journal of eScience Librarianship, Journal of Hospital Librarianship, Journal of the Medical Library Association, Medical Reference Services Quarterly, and Health Information and Libraries Journal, were studied. Some of the variables we have examined in both samples include (1) authorship, (2) affiliation, (3) country of origin, and (4) topic of the research articles. The findings presented a unique opportunity to determine the current state of art in STEM librarianship research by using the most recent data gathered from seven prominent STEM library science journals.

Medical Library Association Diversity and Inclusion Task Force Report.

The Medical Library Association (MLA) appointed a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force (DITF) in 2017. Sandra G. Franklin, AHIP, FMLA, chaired the task force and guided initiatives. From 2017 to 2020, the task force completed a review of MLA defining documents—including the mission, vision, values, and code of ethics—resulting in language updates to these documents. As MLA transitioned through the communities process, the DITF contributed to the transition. Other recommended essential changes to MLA profiles to promote awareness included updating pronouns to promote gender inclusivity and suggestions for the Annual Meeting Innovation Task Force. DITF members actively brought diversity and inclusion programming and engagement to MLA members at annual meetings. The task force held a fish bowl conversation, an open forum, and a Diversity Dialogues roundtable discussion; provided interactive discussion boards; and designed an MLA diversity button. Beyond MLA annual meetings, the task force hosted two critical librarianship meetings and a Twitter chat to engage MLA members with diversity and inclusion topics. Task force members promoted diversity and inclusion beyond their task force appointments with presentations at chapter meetings and other non-DITF MLA annual meeting programming. A notable task force accomplishment included completing a survey of MLA members to gather baseline demographic characteristics, including never before collected data about disability, socioeconomics, and caregiver status. This report provides an overview of DITF activities from 2017 to 2020.

Health sciences librarian competency perceptions: a survey of national community college librarians

Objective:The primary objective of this study was to determine how community college health sciences librarians perceive their proficiencies in the essential skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary for the practice of a health information professional as defined by the Medical Library Association (MLA) Competencies for Lifelong Learning and Professional Success. A secondary objective was to determine their current level of engagement with the professional community and identify barriers to further professional development.Methods:A survey was posted to various email discussion lists, and volunteer follow-up interviews were conducted.Results:The survey was completed by seventy-five community college health sciences librarians, and seven follow-up interviews were performed. Survey results indicated that community college health sciences librarians perceived themselves as having intermediate or advanced intermediate proficiency in the six MLA competencies. Survey and interview results indicated that community college health sciences librarians were engaged with the profession and faced the same barriers to continued professional development and continued education as other academic librarians.Conclusion:The results affirm that community college librarians who are responsible for collections and services in the health sciences meet the MLA competencies, which fills a gap in the literature regarding how these librarians develop professional competencies and are involved in professional associations. The results suggest that community college librarians can improve their skill levels by continuing their education and following trends in the literature.

120th Virtual Annual Meeting and ConferenceMedical Library Association, Inc.May 19, 2020, and July 27-August 28, 2020.

The Medical Library Association (MLA) held its 120th annual meeting and conference virtually May 19, 2020, and July 27–August 28, 2020, due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The meeting was titled the “MLA’20 vConference and Exhibits,” and the theme was “2020 Vision: The Future in Focus.”

The move to open: medical library leadership in scholarly communication.

Over the years, health sciences librarians have been change agents, leading the charge on issues of importance to the profession and the communities we serve. From its founding in 1898 with the Exchange, the Medical Library Association (MLA) has been dedicated to improving access to health information. In 2003, the Board of Directors published a statement supporting open access to information generated from federally funded scientific and medical research and maintained that having access to timely, relevant, and accurate information is vital to the health of the nation and its education and research programs. At some financial risk, the association made the Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) open access and published the entire archive of JMLA and its predecessor, the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, in PubMed Central. Nearly two decades later, the promise of open access and open science finally seems to be coming to fruition. In the 2020 Janet Doe Lecture, Chris Shaffer, AHIP, described the ways that MLA has led the profession, standing behind a shared vision and “walking the walk.” In challenging listeners to embrace open science, he affirmed that, as leaders in improving access to health sciences information since 1898, medical librarians must work in the open science arena to realize our vision “that quality information is essential for improved health.”

