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The paper highlights the experience of working with Shane Godbolt when she was a practising Medical librarian, her mentorship to younger librarians/information professionals, her personal and professional support to African librarians and the role she played as the Director of Partnerships in Health Information (Phi). These activities led to successful collaboration between Phi and African librarians. Indeed Shane widened the networks and opened up opportunities for many. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To establish a journal club for librarians, which aimed to develop appraisal skills and assist in the application of research to practice. Methods: Fourteen health librarians were invited to attend a journal club. Each month a librarian was responsible for preparing a scenario, choosing a research paper, and selecting a checklist. The paper was appraised by the club, and a critically appraised topic (CAT) prepared. Six months later, a questionnaire was sent to all librarians. Results: Six out of 14 librarians attended the journal club and five out of six returned the questionnaire. All five agreed that attending the journal club helped them develop appraisal skills, write a CAT and be more critical of research. Four agreed they always identified a research paper first, then formulated a question. One librarian agreed that applying results to their own practice was difficult, one disagreed and three were neutral. Conclusion: Journal clubs can be effective at developing appraisal skills and writing a CAT, as well as increasing the reading of library research. Librarians still need assistance in identifying and using questions directly from their own practice. The journal club has helped some librarians to apply evidence to practice, but others find the research is not always directly relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To systematically review published literature on the role of reflection in the library and information science sector. To identify examples of good practice and to investigate the reported contribution, if any, of reflection by library and information workers as part of their professional practice. Methods: Free text searches (reflective or reflection* or reflexion*) were conducted for English language papers on the Library and Information Science Abstracts (lisa) bibliographic database in two phases; in March 2004 for literature dating from 1969 to 2003 and between 2004 and 2006 in January 2006. Thirteen papers met the inclusion criteria and were coded and analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Two categories of reflection exist: analytical and non-analytical. These focus on events in the recent and distant past. Non-analytical reflective accounts generally adopt a retrospective tone in reporting on multiple events over a number of decades. In contrast, analytical accounts of reflection focused on single events and attempt to understand the relationship between past experiences and how this might impact on future practice. Conclusion: From the examples of reflective practice identified, greatest personal and professional benefit is reported when time is given to considering the implications of past events on future practice, that is, analytical reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To review the literature on the positive impact of information services, or information resources, on patient care in primary care. Objectives: To identify and summarize key papers on which librarians might draw in making the case for investment, and to highlight gaps in the research evidence Methodology: A rapid literature review was conducted in the summer of 2005. Results: There is a small body of evidence to demonstrate the positive impact of library and information services on the direct care of patients as well as a beneficial impact on the care of future patients through the application of evidence to multiple patients. Conclusions: There is relatively limited research evidence of the impact of information, and library services, in primary care, in comparison with hospital settings and the research available is generally reliant on small samples. There is a lack of impact studies conducted with non-clinical staff. The review highlights the value of critical incident technique (CIT). It is possible to gather evidence of the potential for information services to deliver cost savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's health and medical librarians are well aware of the move towards evidence-based clinical practice which has emerged during the past decade. Hand-in-hand with this trend is the need for health practitioners to have access to the best possible evidence to help them in their clinical decision making. Libraries have a key role in the provision of information to their clients, and this means keeping abreast, not only of the various information sources available, but also the means by which those sources may be used. This paper will examine the effects that the hand-held computer is having on the work practices of our clients—library users. It is hoped that the paper will give an insight into the various types of library material which are suitable for use with hand-held devices, and an understanding of their advantages and limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the second part of a two-part paper which explores methods that can be used to evaluate digital libraries in the health sector. Part 1 focuses on approaches to evaluation that have been proposed for mainstream digital information services. This paper investigates evaluative models developed for some innovative digital library projects, and some major national and international electronic health information projects. The value of ethnographic methods to provide qualitative data to explore outcomes, adding to quantitative approaches based on inputs and outputs is discussed. The paper concludes that new ‘post-positivist’ models of evaluation are needed to cover all the dimensions of the digital library in the health sector, and some ways of doing this are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives This paper compares the journal coverage of the British Nursing Index ( BNI) and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature ( CINAHL). The main objectives are to assess whether BNI is a useful source of UK publications and to consider the implications for information professionals. Methods Lists of the journals indexed in BNI and CINAHL, CINAHL Plus and CINAHL Complete were compared. The date coverage and article entry date of a selection of UK nursing journals were also compared. Results One hundred and fifty-nine journals are uniquely indexed in