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Medical and health sciences librarians who are involved in evidence synthesis projects will know that systematic reviews are intensely rigorous, requiring research teams to devote significant resources to the methodological process. As expert searchers, librarians are often identified as personnel to conduct the database searching portion and/or are approached as experts in the methodology to guide research teams through the lifecycle of the project. This research method has surged in popularity at our campus and demand for librarian participation is unsustainable. As a response to this, the library created self-directed learning objects in the form of roadmap to assist researchers in learning about the knowledge synthesis methodology in an expedient, self-directed manner. This paper will discuss the creation, implementation and feedback around our educational offering: Systematic & Scoping Reviews: Your Roadmap to Conducting an Evidence Synthesis., (© 2024 The Authors Health Information and Libraries Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Health Libraries Group.)

Background: Timely information provided by clinical librarians can contribute to outcomes such as improved patient care and time savings for hospital staff. What is unknown is the return on investment (ROI) of a clinical librarian on a critical care unit., Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the ROI, from the employer perspective, of placing a clinical librarian in a critical care unit in a large UK acute hospital., Methods: Using a mixed methods approach, ROI was estimated by comparing the total costs with the total monetised benefits of implementing the clinical librarian intervention. Total costs included salary and equipment costs. Total monetised benefits included time saving for hospital staff, support for professional development and improved patient care., Results: When total monetised benefits were compared with total costs, the 15-month clinical librarian intervention generated a positive ROI of £1.18-£3.03 for every £1 invested., Discussion: Using outcome measures derived from previous research, this novel study generated promising results indicative for commissioners seeking to improve patient care and deliver value for money. To improve generalisability, multisite studies using standardised ROI tools are recommended., Conclusion: Employing a clinical librarian in a critical care unit can generate a positive ROI., (© 2020 The Authors Health Information and Libraries Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Health Libraries Group.)

This paper reviews Shane Godbolt's work as the National Health Service (NHS) Regional Librarian in North Thames and London between 1992 and 2003. It was a challenging time for both the NHS and the world of health care librarianship, and this article describes how the opportunities presented by continual organisational change and new ways of working were fully grasped by Shane and her colleagues to move library and information services forward in the capital, working in partnership with NHS partners and Higher Education - and laying the foundations for today's NHS library and knowledge service., (© 2020 Health Libraries Group.)

This paper focuses on Shane Godbolt's commitment to international librarianship and global health and her guiding principles for international working. The authors examine and celebrate how these have been applied in practice, impacting many., (© 2020 Health Libraries Group.)

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., (© 2020 Health Libraries Group.)

This paper from CILIP's Health Libraries Group (HLG) committee is written by the previous International Officer who worked in partnership with Shane Godbolt. It outlines Shane's contribution to the Health Libraries Group over several decades and focuses on the collaborative work on international visits., (© 2020 Health Libraries Group.)

This paper describes the significant roles Shane Godbolt played in promoting partnerships and collaborations and strengthening the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA). It presents the personal reflections of each author about Shane, the part she played in their professional and personal lives as well as Shane's vital support for AHILA and AHILA members during her lifetime., (© 2020 Health Libraries Group.)

Born shortly after World War I in 1919 and living through multiple wars, conflicts, and cultural changes in his ninety-six years, Erich Meyerhoff remained a student of history throughout his long life. He regularly attended the annual meetings of the American Association for the History of Medicine and other history groups such as the Medical Library Association's History of the Health Sciences well into his nineties. This essay traces how the field of history and historical methods changed during Erich's life and suggests that he saw history and librarianship as a means for achieving social justice and social equity., (Copyright: © 2020, Authors.)

Since the Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) Virtual Projects section was first announced in 2012, the virtual projects featured in the JMLA have expanded or improved library spaces, services, collaborations, connections, and future directions. Virtual projects selected by the JMLA Virtual Projects Section Advisory Committee have been both practical and responsive to library and patron needs and illustrate ways that librarians are leading their communities and services in new directions. Virtual projects highlighted in this year's section demonstrate innovative adaptations of technology into the modern medical library that strengthen collaborative commitments and clinical and research partnerships. They also illustrate how technologies support the idea of "library as place" by providing spaces for users to explore new technologies, as well as tools for space and service planning. This year's virtual projects fully embrace changes in learning, research patterns, technologies, and the role of the health sciences librarian and the library., (Copyright: © 2019, Authors.)

The 2019 virtual issue of the Health Information and Libraries Journal (HILJ) is published to link to the 2019 EAHIL Workshop taking place in Basel, Switzerland on 17-20 June 2019. The workshop is structured around six topics: (i) Roadmap of our Profession; (ii) Technology Uptake; (iii) Ecology of Scholarly Communications; (iv) Impact + Assessment; (v) Benchmarking + Advocacy; (vi) Evidence-Based Practice. These themes have been used to compile this virtual issue, which contains published articles selected from HILJ from the March 2019 issue through to June 2017. The virtual issue mirrors the format of a regular issue of HILJ, namely a review article, five original articles and articles from our three regular features: 'Dissertations into Practice', 'International Perspectives and Initiatives' and 'Teaching and Learning in Action'. The authors come from the UK, Canada, Australia, Italy, Iran and Belgium. All articles included in this virtual issue are available free online., (© 2019 Health Libraries Group.)

