Nih Library In Brief

As academic health sciences centers look toward innovative product development as their new income source with the decline of clinical income and research dollars, health sciences librarians and libraries can partner with these revenue-generating innovators to offer invaluable services, evidence, training, dissemination venues and attractive collaborative physical spaces equipped with the latest tools, such as 3-D printers, body scanners, models and video-monitors. This book uses case examples, including perspectives from both librarians and innovators, to illustrate how various health sciences libraries have partnered with innovators by offering valuable services and creative products and spaces– especially innovators who create medical digital therapeutics devices and apps. Many health sciences libraries are transforming their physical spaces into collaboration or maker spaces to spark innovation and discoveries. Key health sciences libraries that have done so to enable others to learn more about what professional benefits result from such collisions of information and innovation are highlighted here. Also included in the book are chapters that describe various innovation competitions and products that help to showcase the unique scholarly output that is generated by innovators. Transferring the knowledge of librarians who have progressed down this path to others is the key goal of this book.

Librarianship is both an art and a science. Librarians study the science of information and how to work with clients to help them find solutions to their information needs. They also learn quickly that there is an art to working with people, to finding the answers to tough questions using the resources available and knowing which information resources to use to find the information being sought in short order. But, what technical skills do librarians need to be successful in the future? How can library managers best develop their staffs for success? Developing Librarian Competencies for the Digital Age explores questions such as: What is the composition of a modern library collection? Will that collection look different in the future? What are the information sources and how do we manage those? What are the technical skills needed for a 21st century librarian? How will reference services change and adapt to embrace new ways to interact with library patrons or clients? What kinds of library skills are needed for the librarian of today to grow and thrive, now and into the future? How will service models change to existing clients and how will the model change going into the future of librarianship? What kinds of budgeting challenges are there for libraries and the administrators who oversee these libraries? What do the library professional organizations see as the core skills needed for new graduates and those practicing in the profession going into the future? In answering those questions, the book identifies specific digital skills needed for success, ways of developing those skills, and ways of assessing them.

Healthcare decision makers in search of reliable information that compares health interventions increasingly turn to systematic reviews for the best summary of the evidence. Systematic reviews identify, select, assess, and synthesize the findings of similar but separate studies, and can help clarify what is known and not known about the potential benefits and harms of drugs, devices, and other healthcare services. Systematic reviews can be helpful for clinicians who want to integrate research findings into their daily practices, for patients to make well-informed choices about their own care, for professional medical societies and other organizations that develop clinical practice guidelines. Too often systematic reviews are of uncertain or poor quality. There are no universally accepted standards for developing systematic reviews leading to variability in how conflicts of interest and biases are handled, how evidence is appraised, and the overall scientific rigor of the process. In Finding What Works in Health Care the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends 21 standards for developing high-quality systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research. The standards address the entire systematic review process from the initial steps of formulating the topic and building the review team to producing a detailed final report that synthesizes what the evidence shows and where knowledge gaps remain. Finding What Works in Health Care also proposes a framework for improving the quality of the science underpinning systematic reviews. This book will serve as a vital resource for both sponsors and producers of systematic reviews of comparative effectiveness research.

Here’s an easy-to-follow, practical, easily-implementable, 21st-Century marketing book for academic and special libraries. Written by two practicing librarians who are passionate about communicating with users, the book provides both the inspiration and drive to market your library and practical tips and suggestions on how to do that effectively. Topics covered include: The process of planning a marketing campaign and how some time spent on planning at the outset can help keep you focused and help you determine your level of success. The importance of using brands and brand identity to help you establish your library’s brand and market that aggressively to your users and potential users. Brand consistency is stressed here. Marketing tools: Digital publications, Social media, Visual and print marketing materials, Personal interactions Events you can use throughout the year. For each topic, we will talk about best practices, what works, what often doesn’t, and we share best concise case studies from all types of academic and special libraries.