BNI compared with the basic version of CINAHL. Eighty-one journals are uniquely indexed in BNI compared with all versions of CINAHL. Fifty-one of these journals are UK publications. Most of the selected UK nursing journals have earlier start and entry dates in CINAHL than BNI. Conclusion BNI is smaller than CINAHL, and BNI indexes a relatively small number of unique journals. An information professional with access to CINAHL Plus or CINAHL Complete could reasonably not search BNI for a nursing topic, particularly if the topic is not UK specific. UK nursing research is more likely to benefit from using BNI, although the acquisition of BNI by ProQuest could impact this finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: The last decade has witnessed increased recognition of the value of literature reviews for advancing understanding and decision making. This has been accompanied by an expansion in the range of methodological approaches and types of review. However, there remains uncertainty over definitions and search requirements beyond those for the 'traditional' systematic review. This study aims to characterise health related reviews by type and to provide recommendations on appropriate methods of information retrieval based on the available guidance. Methods: A list of review types was generated from published typologies and categorised into 'families' based on their common features. Guidance on information retrieval for each review type was identified by searching pubmed, medline and Google Scholar, supplemented by scrutinising websites of review producing organisations. Results: Forty‐eight review types were identified and categorised into seven families. Published guidance reveals increasing specification of methods for information retrieval; however, much of it remains generic with many review types lacking explicit requirements for the identification of evidence. Conclusions: Defining review types and utilising appropriate search methods remain challenging. By familiarising themselves with a range of review methodologies and associated search methods, information specialists will be better equipped to select suitable approaches for future projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a narrative review of the available literature from the past 10 years (1996–2006) that focus on the information seeking behaviour of doctors. The review considers the literature in three sub-themes: Theme 1, the Information Needs of Doctors includes information need, frequency of doctors’ questions and types of information needs; Theme 2, Information Seeking by Doctors embraces pattern of information resource use, time spent searching, barriers to information searching and information searching skills; Theme 3, Information Sources Utilized by Doctors comprises the number of sources utilized, comparison of information sources consulted, computer usage, ranking of information resources, printed resource use, personal digital assistant (PDA) use, electronic database use and the Internet. The review is wide ranging. It would seem that the traditional methods of face-to-face communication and use of hard-copy evidence still prevail amongst qualified medical staff in the clinical setting. The use of new technologies embracing the new digital age in information provision may influence this in the future. However, for now, it would seem that there is still research to be undertaken to uncover the most effective methods of encouraging clinicians to use the best evidence in everyday practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses findings from doctoral research on the information behaviour of home-care workers and their clients. The paper focuses on the findings, which have implications for health library and information services.The qualitative research methods included participant observation in the homes of clients (n = 7), over a period of 18 months, in a city in the UK, complemented by in-depth interviews of home-care staff (n = 47).Home-care staff perceived requests for information on a variety of topics as an indivisible part of their caring role. Clients asked for more information than they had in the past, and home-care workers were expected to respond to a wide variety of enquiries about health, welfare, leisure and domestic concerns. Clients trusted their advice as much as they might have trusted members of the family. Home-care workers from an agency used a variety of resources at the agency office to help them, such as leaflets on welfare benefits, and health conditions. Few had used NHS Direct, and library use (by a third of the home-care workers) was generally associated with course work or training. Some family members and home-care staff used self-help groups, but the research found that family members were sometimes reticent to ask advice on sensitive issues in self-help groups. Home-care workers learnt from each other and shared experience.Libraries and information services need to target provision of formal information carefully, as it is advice and counsel that is required in the home-care setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the first of a two-part series of articles presenting the role of the clinical librarian (CL) in the UK today. It situates the CL concept historically, and specifically reports the findings from a study in 2002 (Skinner, The Role of the Clinical Librarian in the UK. MSc Dissertation. Loughborough University: Department of Information Science). The impetus for the 2002 study was the awareness of an increase in job advertisements within the NHS for roles seeking to enhance the practice of evidence-based medicine, which included elements of clinical librarianship. Therefore the research was undertaken to establish whether this increase was coincidental, or the beginning of a new professional role for librarians. A content analysis of CL job advertisements, examining job titles and duties was undertaken. Twenty-three advertisements were scrutinized, and these results are presented here. As a complementary investigation, a postal questionnaire was sent to a sample of practising CLs in the UK. Several duties can be classified as core to the role of the CL. However there is a great diversity of duties attached to this core, reflecting an absence of nationally accepted practice. Further work was necessary to assess current practice and how clinical librarianship can continue to grow at local and national levels. This is addressed in Part Two of this series. Policy • Acceptance of diversifying role in medical information provision • Logistical considerations of CL personnel and their physical positioning within acute settings Implications for practice • Establishing national professional guidelines for CLs • Establishing