Why are they not accessing it? User barriers to clinical information access.

The Medical Library Association's InSight Initiative provides an open and collaborative environment for library and industry partners to discuss vexing problems and find solutions to better serve their users. The initiative's fifth summit, continuing work from the previous summit, focused on understanding how users discover and access information in the clinical environment. During the summit, participants were divided into working groups and encouraged to create a tangible product as a result of their discussions. At the end of the summit, participants established a framework for understanding users' pain points, discussed possible solutions to those points, and received feedback on their work from an End User Advisory Board comprising physicians, clinical researchers, and clinical faculty in biomedicine. In addition to the pain point framework, participants are developing MLA InSight Initiative Learning content with modules to educate librarians and publishers about critical aspects of user behavior. The 2020 Insight Initiative Fall Forum will serve as a virtual home for constructive dialogue between health sciences librarians and publishers on improving discovery and access to information.

A core competency model for clinical informationists.

Objectives:Access to high-quality information improves the quality of patient care, but lack of time and sufficient skills in information seeking can prevent access to information by clinicians. To solve this problem, clinical informationists can provide high-quality, filtered information for clinical team members. This study identified the core competencies that clinical informationists need to effectively fulfill their roles on clinical teams.Methods:Participants were selected purposefully from clinicians and medical librarians. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using qualitative content analysis.Results:The authors identified six competencies—communication, research, education and training, domain knowledge, information services, and technology—which together were used to develop a “CREDIT” model of core competencies for clinical informationists.Conclusions:The CREDIT model can be used as criteria for evaluating the performance of clinical informationists as well as for developing and assessing clinical informationist educational programs and curriculums.

Application of Bradford’s law of scattering and Leimkuhler model to information science literature

This paper discusses the theoretical aspects of Bradford’s law, its implications in different subject areas, various implementation forms, and its relevance in the published Information Science literature. The study attempts to apply Bradford’s law and Leimkuhler model on Information Science literature to a total of 213 source items listed in the Scopus database during the study period of 2001 to 2020. A ranking table of journals and articles has been prepared to contain the cumulative count. In the first phase, the verbal formulation or the laws’ algebraic form is employed in the journal distribution pattern that depicts a very high percentage of error in the actual observation that does not comply with Bradford’s distribution. The Leimkuhler model’s application follows this after finding the Bradford multiplier (k) value, thereby estimating the number of journals in the core and the successive two zones (r 0, r 1, r 2). A minor percentage error of 0.0092357% has been observed, followed bythe graphical depiction of the data, i.e., “Bradford’s Bibliograph.” “Scientometrics” (39), “Bulletin of the Medical Library Association” (33), “Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science”(26 ) were found as the most preferred journals with the highest frequency.

Dissertations and Theses in Top Nursing Publications: A Bibliometric Study

Objective - To investigate the overall prevalence of citations to theses and dissertations, as well as their prevalence in feature articles, editorials, and review articles in top research nursing journals. To evaluate differences between journals and to determine whether there was a change in use over time. Methods - Journals were selected from the Medical Library Association’s Nursing and Allied Health Resource Section’s 2012 Selected List of Nursing Journals. An evaluation was conducted of citations from 3,711 articles published in 2011 and 2018 in 7 top nursing journals. Thesis and dissertation citations were identified and categorized by type of scholarly communication: feature articles, reviews, and editorials. Analysis was conducted for the prevalence of citations for theses and dissertations based on percentage of overall citations and the percentage of articles with a thesis and dissertation citation. Results - Thesis and dissertation citations accounted for 0.41% of all citations. However, 9.43% of the articles contained at least one thesis and dissertation citation. Feature articles contained more thesis and dissertation citations than review articles and editorials. The Journal of Advanced Nursing, Journal of Clinical Nursing, and the Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences published a higher percentage of articles with at least one thesis and dissertation citation. Conclusion - The overall use of theses and dissertations in nursing scholarship is comparatively low compared to other forms of scholarly communication. However, this unique form of scholarship viewed from its impact on the percentage of scholarly articles in nursing demonstrates that theses and dissertations have made more of a contribution than previously reported. Our research provides libraries and the nursing academy with empirical evidence for the value of theses and dissertations. It provides librarians and the nursing academy justification for continuing efforts to preserve, enhance access through digital repositories, and to continue to explore strategies to promote the use of theses and dissertations in research.

