Julia Sollenberger

The value of library and information services in patient care: Results of a multisite study

OBJECTIVE The research conducted a large-scale, multisite study on the value and impact of library and information services on patient care. METHODS THE STUDY USED: (1) 2 initial focus groups of librarians; (2) a web-based survey of physicians, residents, and nurses at 56 library sites serving 118 hospitals; and (3) 24 follow-up telephone interviews. Survey respondents were asked to base their responses on a recent incident in which they had sought information for patient care. RESULTS Of the 16,122 survey respondents, 3/4 said that they had definitely or probably handled aspects of the patient care situation differently as a result of the information. Among the reported changes were advice given to the patient (48%), diagnosis (25%), and choice of drugs (33%), other treatment (31%), and tests (23%). Almost all of the respondents (95%) said the information resulted in a better informed clinical decision. Respondents reported that the information allowed them to avoid the following adverse events: patient misunderstanding of the disease (23%), additional tests (19%), misdiagnosis (13%), adverse drug reactions (13%), medication errors (12%), and patient mortality (6%). CONCLUSIONS Library and information resources were perceived as valuable, and the information obtained was seen as having an impact on patient care.

The evolving role and value of libraries and librarians in health care.

Changes in medical information and technology are revolutionizing health care. As clinicians try to incorporate research into practice through comparative effectiveness research and decision support, they increasingly depend on technology to bring evidence to the bedside to improve quality and patient outcomes. Integrating current information into the processes of shared decision making and continuous learning supports the application of evidence in clinical decision making. Health sciences libraries and librarians have an increasingly important role in providing that information to clinicians as well as to patients and their families.

Measuring the value and impact of health sciences libraries: planning an update and replication of the Rochester Study

In 2007, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM), Middle Atlantic Region (MAR), formed a planning group to explore the possibility of replicating a landmark study on the value of hospital libraries and their impact on clinical care, popularly known as “the Rochester Study” [1]. The Rochester study was among the first studies to relate information services provided by librarians to patient care outcomes, and it continues to be cited as evidence of the value of library services. The purpose of this paper is to update the library community on the progress of the proposed value of libraries study.

Looking inside ourselves: a culture of kindness

Looking inside ourselves—being present and attentive to our own and others’ words and feelings—helps us communicate and interact with a mindful, open heart. Mindfulness and patient-centeredness help caregivers provide higher quality care. Historical background on a predecessor of mindfulness—the biopsychosocial model of health and disease, developed at the University of Rochester—provides context for the mindfulness “movement” in health care. A culture of mindfulness, supported by mindfulness and meditation training for physicians and other health care providers, helps practitioners show greater compassion, kindness, and humanity, all qualities that patients need and deserve. In the health care world, many organizations have been created that focus on aspects of mindfulness. Some have a more clinical emphasis and others focus on behavioral or neuroscience research as it relates to meditation, mindfulness, compassion, and kindness. Mindfulness is also being taught in business schools and corporations. Leaders who approach their teams with respect, integrity, honesty, and kindness are more effective leaders. Organizations like Google, Nike, and Aetna, among others, use the concept of mindfulness, as well as emotional and social intelligence, to build interpersonal competencies and create more people-centered workplaces. As medical libraries live in the health care environment and medical library leaders are key to libraries’ present and future, there are strong reasons to address the concepts of mindfulness and kindness and put them to work in the medical library workplaces. A mindfulness meditation exercise closes the lecture, sending the attendees out into their day with calm and open minds and hearts.