consistency in nomenclature [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports findings from an analysis of medical or health queries to different web search engines. We report results: (i) comparing samples of 10 000 web queries taken randomly from 1.2 million query logs from the AlltheWeb.com and Excite.com commercial web search engines in 2001 for medical or health queries, (ii) comparing the 2001 findings from Excite and AlltheWeb.com users with results from a previous analysis of medical and health related queries from the Excite Web search engine for 1997 and 1999, and (iii) medical or health advice-seeking queries beginning with the word ‘should’. Findings suggest: (i) a small percentage of web queries are medical or health related, (ii) the top five categories of medical or health queries were: general health, weight issues, reproductive health and puberty, pregnancy/obstetrics, and human relationships, and (iii) over time, the medical and health queries may have declined as a proportion of all web queries, as the use of specialized medical/health websites and e-commerce-related queries has increased. Findings provide insights into medical and health-related web querying and suggests some implications for the use of the general web search engines when seeking medical/health information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our objective was to perform a pilot study to estimate the proportion of published errata linked to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that are worthwhile obtaining when doing a systematic review. medline was searched for records that had both ‘randomized-controlled-trial’ in the publication type field and ‘erratum’ in the comments field. One hundred records from four general medical journals were examined independently from two different perspectives. From the information specialist's perspective, 74% of the errata were considered worthwhile obtaining; these were mainly errors in tables or figures. Another 9% described less serious errors, but were worth obtaining if easily available. The other 17% were minor errors. From the perspective of the experienced reviewer/public health consultant, 5% of errata were classified as likely to affect a meta-analysis, and 10% as having significant errors that would affect the interpretation of the RCT, but no effect on a meta-analysis; 85% were not considered important enough to affect either. About 5% of errata to RCTs appeared to matter in terms of changing the final conclusions of a systematic review. However, the majority of errata were considered to be worthwhile obtaining, on the basis that having full and accurate data can reduce confusion and save reviewers time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To predict the possible accomplishments of the Evidence-Based Librarianship (EBL) movement by the years 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020. Predictive. The author draws upon recent events, relevant historical events and anecdotal accounts to detect evidence of predictable trends. The author develops a set of probable predictions for the development of EBL. Although incomplete evidence exists, some trends still seem discernible. By 2020, EBL will have become indistinguishable from main-steam health sciences librarianship/informatics practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A validated geographic search filter for the retrieval of research about the United Kingdom ( UK) from bibliographic databases had not previously been published. Objectives To develop and validate a geographic search filter to retrieve research about the UK from OVID medline with high recall and precision. Methods Three gold standard sets of references were generated using the relative recall method. The sets contained references to studies about the UK which had informed National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ( NICE) guidance. The first and second sets were used to develop and refine the medline UK filter. The third set was used to validate the filter. Recall, precision and number-needed-to-read ( NNR) were calculated using a case study. Results The validated medline UK filter demonstrated 87.6% relative recall against the third gold standard set. In the case study, the medline UK filter demonstrated 100% recall, 11.4% precision and a NNR of nine. Conclusion A validated geographic search filter to retrieve research about the UK with high recall and precision has been developed. The medline UK filter can be applied to systematic literature searches in OVID medline for topics with a UK focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Concepts for medicinal plants are represented by a variety of associated general terms with specific indexing patterns in databases, which may not consistently reflect growth of records. Objectives The objectives of this study are to assess the development in databases by identifying general terms that describe herbal medicine with optimal retrieval recall and to identify possible special trends in co-occurrence of specific and general concepts. Methods Different search strategies are tested in cab abstracts, medline and web of science. Specific terms ( Origanum and Salvia) are employed. Relevant general terms (e.g. 'Plants, Medicinal', Phytotherapy, Herbal drugs) are identified, along with indexing trends and co-occurrences. Results Growth trends, in specific (narrower) terms, are similar among databases. General terms, however, exhibit dissimilar trends, sometimes almost opposing one another. Co-occurrence of specific and general terms is changing over time. Conclusions General terms may not denote definite development of trends as the use of terms differs amongst databases, making it difficult to correctly assess possible numbers of relevant records. Perceived increase can, sometimes, be attributed to an increased occurrence of a more general term alongside the specific one. Thesaurus-controlled databases may yield more hits, because of 'up-posted' (broader) terms. Use of broader terms is helpful as it enhances retrieval of relevant documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on information literacy in higher education health courses. It states that the Darzi report, which promotes evidence-based practice in Great Britain's National Health Service, has encouraged information literacy in the health care field. It comments on enquiry-based learning in higher education and the need for undergraduates to have information literacy skills. It talks about the collaboration between faculty and librarians in information literacy development and how increased use of virtual learning environments gives librarians the opportunity to get involved with web-based collaborations of information literacy.

