Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association / Journal de l'Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada

Meeting the Challenge of Teaching Information Literacy (book review)

2021-06-03T11:50:25-06:00

Evolution-revolution-devolution

2021-01-20T04:20:27-07:00

From 1993 to 2009 the University of Manitoba (UM), the Regional Health Authorities of Manitoba (RHAM), and the Manitoba Health Department signed affiliation agreements that changed the access to knowledge-based information for health professionals. These agreements transferred the management and delivery of library service from the home organizations to the UM Libraries. This three-part paper describes the events that led to the evolution of change in health information access in Winnipeg, subsequent revolutionary changes in the nature of the services, and their eventual devolution due to a significant array of unexpected challenges.

Editor's Message

2021-07-22T09:52:34-06:00

An environmental scan of librarian involvement in systematic reviews at Queen’s University: 2020 update

2020-11-26T15:43:51-07:00

Introduction

Systematic reviews are a growing research methodology in the health sciences, and in other disciplines, having a significant impact on librarian workload. In a follow up to an earlier study, an environmental scan was conducted at Queen's University to determine what impact, if any, the introduction of a tiered service had on review publications where at least one co-author was from Queen's.

Methods

A search was conducted in PubMed and the Joanna Briggs database to find systematic reviews and meta-analyses with at least one author from Queen's University for the five-year time since the last environmental scan. Reviews were categorized by the degree of involvement of the librarian(s): librarian as co-author, librarian named in the acknowledgements, no known librarian involvement in the review.

Results

Of 453 systematic reviews published in the five-year time frame, nearly 20% (89) had a librarian named as co-author. A further 24.5% (110) acknowledged the role of a librarian in the search, either in the acknowledgements section or in the body of the text of the article. In just over half of reviews (235 or 51.8%) a librarian was either not involved, or was not explicitly acknowledged in some capacity. Librarian involvement represented a wider range of persons and institutions.

Conclusion

In the five years since the last environmental scan, an increasing number of reviews recognize the role of the librarian in publishing systematic reviews, either through co-authorship or named acknowledgement. Also, as more librarians became involved in systematic reviews, librarian capacity has increased.

Flipping it online: re-imagining teaching searching for knowledge syntheses

2020-09-22T11:14:30-06:00

Introduction: This program description outlines our approach to re-developing our 3-part series for graduate students on comprehensive searching for knowledge syntheses from in-person to online delivery using a flipped classroom model. The re-development coincided with our library’s response to COVID-19.

Description: This series followed a flipped classroom model where participants completed asynchronous modules built on Articulate Rise 360 before attending a synchronous session. Each week of content covered unique learning objectives. Pre- and post-survey evaluations were used to examine students’ understanding of the materials.

Outcomes: 152 unique participants registered for the series across two offerings in summer 2020. We observed high engagement with pre-work modules and active participation during synchronous sessions.

Discussion: We found the flipped classroom approach to work well for our users in an online environment. Moving forward, we intend to continue with our re-developed online workshop series with minor modifications, in addition to in-person instruction.