Mary L. Ryan, AHIP, FMLA Medical Library Association 2008–2009

​WhenWhen the authors think of our friend Mary Lynnette Ryan, AHIP, FMLA, we always smile, as she is just that kind of friend and colleague. She brings smiles to the faces of people she interacts with regardless of where she encounters them. We are grateful to know and work with her and proud that she is the incoming president of the Medical Library Association (MLA). She brings to this role her enthusiasm and dedication for the profession, her willingness to involve and encourage all colleagues to join her in the mission, and her persistent desire to learn and apply new knowledge to life. Mary is an Arkansan, born and bred, and proud of her state and its academic health sciences institution. The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Librarys mission is to support the creation of new knowledge, education of health professionals, lifelong learning, timely access to information, and informed health care decisions. This mission also says a great deal about Mary, as she is dedicated to these goals on both personal and professional levels. Mary has been the director of the UAMS Library since May 1997. Just stating her title does not however, begin to describe what she does there and in her profession. Her colleagues know, and her curriculum vitae shows, that she has presented, facilitated, and taught more than fifty classes, papers, posters, and programs to a variety of audiences including librarians, educators, the general public, students, and health professionals. Her professional interests and passions are equally varied. During her career, they have ranged from the history of medicine, to interactive media, to consumer health, to hospital library optimization, to international librarianship, and finally, to two of her current passions, public health information and new trends and issues in scholarly publishing. Her work on the Scholarly Publishing Committee of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries is especially noteworthy. As director, Mary has the philosophy that her position as an administrator is to give her staff the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. Her caring attitude and her collaborative approach are evident to her staff as she fosters a team approach, listens and seeks input, and works together with the staff to make informed decisions. Marys generous spirit and incredible work ethic show through in all she does. While leading the UAMS Library, Mary earned her masters of public health, with honors. Growing up in a rural area of the state where health care was limited, she developed a vision for Arkansas: to put reliable health information in the hands of every health professional in the state. She is now working with the Area Health Education Centers to provide statewide access to an information product at the point of care. Mary stimulates and embraces change and innovation when it ensures that the library is current and relevant to users. For example, she recently worked tirelessly to extend UAMS Library hours for students and residents. Creating a twenty-four-hour space in the library required that she seek funding and plan for adequate security, furnishings, and structural changes. All of these called for countless meetings and endless conversations. Persistence is one of Marys many strengths. How did Mary get her start in medical libraries? While earning her masters in library science from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge, she began her career as a paraprofessional, then as serials librarian at the Rudolph Matas Medical Library of Tulane Universitys Medical Center (where she also began a lifelong love affair with the city of New Orleans). After six and a half years in the Big Easy (to Mary, the city of crawfish, muffulettas, and beignets), Mary decided to move back to Arkansas and served as assistant director for technical services at UAMS for twelve years. Prior to returning home to Little Rock yet again in 1997, this time to become director of the library at UAMS, Mary served for seven years as executive director of National Network of Libraries of Medicine for the South Central Region in Houston. There she learned more about the needs of all types of libraries and found herself actively engaged in ensuring the mission of the National Library of Medicine (NLM). She continues that dedication as a Friend of the NLM. She had a taste of federal experience as chief of the Technical Operations Branch, Food and Drug Administration Medical Library, in Rockville, Maryland, from 1990 to 1991. Marys service to MLA has spanned more than thirty years. She has served in almost every unit of the organization, from chapters and sections, to committees and juries, to the Board of Directors. She became an MLA Fellow in 2007. Through her MLA activities, Mary has made lifelong friends, acquired traveling buddies, and found an outlet for her commitment and devotion to our profession. Mary has been active professionally not only in MLA, but also the Arkansas Library Association, the UAMS History of Medicine Associates, and the Arkansas Public Health Association. Amazingly, she has held offices in more than twenty organizations and been a contributing and valued member of more than thirty committees of those groups. Mary is truly devoted to improving the health of those who live and work in her beloved state, in the nation, and, ultimately, across the globe. Marys personal passions are as numerous as her professional interests. She and her twin sister, Marie, are world travelers, having visited almost every continent of the world. Consistent with that theme, they are both dedicated viewers of television show The Amazing Race! Mary is a skilled and creative photographer; her work is often exhibited by the Arts of UAMS and is sought after by friends and family. Traveling with a small digital camera in her purse, she is ready at all times to snap a shot when she spies an image of interest. A picture taken by Marie at the Hanoi Hilton on her trip to Vietnam is stunning. She even got an exquisite shot of the river on a cold winter night in Chicago during the February MLA Board meeting. Marys photos grace the office walls of several of her medical librarian colleagues. Mary is an avid gardener; a dedicated aunt, sibling, and daughter (she comes from a family of nine children); and an excellent and competitive player of games including Trivial Pursuit. She even auditioned as a contestant for Jeopardy—and almost made it through the first round of tryouts! And anyone who knows Mary well is aware of her love of animals, especially her two canines, Honey and Bandit. Mary enjoys adventure and good eating with close friends, loves to visit cathedrals, and is a connoisseur of fine sorbets. She is a precious and loyal friend to her South Central Chapter and MLA colleagues. We all know she will enjoy her presidential year and look forward to seeing photographs and reading about her association initiatives and travels to chapters and beyond.

The state of scientific publishing: problems and promise.

Journal publishing is in transition. The digital world has created great expectations but it has delivered a strange medley of benefits and incentives, burdens and threats. In trying to transform itself from print to digital, the centuries-old traditional publishing model is breaking down, showing signs of stress, and reducing access to the results of scientific research. Scientific communication is at risk, and ‘‘an historic realignment of power is beginning to take place in ... journal publishing’’ (1). Who are the players in this thorny drama? There are many, and their points of view are diverse – commercial publishers, not-for-profit publishers and professional societies, academic researchers, research funding bodies, community providers, healthcare consumers, and of course libraries. The priorities of these factions are at odds; the situation is complex and, at times, contentious. As the director and assistant director of an academic health science library, we will represent the library perspective at the same time that we acknowledge the legitimacy of the other viewpoints. We appreciate the opportunity to enter into this debate, to increase awareness of the problem, and to present the promise of a hopeful future.