The article discusses research which was conducted from the viewpoint of a library manager in a medium sized medical library and was concerned with the ways that participation in a regional duplicate exchange scheme compared with other methods for fulfillment of missing issues in terms of costs and benefits. A discussion of duplicate exchange schemes that are seen in research, and of of the advantages and disadvantages that are associated with evidence-based library and information practice, is presented.

This article discusses the future role of health science librarians and the "Health Information and Libraries Journal." Reinhold Haux, the president of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), discusses the IMIA's goals and objectives in the promotion of informatics in health-care and biomedical research, the advancement of international cooperation, and the stimulation of research, development and education in medicine. Also discussed is the interface between library and information science and informatics.

The article discusses information literacy training. Many in the field have become increasingly concerned with the training's effectiveness, since it is difficult to know whether or not it is effective. The author discusses the concept of learning "half life," which is defined as the period of time over which students forget half of what they have been taught. A scientific investigation of the phenomenon is included, focusing on the likely period for knowledge degradation and how it can inform an approach to information literacy training.

This article discusses the changing role of the information professional. The author argues that every professional is involved in information retrieval and it is up to the informational professional to provide the context and relative credibility of these sources by applying experience and knowledge. In evidence-based professions, there is a need for information literacy and an understanding of the changing role of the information professional. Rather than being the direct provider of information access, it is the role of the information professional to facilitate accessibility.

Objective: To explore the impact of hand-held computers on patient care by identifying: (i) how often clinical staff accessed resources on hand-held computers to inform their clinical decision making; (ii) Which hand-held resources were thought to be most useful in the clinical setting; (iii) the barriers to using hand-held resources to support patient care. Design: A descriptive study comparing aspects of Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) resource use in two phases, between August 2002 and December 2003. There was variability in the way that resources were accessed between the two studies. Setting: University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, an acute teaching hospital, and one primary care practice. Participants: A purposive sample of 14 clinical and librarian staff participated in phase one and 14 in phase two of the study. Participants consisted of consultants, nurses, pharmacist, junior doctors, clinical librarians, and a general practitioner. Main outcome measures: Baseline Data Questionnaire to identify the participants’ level of knowledge and use of hand-helds on entering the study. End-of-phase questionnaire with self-reported measures of use of the hand-held and PDA resources during the study. Results: All of the participants used hand-helds in their clinical setting to support evidence-based practice and education, but with varying frequency. More staff reported using the hand-held to answer specific patient questions in phase two than phase one of the study. UK resources were preferred to American resources. The ‘ plug-in and go’ method using Secure Digital (SD) cards was preferred to downloading resources from the Internet. Conclusions: Hand-held technology is emerging as an effective clinical tool to aid evidence-based practice and support the educational needs of clinical staff. The hand-held can provide a critical mass of information that is relevant, quickly accessible and in a coherent format: delivering clinical information at the point of need with a resulting benefit to patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to assess the performance, in terms of sensitivity and precision, of different approaches to searchingmedline andembase to identify studies of adverse effects. Methods: Five approaches to searching for adverse effects evidence were identified: approach 1, using specified adverse effects; approach 2, using subheadings/qualifiers; approach 3, using text words; approach 4, using indexing terms; approach 5, searching for specific study designs. The sensitivity and precision of these five approaches, and combinations of these approaches, were compared in a case study using a systematic review of the adverse effects of seven anti-epileptic drugs. Results: The most sensitive search strategy inmedline (97.0%) required a combination of terms for specified adverse effects, floating subheadings, and text words for ‘adverse effects’. Inembase, a combination of terms for specified adverse effects and text words for ‘adverse effects’ provided the most sensitive search strategy (98.6%). Both these search strategies yielded low precision (2.8%). Conclusions: A highly sensitive search in either database requires a combination of approaches, and has low precision. This suggests that better reporting and indexing of adverse effects is required and that an effective generic search filter may not yet be feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the strategy to set up a new information service, including a physical Resource Centre, the analysis of information needs of clinical research professionals involved with clinical research and development in the UK and Europe was required. It also aimed to identify differences in requirements between the various roles of professionals and establish what information resources are currently used.A user-needs survey online of the members of The Institute. Group discussions with specialist subcommittees of members.Two hundred and ninety members responded to the online survey of 20 questions. This makes it a response rate of 7.9%. Members expressed a lack of information in their particular professional area, and lack the skills to retrieve and appraise information.The results of the survey are discussed in more detail, giving indications of what the information service should collect, what types of materials should be provided to members and what services should be on offer.These were developed from the results of the needs analysis and submitted to management for