Susan Lessick

Libraries Get Personal: Facebook Applications, Google Gadgets, and MySpace Profiles

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe applications, gadgets, and profiles that libraries have developed and distributed through the Facebook, iGoogle, and MySpace communities.Design/methodology/approach – provides a general review.Findings – Growing number of libraries and library‐related organizations are creating practical tools using Web 2.0 technologies.Originality/value – Librarians need to keep abreast of and experiment with these new methods of packaging and delivering information.

Research engagement of health sciences librarians: a survey of research-related activities and attitudes

INTRODUCTION The extent to which health sciences librarians are engaged in research is a little-studied question. This study assesses the research activities and attitudes of Medical Library Association (MLA) members, including the influence of work affiliation. METHODS An online survey was designed using a combination of multiple-choice and open-ended questions and distributed to MLA members. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, content analysis, and significance testing. The authors used statistical tools and categorized open-ended question topics by the constant comparative method, also applying the broad subject categories used in a prior study. Pearsons chi-square analysis was performed on responses to determine significant differences among respondents employed in three different institutional environments. RESULTS Analysis showed that 79% of respondents read research articles at least once a month; 58% applied published research studies to practice; 44% had conducted research; 62% reported acting on research had enhanced their libraries; 38% had presented findings; and 34% had authored research articles. Hospital librarians were significantly less likely than academic librarians to have participated in research activities. Highly ranked research benefits, barriers, and competencies of health sciences librarians are described. CONCLUSIONS Findings indicate that health sciences librarians are actively engaged in research activities. Practice implications for practitioners, publishers, and stakeholders are discussed. Results suggest that practitioners can use published research results and results from their own research to affect practice decisions and improve services. Future studies are needed to confirm and extend these findings, including the need for intervention studies to increase research and writing productivity.

Moving beyond the bookshelves

VIRTUAL PROJECTS Moving beyond the bookshelves DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3163/1536-5050.101.4.002 Introduction New technologies, the ubiquity of the Internet, and the superabun- dance of available information have given librarians new oppor- tunities to reenvision their roles, service solutions, and collabora- tions in this evolving information environment. More than anything else, digital content and technolo- gy-rich library services are moving the library ‘‘presence’’ outside the physical building to support users in their digital spaces, wherever and whenever. In this virtual li- brary world, librarians are crea- tively distributing services out- ward into communities and to library users on the go. Libraries have responded to this ‘‘digital shift’’ in a wide variety of ways. Today’s library website serves as the virtual front door of the library; a gateway to quality and specialized resources; a mis- sion-critical service point that of- fers assistance, guidance, and in- struction; and a platform for user engagement. Catalogs are becom- ing more ‘‘webby’’ and integrated with other discovery and federated search tools and into clinical work- flow environments. The increasing prevalence of mobile devices and tablet computing in research, pa- tient care, and teaching has given rise to libraries providing mobile- friendly websites, content, and support services to meet the needs of a growing mobile library com- munity. The focus of this first column is to provide concrete examples of virtual projects in health sciences libraries that illustrate this digital shift. All these projects are practi- cal, real-world implementations of a new technology or application in health sciences libraries that ex- tend services beyond the confines of the physical library. Each report provides a brief narrative descrip- tion of the project, technical back- ground information, and a contact person for readers who would like J Med Lib Assoc 101(4) October 2013 to follow up with relevant staff to obtain further information. The list of virtual projects in this year’s column was developed by a small advisory group of MLA members who are technology ex- perts: Kimberly Barker, Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, University of Virginia; Janis F. Brown, AHIP, Norris Medical Li- brary, University of Southern Cal- ifornia; Michelle Kraft, AHIP, Cle- veland Clinic Alumni Library, Cleveland Clinic; Eric Schnell, Pri- or Health Sciences Library, Ohio State University; and Elizabeth C. Whipple, AHIP, Ruth Lilly Medi- cal Library, Indiana University. A special call for projects was made in MLA-FOCUS and sent to vari- ous MLA section email discussion lists at the beginning of 2013 that garnered many suggestions. The virtual projects highlighted in the column were primarily identified through that call. General guide- lines for the column and an au- thor’s guide for contributors have been developed with the helpful assistance of the advisory commit- tee and Journal of the Medical Library Association Editor Susan Starr ,http://www.mlanet.org/ publications/jmla/author_reviewer _info.html.. Future columns will be published on an annual basis that explore a particular theme or topic in conjunction with periodic calls and announcements to encourage sub- missions from all types of libraries. Health sciences librarians are doing amazing things in technolo- gy and innovation, coming up with smart solutions, and finding crea- tive ways of ‘‘blending in’’ to better serve their user communi- ties. Their efforts to create and test new models for information access and delivery are making the li- brary vital and relevant for their communities in the twenty-first century. Please consider sharing your knowledge and experiences with implementing virtual projects in your library to inspire and encourage your peers, partners, and communities. If you have a virtual project that you think has transformed the way your library works, let us know. Questions, submissions, and suggestions should be directed to Susan Les- sick at slessick@uci.edu. Susan Lessick, MA, MLS, AHIP, FMLA, slessick@uci.edu, Librarian Emerita, Grunigen Medical Library, University of California, Irvine, 101 The City Drive South, Orange, CA Responsive web design for an academic health sciences library website Submitted by Eric Rumsey, MA, MLS; Linda Roth; William Shane Wallace, MSLS; University of Iowa Before the iPad came out in 2010, the working assumption was that web pages needed to accommodate only two screen sizes: desktop/ laptop and iPhone/smartphone siz- es. Accordingly, many sites, includ- ing libraries, built separate mobile pages for smartphones. With the iPad, as well as several other tablets with differing screen sizes, it has become increasingly impractical to make separate web page sizes for each screen size. Responsive web design (RWD) is a way of coding web pages so that they look good on any screen. Since it was introduced in 2010, RWD has become popular in business and the dotcom world, although its adoption in the aca- demic and library environments has not yet become widespread. Because the University of Iowa Libraries has experienced and skilled information technology staff who are equipped to handle the complexities of RWD, we were able to begin implementing RWD in May 2011. When we began considering the switch to respon- sive design, we had an existing theme for our site that we needed to modify. In retrospect, it might have been easier to choose an

