EBLIG Report: Interest Group Meets in Atlantic Canada and New Co-convenors are Chosen

Abstract

May was a month of travel for many Evidence-Based Librarianship Interest Group (EBLIG) members. From May 6 – 11, the 4th International Evidence Based Library and Information Practice conference was held in Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina. From May 22 – 26, EBLIG members attended the Canadian Library Association (CLA) conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland. As the second anniversary of the formation of EBLIG has come around, the inaugural co-conveners, Lyn Currie and Virginia Wilson, are wrapping up their two-year term. Congratulations to Sue Fahey of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Renée deGannes, Canadian Dental Association, Ottawa, who have taken over the reins and accepted a two-year term as EBLIG’s new co-conveners.

EBLIG has been active this past year, mainly in the area of conference workshops and sessions. At the organizers’ invitation, we successfully submitted and presented a half-day post-conference workshop for the 4th International Evidence Based Librarianship Conference. How to Assess the Evidence: A Critical Appraisal Tool for Library and Information Research, facilitated by Lindsay Glynn, of Memorial University of Newfoundland, was an extremely well-received session with nearly 30 participants in attendance.

Virginia Wilson and Stephanie Hall created a practical toolkit on evidence-based library and information practice specifically for public librarians: http://ebltoolkit.pbwiki.com/. This toolkit was unveiled at the 2007 CLA conference in St. John’s by Stephanie Hall.

A wiki was launched in 2007 entitled eblibrarianship: the Wiki of the Evidence Based Librarianship Interest Group (EBLIG) to facilitate interest group collaboration, sharing, and information access, as well as a means of communication: http://eblibrarianship.pbwiki.com/

EBLIG members are active in the EBLIP community and beyond:

• EBLIG members edited and contributed to an EBL-themed issue of Feliciter.
• EBLIG members are participating as editors, on the editorial advisory board, and on the evidence summary team of the open access journal, Evidence Based Library and Information Practice.
• As a result of a posting on the eblibrarianship wiki for the CLA conference session, Evidence-Based Librarianship: A Toolkit for Public Libraries, Virginia Wilson and Stephanie Hall have been invited to present a 1-hour audio conference for the Education Institute in the fall of 2007.

International membership to the interest group is available without having to become a full member of CLA. For only $30 CAD, people residing outside of Canada can join EBLIG and take advantage of networking and continuing education opportunities. More information on international membership is available at http://www.cla.ca/about/igroups/evidence_based.htm.

The past two years have been challenging and exciting. An active and engaged membership goes a long way in making this interest group vital and productive.