approval. Issues of concern, such as financial constraint and staff constraints are also discussed.There is an opportunity to build a unique collection of clinical research material, which will promote The Institute not only to members, but also to the wider health sector. Members stated that the most physical medical libraries don't provide what they need, but the main finding through the survey and discussions is that it's pointless to set up‘yet another medical library’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indexingpolicy for the NHS Scotland e-Library needs to maximize future inter-operability with other significant health- and social-care-related resources. The strategic drive towards integration and partnership working means that the indexing system has to be widely acceptable to the full range of disciplines within the integrated health-care family.Indexes identified by various means and then shortlisted using predefined criteria.Three subject indexes have been chosen—Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), CareData and the Government Category List (GCL), plus mapping between natural language and MeSH terms. This decision was a reasonable compromise between the strategy-driven aim of seamless access for all‘partners in care’, and practical constraints of time/manpower. Other authority files (e.g. geographical area, language) are also standards based, and customised to reflect the information needs of an increasingly integrated health-care system.No single index could provide the scope required to meet the widening range of NHS information need. The influence of high-level strategic aims and objectives have extended their reach to influence indexing policy for the e-Library. Our indexing policy will continue to evolve and contribute to a knowledge management infrastructure capable of supporting current and future NHS Scotland information needs and strategy. Layperson terminology was identified as a gap; additional measures to address this gap are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doctors need information skills to deliver health care in the 21st century. There is concern that those who trained before the ‘information age’ will be inadequately equipped for their work. To assess doctors’ use of computers for clinical tasks, and their knowledge and skills in health information management and technology. Questionnaire survey. An acute NHS trust in the UK. 96 (83%) of all doctors in the trust responded. Proportion of respondents reporting the following: use of computer-based systems for clinical tasks, knowledge in eight health informatics topics, skills in using specific hardware and software applications. Also comparison of reported skills between senior and junior staff; proportion of doctors identifying specific training needs. All but one (1%) of the responding doctors used a computer regularly. Over three quarters of respondents reported they were semi-skilled or fully skilled in basic office applications, though the juniors scored significantly more highly than the seniors for some applications. However, 44% of doctors reported no skills in database software, identifying this as a training need. Around half of the doctors were unaware of health informatics topics, including electronic patient records, the Caldicott report and data protection law. In each case the senior doctors were significantly more aware than the juniors of the topic in question. Both junior and senior doctors have basic computer literacy, but nearly half of this population identify the use of database software as a training need. In addition, there are several health informatics topics of which a large proportion of doctors, particularly the juniors, have little knowledge, but which have not been identified as training needs. Some recommendations are made for provision of in-house health informatics education for doctors. Implications for Policy • Junior doctors need education about electronic health records and data protection. • Senior doctors are in a good position to include such health informatics training in regular post graduate education meetings. Implications for Practice • Most doctors have acquired basic computer skills by self-directed learning: there appears to be no need for catch-up training for senior doctors who graduated before the computer age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A partnership between the Specialist Health Promotion Service of NHS Tayside and Dundee City Council developed a project, ‘Discover Health’, to bring health information to the public. The two main formats used were traditional leaflets and Internet access via the People's Network, both available in public libraries. The steering group for the project was made up of staff from both organisations. The NHS side secured the funding; the Council side provided the accommodation and information and communication technologies. The partnership worked well, and the project is continuing, with expansion in the pipeline for other areas within Tayside. The various aspects of the functioning of the partnership are discussed. A literature review of similar initiatives is included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Tennessee, several medical library outreach projects have involved collaborative work with health-care professionals, public librarians, consumers, faith-based organizations and community service agencies. The authors arc medical librarians who worked as consultants, trainers and project directors to promote health literacy using PubMed MEDLINE and other health information resources in the several funding projects described here. We explain the programmes briefly, focusing on lessons learned and suggestions for those who follow us. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Knowledge management, like clinical governance, is a practical science. Clinical governance, with its emphasis on creating an environment where clinical quality is monitored and acted upon, is one of the foundation stones of the new National Health Service (NHS). Both knowledge management and clinical governance need to share the same criteria in order to operate. Using these two pragmatic concepts and the premise of a practical approach, this article seeks to identify the drivers for knowledge management in the NHS, highlight national initiatives and focus on the steps libraries in the south-west of England have taken to make knowledge management a reality. In so doing, the central role of the library and information service has been reinforced and embedded and librarians have been recognized for their real worth to their organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]