Collocations of high frequency words in nursing research articles and The Academic Collocation List: Similarities and differences

Abstract The main objective of this corpus-based study is to research the most frequent two-word collocations in the corpus of nursing scientific articles and compare this newly assembled list of nursing collocations with the Academic Collocation List (ACL). The nursing scientific articles corpus (NSAC) used in this study comprises 1,119,441 words from 262 articles of 10 high-quality journals from the Medical Library Association list which nursing students can freely access. The focus is on noun-noun and noun-adjective collocations. The selected articles were converted into txt files using the ABBYY Fine Reader. WordSmith Tools 7.0 and TermeX were used for noun and collocation extraction. The newly assembled Nursing Collocation List (NCL) and the ACL were compared using Microsoft Excel 2016. A total of 488 collocations were identified in the NSAC and the NCL contains 234 (47.9%) noun + noun and 254 (52.1%) adjective + noun collocation combinations. The most frequent two-word collocation is health care and it appeared 618 times in the NSAC. The ACL (2,469) and the NCL (488) share 123 two-word collocations. Although there are some correspondences between collocations in the two corpora, key nursing collocations with notably higher frequencies are identified in the NSAC (365). Despite the fact that the ACL is the most extensive collocation list across different academic fields and it certainly plays an important role in teaching English as a foreign language, this study suggests that it does not provide key nursing collocations for improvement of nursing collocation competence.

Charles William Sargent, PhD, AHIP, FMLA, 1925–2020

Charles William Sargent, PhD, AHIP, FMLA, director emeritus of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Library of the Health Sciences and 1981–1982 president and member of the 1972–1975 Board of Directors of the Medical Library Association (MLA), died on January 8, 2020, in San Antonio, Texas. Sargent's career in librarianship included positions at research, special, and health sciences libraries, as well as an appointment as a library school faculty member. He was known for his mentoring, interest in clinical librarianship, and belief in the power of organizations.

Educational interventions to improve literature searching skills in the health sciences: a scoping review.

Objective:The authors reviewed educational interventions for improving literature searching skills in the health sciences.Methods:We performed a scoping review of experimental and quasi-experimental studies published in English and German, irrespective of publication year. Targeted outcomes were objectively measurable literature searching skills (e.g., quality of search strategy, study retrieval, precision). The search methods consisted of searching databases (CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science), tracking citations, free web searching, and contacting experts. Two reviewers performed screening and data extraction. To evaluate the completeness of reporting, the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) was applied.Results:We included 6 controlled trials and 8 pre-post trials from the 8,484 references that we screened. Study participants were students in various health professions and physicians. The educational formats of the interventions varied. Outcomes clustered into 2 categories: (1) developing search strategies (e.g., identifying search concepts, selecting databases, applying Boolean operators) and (2) database searching skills (e.g., searching PubMed, MEDLINE, or CINAHL). In addition to baseline and post-intervention measurement, 5 studies reported follow-up. Almost all studies adequately described their intervention procedures and delivery but did not provide access to the educational material. The expertise of the intervention facilitators was described in only 3 studies.Conclusions:The results showed a wide range of study populations, interventions, and outcomes. Studies often lacked information about educational material and facilitators' expertise. Further research should focus on intervention effectiveness using controlled study designs and long-term follow-up. To ensure transparency, replication, and comparability, studies should rigorously describe their intervention.