Facing reality: the growth of virtual reality and health sciences libraries

Virtual reality (VR) is an increasingly hot tech topic. Because VR may be the ultimate virtual project as defined by this column, replacing the real world with a simulated one, it is worthwhile to pause and reflect on its potential and practicality for health sciences libraries.

The Medical Library Association Essential Guide to Becoming an Expert Searcher: Proven Techniques, Strategies, and Tips for Finding Health Information

Written by Terry Ann Jankowski, AHIP, a highly respected educator and author, The Medical Library Association Essential Guide to Becoming an Expert Searcher: Proven Techniques, Strategies, and Tips for Finding Health Information is a step-by-step guide to database searching. The author moves systematically through all the components of an expert search process, while passing along tried-and-true strategies, tips, and bits of information to search practitioners. The book features the best practices and tested techniques for searching health information. The book speaks to novice searchers and students who may be new to the health sciences librarian profession, as well as progressive practitioners who need to sharpen their skills to provide the timely, rigorous, and contextual delivery of the best information available to support the present-day health care enterprise. Organized in ten chapters, the book focuses primarily on bibliographic database searching and follows every key stage of the expert search process as outlined in the Medical Library Associations (MLAs) policy statement [1]. Each chapter covers one crucial element of the search process, offering practical examples, checklists, self-help exercises, and references for immediate application, practice, and skill building. Chapter one traces the development of expert searching from the late 1960s to its more recent resurgence. Including MLAs groundbreaking 2003 policy statement, the discussion underscores the critical role that expert searchers provide in supporting clinical, administrative, academic, and research decisions. The text also presents a thoughtful discourse on searcher liability and other major challenges searchers face, such as cost issues and lack of access to back files and controlled vocabularies in many databases. It then offers strategies for avoiding possible liability and misunderstandings. Chapter two delves into the goals, stages, and challenges of the search interview. The author quite rightly points out that the interview should be a continuous cycle of information gathering and renegotiation, based on the clients comments and feedback at every stage of the process. Given the widespread acceptance of evidence-based medicine, the chapter appropriately covers how to structure search requests. An excellent example of a search interview is provided as well as practical examples of follow-up statements and questions that can be used during the search negotiation process. The chapter concludes with a useful discussion of post-search documentation, providing options for creating and delivering a final professional package to a client and examining arguments for and against retaining search documents. Chapter three explains the differences between searching the web and searching databases. The limitations inherent in federated searching, such as the inability to use unique access points and search features to produce comprehensive searches, are described in detail. With a set of questions for evaluating databases compiled from the authors experience, an overview of the database evaluation process, tools, and resources provides useful background, not only for database searchers but for librarian selectors as well. Chapter four contains descriptions and uniform resource locators (URLs) for key bibliographic databases for the health and biomedical sciences. The author also ably provides the context in which these resources are used, suggesting topics and possible questions that can be answered using particular databases. Chapter five explores the basic techniques for planning and constructing searches, which include identifying key concepts, parameters, and possible synonyms. Linking concepts to express relationships between terms and using Boolean and proximity operators are thoroughly covered. Guidelines and protocols for recommended search strategies that librarians can consult for comprehensive literature searches or for self-instruction are also covered in full. Chapter six examines how expert searchers can take advantage of a databases structure and built-in interface features to conduct successful searches. The author stresses that having a thorough knowledge of format, contents, and