Introduction

Welcome to the second issue of hint: Health Information News and Thinking, the quarterly newsletter of the Irish Health Sciences Libraries Group of the Library Association of Ireland. You may notice that the format has changed to facilitate producing the newsletter in HTML format with active hypertext links. For those of you who wish to have a paper /print copy it is also available in PDF format at http://www.libraryassociation.ie/sections/healthlibs

In this issue our feature article discusses Evidenced Based Librarianship (EBL). Tom McGuirk provides an informative insight into the topic and his experience of participating in an online course on the same. You will find news from the group and some of the latest news relating to library issues, details of interesting websites and forthcoming conferences/ events.

We hope you find this newsletter of interest. Please feel free to contact the editors (details on the last page) with any suggestions, comments or better still with submissions for future issues!

The Editors

feature article

Evidenced Based Librarianship and the FOLIO Programme – Opportunities for Professional Development

Andrew Booth defines Evidence Based Librarianship (EBL) as “an approach to information science that promotes the collection, interpretation and integration of valid, important and applicable user-reported, librarian observed, and research-derived evidence. The best available evidence, moderated by user needs and preferences, is applied to improve the quality of professional judgements.” Although using research in practice is not a new concept for librarians, the first time EBL was used as a label can be traced to an article by Jonathan Eldredge in 1997 which appeared in Hypothesis, the newsletter of the Research Section of the Medical Library Association. Several years later workshops on EBL commenced, articles were published, presentations given and the first conference on the subject took place in Sheffield in 2001.

In theory, evidence-based practice should be easy for the Library and Information Profession. After all we deal in a currency of research and evidence and we continually work with researchers and evidence-based practitioners. But how widespread is EBL in this country? There is little in the way of research in librarianship emanating from Ireland and even less evidence to suggest that librarians and information scientists use an evidence-based approach to decision making in their own service. There may be numerous reasons for this - EBL is in its infancy; the Library & Information profession is slow to respond to innovation; EBL has not yet become part of the syllabus etc – yet the changing nature of our profession clearly suggests that EBL will become increasingly important as a way of demonstrating that the services we offer and the expertise we bring to an increasingly competitive marketplace are based on the best available evidence of what works in a given setting.

How do we encourage Evidence Based Information Practice among colleagues? There are numerous ways to do this – conduct systematic reviews and produce evidence based guidelines in common librarianship topics; develop registers of research in librarianship; form international collaboration for evidence based information practitioners; publish a newsletter or journal of EBL etc - but we could do worse than recommending a course such as the online interactive EBL course offered by the FOLIO (Facilitated Online Learning Interactive Opportunity) Programme as part of the National electronic Library for Health (NeLH) Librarian Development Programme.

The course was open to pre-registered librarians across the globe and there were 80 successful participants from overseas including 6 from Ireland. It took place in April/May of 2003 and was free at the point of delivery with the UK costs being met by the NeLH Librarian Development Programme and additional costs caused by the ‘internationalisation’ of the course borne by the Information Resources Section of the School of Health & Related Research (ScHARR), University as a contribution to the international librarianship community.

The course involved:

• receiving 20 email communications, approximately one per day over three working weeks, via the evidence-based-libraries jiscmail discussion list;
• compiling a portfolio recording personal activity and participation for submission to the course facilitator;
• email interaction with a ‘buddy group’ of up to eight international participants with an average of one task per week;
• contribution to an email discussion thread (which had to be abandoned as it threatened to overload the discussion list);
• reading an average of one briefing (2 sides A4) per week; and
• completion of a course evaluation form at the end of the course.

The course was certificated by the NeLH and participants fulfilling these minimum requirements received a certificate of attendance.

The course literature suggested that participants would be expected to participate in the course to an extent comparable with attendance at a one-day workshop. It would take up, we were told, just a few minutes of our time every couple of days (a virtual day with virtual tea breaks). This was not entirely my experience. The course was more time-consuming than anticipated and certainly equivalent to more than a single one-day workshop. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable and informative and it broadly lived up to its assertion that by the end of the course participants would be able to:

• define the characteristics of evidence based librarianship (EBL) and the skills required to implement EBL into daily practice;
• identify the “six domains of EBL” and locate meaningful research questions within their appropriate domains;
• itemise the stages of the Evidence Based Practice process and discuss their specific applications to librarianship;
• identify priorities for future development in evidence based librarianship; and
• engage with international participants in discussing issues of common professional concern.

The online course appears to have been successful, so it is likely that it will be available again in the future. It is certainly worth a look, even if only for the ready pointers to relevant information, the flexible timing, the opportunity to put thoughts into words, and the excellent facilitator, Andrew Booth from ScHARR, who has, incidentally, published a handbook for information professionals on Evidence Based Practice, which contains chapters relating to most of the course themes.

