Knowledge Management in healthcare libraries: the current picture

Knowledge management has seen something of a resurgence in attention amongst health librarians recently. Of course it has never ceased to exist, but now many library staff are becoming more involved in organisational knowledge management, and positioning themselves as key players in the sphere. No single model of knowledge management is proliferating, but approaches that best fit the organisation's size, structure and culture, and a blending of evidence based practice and knowledge sharing. Whatever it is called and whatever models are used, it's clear that for librarians and information professionals, the importance of putting knowledge and evidence into practice, sharing knowledge well and capturing it effectively, are still what we will continue to do.     

Patient and Public Information delivery through NHS library and knowledge services: how Knowledge for Healthcare changed the landscape

Health care library and knowledge services (LKS) are now expected to contribute to the provision of Patient and Public Information (PPI). The challenges of an ageing population, prevalence of long‐term conditions and the encouragement of patients to self manage give added impetus. The Knowledge for Health care PPI Task and Finish Groups developed strategic partnerships with national organizations and produced a suite of resources to support LKS staff. Outputs include guidance, workshop materials, an Ideas Bank and Guide to NHS Choices. The work of the PPI Task and Finish groups will continue to support staff as they develop activities and evidence its impact.     

Localising and tailoring research evidence helps public health decision making

Background

Published research evidence is typically not readily applicable to practice but needs to be actively mobilised.

Objectives

This paper explores the mechanisms used by information professionals with a specific knowledge mobilisation role to make evidence useful for local decision making and planning of public health interventions.

Methods

Data are drawn from a NIHR project that studied how, when, where and by whom published research evidence is used in commissioning and planning across two sites (one in England and one in Scotland). Data included 11 in‐depth interviews with information professionals, observations at meetings and documentary analysis.

Results

Published research evidence is made fit for local commissioning and planning purposes by information professionals through two mechanisms. They localise evidence (relate evidence to local context and needs) and tailor it (present actionable messages).

Discussion

Knowledge mobilisation roles of information professionals are not recognised and researched. Information professionals contribute to the ‘inform’ and ‘relational’ functions of knowledge mobilisation; however, they are less involved in improving the institutional environment for sustainable knowledge sharing.

Conclusion

Information professionals are instrumental in shaping what evidence enters local decision making processes. Identifying and supporting knowledge mobilisation roles within health libraries should be the focus of future research and training.

     

Developing a generic tool to routinely measure the impact of health libraries

Background

Health libraries contribute to many activities of a health care organisation. Impact assessment needs to capture that range of contributions.

Objectives

To develop and pilot a generic impact questionnaire that: (1) could be used routinely across all English NHS libraries; (2) built on previous impact surveys; and (3) was reliable and robust.

Methods

This collaborative project involved: (1) literature search; (2) analysis of current best practice and baseline survey of use of current tools and requirements; (3) drafting and piloting the questionnaire; and (4) analysis of the results, revision and plans for roll out.

Findings

The framework selected was the International Standard Methods And Procedures For Assessing The Impact Of Libraries (ISO 16439). The baseline survey (n = 136 library managers) showed that existing tools were not used, and impact assessment was variable. The generic questionnaire developed used a Critical Incident Technique. Analysis of the findings (n = 214 health staff and students), plus comparisons with previous impact studies indicated that the questionnaire should capture the impact for all types of health libraries.

Conclusions

The collaborative project successfully piloted a generic impact questionnaire that, subject to further validation, should apply to many types of health library and information services.     

Supporting the health library and information workforce

As a prelude to his keynote speech at the forthcoming Health Libraries Group conference, Sean McNamara, Head of CILIP Scotland, provides an insight into the work being undertaken with health librarians in Scotland and considers how CILIP Scotland might support the health information sector in the coming years.     

International trends in health science librarianship Part 9: the UK – Scotland and Wales

This is the 9th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship. The previous article in this series looked at Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In this issue the focus is Scotland and Wales. There will be three or four more articles this year tracking trends in the Far East, Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. JM     

Transforming your service: the right evidence at the right time and place

This virtual issue is published to coincide with the CILIP Health Libraries Group Conference 2016. The theme of the conference is Knowledge for Healthcare (KFH), the development framework for health care library and knowledge services (LKS), published by Health Education England. Transforming the service, and delivering the right evidence at the right time and place, is a key strategic focus of KFH. Therefore, this virtual issue draws on content published in Health Information and Libraries Journal (HILJ) in the last 2 years, which demonstrate initiatives in health care LKS in line with the transformation strands outlined in KFH. The virtual issue follows the same structure as a regular issue of HILJ, containing one review article, a series of original articles and our three regular features: Dissertations into Practice, Teaching and Learning in Action and International Perspectives and Initiatives.     

Meeting the challenges of clinical information provision

This virtual issue of the Health Information and Libraries Journal (HILJ) has been compiled to mark the 5th International Clinical Librarian Conference 2011. In considering the challenges of clinical information provision, the content selected for the virtual issue offers an international flavour of clinical information provision and covers a variety of different facets of clinical librarianship. The issue broadly covers the areas of information needs and preferences, clinical librarian roles and services, and education and training, and reflects the way in which a normal issue of the HILJ would be presented. This includes a review article, a collection of original articles, and the three regular features which comprise International Perspectives and Initiatives, Learning and Teaching in Action, and Using Evidence in Practice. All papers included in this virtual issue are available free online.     