searchable fields of specific databases can improve the relevancy of retrieved articles and eliminate common searching mistakes. An annotated table of the MEDLINE unit record with search fields is provided, using information from the National Library of Medicine and Ovid vendors, followed by numerous search examples that illustrate ways searchers can improve retrieval by using specific qualifiers in the unit record. Cited reference searching and “related article” linking are ways searchers can take advantage of the built-in interface capabilities of a database. Chapter seven provides an overview of subject searching, contrasting the differences that result when using natural language, a controlled vocabulary, and a combination of both. The book makes a strong case that searching either by natural language or subject descriptors alone results in only moderately successful searches, while combining these two techniques produces the most successful comprehensive searches. The use of descriptors, explosions, subheadings, and hedges is discussed, along with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and the indexing rules for MEDLINE. Chapter eight covers evaluating and revising search results and describes ways to increase recall for searches with too few references and precision for searches with too many references. Common search problems are presented along with strategies for correcting those problems and improving retrieval. Methods for evaluating searches—such as getting comments from fellow searchers, attaching feedback forms, and observing novice searchers—are also discussed in detail. The final chapters nicely complement the volume of work and assist readers with developing a self-study plan and identifying resources to improve and update their own search skills. A valuable “searcher self-evaluation checklist” is provided to help readers identify skills that they need to develop. A general overview of professional development options and opportunities for improving and maintaining skills, as well as a listing of specific resources for readers to use to find support for difficult searches or to increase search skills, are provided. The book also contains an extensive annotated bibliography of further readings for those interested in learning more about the topics, an excellent index, and a glossary of specialized database searching terms and phrases for quick reference. The author offers up little gems of searching wisdom that are interspersed throughout the book. Interesting examples are a warning against overreliance on searching a single database for any given search request due to the complementary nature of databases and increasing interdisciplinary nature of research; the requirement of searching databases sequentially rather than through a federated search engine due to the lack of common access points and vocabularies across databases; and the use of a browse list to scan variations on author, title, page number, and so on because authors sometimes make mistakes in their bibliographies. Still another instance is the exceptional use of the specialty terms for physical therapy, dentistry, and occupational therapy that can be used both for occupations and treatments. These tiny searching treasures and the authors obvious expertise and insights on searching methods, issues, and context are invaluable and the real bonus of this book. The books format works well and is ideal for its purpose. The readability and browsing ease of the book is aided by numerous subdivisions in chapters. A slightly stronger editorial hand might have helped eliminate a few redundancies in the text; however, some repetition in this instructional context may be useful in reinforcing learning points and skills. These quibbles aside, this excellent training guide will most likely become a classic textbook for courses and should be available in all health sciences libraries. The topic of expert searching is especially timely and a key factor in the emerging roles for health sciences information professionals. This book is a must read for all practicing and aspiring information professionals, no matter their level, no matter their discipline.

SURA/ViDe Digital Video Workshop: A Summary

Gives an overview of the SURA/ViDe 6th Annual Digital Video Workshop held at Indiana University‐Purdue University Indianapolis in March 2004. The SURA Video Development Initiative (SURA/ ViDe) was established in 1998 to promote and develop functional, standards‐based and scalable video systems for use in the higher education environment by leveraging collective resources and expertise towards addressing challenges to deployment. Outlines the four main tracks of the programme.