Tom McGuirk
Information Scientist
Disabilities Directorate
Mid Western Health Board
tmcguirk@mwhb.ie

Other Resources:

FOLIO Programme: Facilitated Online Learning as an Interactive Opportunity

Booth, A and Brice, A ed. (2004) Evidence-based practice for information professionals: a handbook. London: Facet

Health Information and Libraries Journal (June 2003) Volume 20 Issue s1 Page 1-80. Supplement dedicated to Evidence Based Librarianship and related issues.

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recent news

Continuing Professional Development Working Group (CPDWG)

The Continuing Professional Development Working Group (CPDWG) was set up in January 2004 in direct response to appeals for greater training opportunities made at the Annual Conference 2003. It is one of a number of Working Groups within the IHSLG. The group consists of Irish Health Sciences Libraries Group (IHSLG) members and IHSLG committee members and reports directly to the IHSLG committee. To date there are 5 members in the group but new comers are always welcome.

CPD is an essential part of developing not only as a professional but also as an individual. The choice of courses run aims to equip you with the necessary skills to advance Health Science Librarianship into the future. Attendance at and feedback from courses will determine the schedule of events for the remainder of the year. All information gathered will be made available in a report at the AGM. In the meantime we would like to encourage anyone interested in giving training to contact us. We are establishing a panel of ‘internal trainers’ from within our sector to conduct training. There are many highly skilled professionals amongst us and what better way to contribute to your profession than to share your knowledge and expertise with fellow colleagues.

CPDWG has already organised a course in ‘Advanced Internet Searching for Health Libraries’ which was held on March 23rd in Trinity College Dublin. More courses will be run throughout the year around the country, please check the LAI website for further details.

For further information please contact Aoife Lawton. aoife.lawton@ehss.ie

Launch of IDAAL

Last year saw the launch of Idaal, a consortium of Intellectual Disability Libraries established to provide access to information in this and related fields. Idaal comprises five organisations: St. John of God Hospital Services, Daughters of Charity, St. Michael’s House, Stewarts Hospital and Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary. Their website, http://www.idaal.com/ provides access to a collection of databases (PsycINFO, CINAHL, Medline, Cochrane etc. ) and full text journals, journal holdings and an extensive list of links, and was launched by Mary Hanafin TD, Minister of State in the St. John of God Conference Centre, Stillorgan on 10th March 2003.

Journal pricing inquiry launched

(Source: 'Information World review Issue 198, January 2004)

In the UK, MPs are launching an official parliamentary investigation into scientific publishing. The House of Common's Science and Technology Committee will start taking oral evidence at special enquiry sessions this month. The committee plans to investigate the policies for publishers' pricing of scientific journals, and will make recommendations for action by the government and publishers to ensure a more competitive market. It is expected that this inquiry will have a tremendous impact on the large scientific journal publishers such as Wiley, Elsevier, Springer and Kluwer. The inquiry is also to decide whether the UK government should challenge the pricing models of commercial publishers by encouraging more open-access projects like Biomed Central and the Public Library of Science.

Open-access publishers reject unsustainability charge

UK's Royal Society urges caution on open access

In search of the deep Web

(Source: www.salon.com , 9 March 2004)
The next generation of Web search engines will do more than give you a longer list of search results. They will disrupt the information economy... Those of us who place our faith in the Googlebot may be surprised to learn that the big search engines crawl less than 1 percent of the known Web. Beneath the surface layer of company sites, blogs and porn lies another, hidden Web. The "deep Web" is the great lode of databases, flight schedules, library catalogs, classified ads, patent filings, genetic research data and another 90-odd terabytes of data that never find their way onto a typical search results page. Read More

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online services

Highwire Press

HighWire Press is the largest archive of free full-text science on Earth. As of 18 February 2004, they are assisting in the online publication of 690,809 free full-text articles and 1,720,697 total articles. Free back issues are available for journals such as; The British Journal of Anaesthesia, British Journal of Psychiatry, Chest and Thorax. For more inofrmation about this feature: http://highwire.stanford.edu/lists/freeart.dtl

Medbioworld

With 25,000 links, Medbioworld ( http://www.sciencekomm.at/ ) is the largest medical reference site, including all medical journals and medical associations, and similar   resources in the biological sciences. Links include 6,000 medical journals in 80 subspecialties, and the home pages of 4,000 medical associations. Other research tools include medical glossaries, disease databases, clinical trials and guidelines, and medical journals offering full-text articles.

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people

Congratulations Niamhs!

Congratulations to Niamh Lucey (St Vincents Hospital, Elm Park) and Charlie on the birth of their baby daughter in March 2004.

Congratulations to Niamh O'Sullivan (IBTS) and Maurice on the birth of their daughter Sive in November 2003.