Knowledge for Healthcare: the future of health librarianship

Many people are still not receiving the right care. It is imperative for health care librarians to come together around a common vision to achieve Knowledge for Healthcare so that the right knowledge and evidence is used at the right time in the right place. The authors describe five workstreams within a modernisation programme: Service Transformation, Workforce Planning and Development, Quality and Impact, Resource Discovery and Optimising Investment. Communications, engagement and partnership working are central to success. The development framework sets out principles on which to base decisions, and design criteria for transforming services.     

Engaging in research: challenges and opportunities for health library and information professionals

This year's virtual issue (the 6th in the series) has been published to coincide with the European Association for Health Information and Libraries’ (EAHIL) 2015 workshop (10–12 June, Edinburgh): Research‐Minded: Understanding, Supporting, Conducting Research. This event is being run in collaboration with the International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists and the International Clinical Librarian Conference. Although research has always been a central part of any librarian's role, until recently health librarians and library users and funding bodies assumed that librarians were ‘midwives’ – there to assist students, clinicians, academics and managers set up and carry out their research. The notion of the librarian as a professional with a research agenda, who understands research methods, submits research grants, and publishes, is a relatively new perspective. If librarians are to take an evidence‐based approach to their profession they need to acquire research skills. This is the rationale for the 2015 EAHIL workshop. To support the workshop, this virtual issue contains six original articles published in Health Information and Libraries Journal over the last 2 years that demonstrate the range of research activities carried out by health librarians, as well as a review article and articles from each of the three feature columns. All articles included in this virtual issue are available free online.     

eBook management in NHS libraries in the North of England: perceptions and practice

In this article, Katie Nicholas presents the findings of a very topical piece of research into the use of eBooks in health libraries, which she completed for a Masters dissertation. Katie graduated with an MA in Library and Information Management (Distinction) from Manchester Metropolitan University in July 2017. She would like to acknowledge the support of her supervisor, Rachel Delbridge, in helping her to gain a Distinction in her dissertation. In the article, she points out that the use of eBooks in the NHS is low compared to other sectors and she presents the findings from her research, which help to explain this. She outlines the development of an electronic tool to help library and information staff make sense of the complexity around eBooks and makes further very practical recommendations for practitioners. A. M     

A national survey of UK health libraries investigating the cost of interlibrary loan services and assessing the accessibility to key orthopaedic journals

Background: NHS Library Services are utilised by NHS staff and junior trainees to locate scientific papers that provide them with the evidence base required for modern medical practice. The cost of accessing articles can be considerable particularly for junior trainees. Objectives: This survey looks at variations in cost of journal article loans and investigates access to particular orthopaedic journals across the country. Methods: A national survey of UK Health Libraries was performed. Access to and costs of journals and interlibrary loan services were assessed. Availability of five wide‐reaching orthopaedic journals was investigated. Results: Seven hundred and ten libraries were identified. One hundred and ten libraries completed the questionnaire (16.7%). Of these, 96.2% reported free access to scientific journals for users. 99.1% of libraries used interlibrary loan services with 38.2% passing costs on to the user at an average of £2.99 per article. 72.7% of libraries supported orthopaedic services. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (British) had greatest onsite availability. Conclusions: The study demonstrates fluctuations in cost of access to interlibrary loan services and variation in access to important orthopaedic journals. It provides a reflection of current policy of charging for the acquisition of medical evidence by libraries in the UK.     

Evidence based library and information practice in Australia: defining skills and knowledge

This guest feature from Suzanne Lewis, a long-time advocate of evidence based library and information practice (EBLIP) in Australia, discusses a current trend within the movement that focuses on the skills, knowledge and competencies of health librarians. In particular, the feature describes three specific Australia-based research projects, on expert searching, indigenous health and future skills requirements for the health library workforce respectively, that exemplify this trend. These projects illustrate how the evidence base can be strengthened around the skills and knowledge required to deliver services that continue to meet the changing needs of health library and information users.     

Effectiveness of bibliographic searches performed by paediatric residents and interns assisted by librarians. A randomised controlled trial

Background: Considerable barriers still prevent paediatricians from successfully using information retrieval technology. Objectives: To verify whether the assistance of biomedical librarians significantly improves the outcomes of searches performed by paediatricians in biomedical databases using real‐life clinical scenarios. Methods: In a controlled trial at a paediatric teaching hospital, nine residents and interns were randomly allocated to an assisted search group and nine to a non‐assisted (control) group. Each participant searched Pub Med and other online sources, performing pre‐determined tasks including the formulation of a clinical question, retrieval and selection of bibliographic records. In the assisted group, participants were supported by a librarian with ≥5 years of experience. The primary outcome was the success of search sessions, scored against a specific assessment tool. Results: The median score of the assisted group was 73.6 points interquartile range (IQR = 13.4) vs. 50.4 (IQR = 17.1) of the control group. The difference between median values in the results was 23.2 points (95% CI 4.8–33.2), in favour of the assisted group (P‐value, Mann–Whitney U test: 0.013). Conclusions: The study has found quantitative evidence of a significant difference in search performance between paediatric residents or interns assisted by a librarian and those searching the literature alone.     

The relationship between national and institutional electronic library developments in the UK: An overview (1)

This paper describes the background, processes and outcomes of the European Commission funded EQUINOX project, which recommended a set of fourteen performance indicators for electronic library services. Each of the recommended indicators is described and the thinking behind them, together with issues raised during consultations with the library community in Europe, is explained. Finally, it is noted that further work will be needed to link performance indicators to new models of libraries which fully describe their roles and functions in a networked information world.