Click on the photos to enlarge

IHSLG Conference, Tullamore 2003

 

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conferences/events

LAI and CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, Northern Ireland) Annual Joint Conference 2004

20 - 23 April 2004
The annual joint conference of the LAI and CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) Northern Ireland takes place in Wicklow from 20th-23rd April. The venue for the conference is the Marriott Druid's Glen Hotel and Country Club, Newtownmountkennedy, County Wicklow.

The theme of the conference is Libraries beyond the Digital, and the proceedings kick-off at 17.00 on Tuesday 20th April. LAI members’ day is on Thursday 22nd and transport will be laid on from Bray DART station. The conference banquet takes place that evening, preceded by an address from the Minister for the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government, Martin Cullen, TD.

The programme and booking form may be downloaded, and further information is available from the Conference Secretary, Carmel Moore, of Wicklow County Libraries.

Medical Library Association Annual Conference: MLA '04: Seize the Power

May 21–26, 2004
Venue: Washington, DC

Information: The 2004 National Program Committee invites you to find your center of power in Washington, DC, from May 21–26. Whether it is the "power of one" or the "power of many," "organizational power" or "personal empowerment," MLA '04 promises something for everyone!

Dynamic member contributions, transformational speakers, vibrant social events, and, of course, networking with friends and colleagues make MLA '04 the place to be. The MLA '04 schedule is a "power grid" of opportunities to regenerate and recharge your professional batteries and to find your "center of power." Further information: http://www.mlanet.org/am/am2004/index.html

HLG Annual Conference: Variety is the Spice of LIFE (Libraries and Information for Evidence)

6-8 September 2004
Venue: Waterfront Hall, Belfast
Information: The annual CILIP (HLG) conference is being held in Belfast's Waterfront Hall this year.

Earlier this year IHSLG members met with the representatives of the HLG conference organising committee in Birmingham and in Belfast in an attempt to increase IHSLG participation in this conference and increase communication between the two organisations. As a result of these meetings, one day of the conference has been specially organised with IHSLG and Northern Irish HLG members in mind. The programme for Tuesday 7th September includes a wide variety of topics (supporting e- learning, marketing for libraries, change management and user education) and includes speakers from some of the Northern Irish health libraries.

We want to encourage as many IHSLG members to travel to Belfast for the 7th & 8th September and avail of the special conference rate currently on offer to IHSLG members. IHSLG members who attend for these two days can avail of a special rate of £100 Sterling for 1 ½ days; This rate includes attendance at the conference for Tuesday 7th and the half day Wednesday 8th September. The rate also includes a conference pack on arrival, beverage breaks, lunches and the Conference Gala Dinner on Tuesday 7th September.
The Dinner will take place in the City Hall, with a pre-dinner reception hosted by Belfast City Council.

Accommodation is not included. Details of hotels offering special rates are available on the CILIP HLG website http://www.cilip.org.uk/groups/hlg/conf2004/index.html

For those who chose to attend the entire conference, look out for Bernard Barrett speaking on Monday 6th! The entire programme is available from the HLG website http://www.cilip.org.uk/groups/hlg/conf2004/programme.html Full Conference rates are also available http://www.cilip.org.uk/groups/hlg/conf2004/registration.html Dublin – Belfast train schedules are available from http://www.irishrail.ie/home/

This is a great opportunity for the IHSLG to increase our knowledge of other professional bodies, and in particular to make greater acquaintance with our colleagues north of the border and the UK. The conference has an interesting and diverse programme that should appeal to IHSLG members on many levels. We look forward to seeing you all in Belfast!

EAHIL 9th EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH LIBRARIES

Information: http://www.eahil.org/conferences.htm
EAHIL Scholarships: See if you are eligible for an EAHIL scholarsip http://www.eahil.org/scholarship.htm

IHSLG Annual Conference

11-12 November 2004

Venue: Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore
Information: To be announced at a later date

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editorial & contact details

HINT is the Quarterly Newsletter of the Irish Health Sciences Libraries Group of the Library Association of Ireland.

It is compiled & produced by members of The Irish Health Sciences Libraries Group of the LAI.
This issue was edited by Louise Farragher, Information Specialist, National Documentation Centre on Drug Use, Health Research Board and Emma Quinn, Librarian, Waterford Regional Hospital.

Any submissions for future articles should be sent/faxed/emailed to:
Emma Quinn, Librarian, Waterford Regional Hospital, Dunmore Road, Waterford.
t +353 (0)51 842434. f +353 (0)51 848561. e QuinnEM@Sehb.ie

All material in this newsletter is copyright ©, 2004. This newsletter may be quoted or forwarded if the quoted or forwarded passage is attributed to the newsletter. If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, please e-mail the Editors