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have a growing interest in establishing International joint degree programmes in developing countries. A Master's degree in global health care is an international joint degree programme run by two Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences and one Kenyan University. To provide students and staff members who live in Finland with an authentic experience of the circumstances in the developing countries, part of the programme involves delivering a two-week intensive course in Kenya. Health library services and information literacy training have a significant presence during this intensive course. In this paper, guest writer Marketta Fredriksson describes and reflects on the involvement of the health care library team in the development and implementation of this degree and delivery of the intensive course in Kenya.H.S., (© 2018 Health Libraries Group.)

This article is part of a new series in this regular feature. The series intend to serve as a road map by sharing expertise and drawing together trends that are relevant to both health science librarians and health informatics professionals. The present article is a collaboration of six medical and health sciences libraries in Belgium and the Flemish library and archive association (VVBAD, n.d., https://www.vvbad.be/). It aims to elucidate the extended, user-tailored approach provided by medical and health sciences libraries in Belgium motivated by the recent changes in user expectations and behaviour., (© 2018 Health Libraries Group.)

Objective: This scoping review identified the emerging and evolving roles of health information professionals (HIPs) in a range of tasks and settings, as they adapt to varied user needs, while keeping up with changing medical landscapes to provide evidence-based information support in grand rounds and scholarly research. The review aims to inform library school students about expected entry-level job qualifications and faculty about adaptable changes to specialized HIP curricula., Methods: The authors examined 268 peer-reviewed journal articles that concentrated on evolving HIP roles, professional settings, and contexts by retrieving results from several multidisciplinary databases., Results: HIPs, who generally serve as "embedded librarians," are taking on more active roles as collaborators, research experts, and liaisons, replacing more passive and exclusive roles as information providers and outreach agents or research assistants. These evolving roles in the reviewed literature were broken into nine categories in approximate order of prominence., Conclusions: A new model linking these evolving roles to the Medical Library Association (MLA) fundamental professional competencies was developed to provide an operational examination and research-based evidence for adapting HIP continuing education curriculum learning outcomes, course content and delivery, and student career pathways for existing graduate HIP specialization courses in library programs. The model indicates each role's connection to the MLA professional competencies, based on MLA's detailed description of each competency. A better understanding of HIP demands and expectations will enhance the capacity of library programs to prepare students in HIP specializations.

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., (© 2011 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2011 Health Libraries Group.)

This is the last in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the 21st century. The focus of the present issue is Russia. The next feature column will initiate a new series entitled New Directions in Health Science Librarianship. The first contribution will be from Australia. JM., (© 2017 Health Libraries Group.)

This is the 19th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the 21st century. The focus of the present issue is the Balkan Region (Bulgaria and Croatia). The next regular feature column will investigate two other Balkan states - Serbia and Slovenia. JM., (© 2016 Health Libraries Group.)

This is the 18th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the 21st century. The focus of the present issue is the Middle East (Iran, Qatar and Turkey). The next feature column will investigate trends in the Balkan States JM., (© 2016 Health Libraries Group.)

In an age when health science librarians are encouraged to engage in research, it is worth considering how international the published literature is. This article analyses the authorship of articles in Health Information & Libraries Journal over a 1-year period, to determine the country of the authors who were published. JM., (© 2016 Health Libraries Group.)

Over the last 4 years this Regular Feature has looked at trends in health science librarianship in the 21st century. Although there are still a few more regions to be covered in this series, this issue explores general trends in academic and research libraries with a view to discovering whether the trends identified for health science libraries are similar. Are health science libraries unique? Or do their experiences mirror those found in the wider world of academic and research libraries?, (© 2015 Health Libraries Group.)

This is the 15th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the 21st century. It is the third of four articles pertaining to different regions in the African continent. The present issue focuses on countries in West Africa (Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal). The next feature column will investigate trends in North Africa. JM., (© 2015 Health Libraries Group.)

This is the 14th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the 21st century. This is the second of four articles pertaining to different regions in the African continent. The present issue focuses on countries in East Africa (Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda). The next feature column will investigate trends in West Africa. JM., (© 2015 Health Libraries Group.)

This is the 12th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship. This issue describes developments in health science librarianship in the first decade of the 21st century in South Asia. The three contributors report on challenges facing health science librarians in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. There is consensus as to the need for education, training and professional development. Starting in the next issue, the focus will turn to Africa, starting with countries in southern Africa. JM., (© 2014 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2014 Health Libraries Journal.)

This is the 11th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship. The previous article in this series looked at the Far East (Greater China, Hong Kong and Taiwan). The current issue surveys developments in Japan and Korea. The next issue will explore trends in South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka). Next year all four issues will be devoted to trends in four regions in Africa (Southern Africa, East Africa, West Africa and North Africa., (© 2014 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2014 Health Libraries Journal.)

Purpose: The lecture explores the origins of evidence-based practice (EBP) in health sciences librarianship beginning with examples from the work of Janet Doe and past Doe lecturers. Additional sources of evidence are used to document the rise of research and EBP as integral components of our professional work., Methods: FOUR SOURCES OF EVIDENCE ARE USED TO EXAMINE THE RISE OF EBP: (1) a publication by Doe and research-related content in past Doe lectures, (2) research-related word usage in articles in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association and Journal of the Medical Library Association between 1961 and 2010, (3) Medical Library Association activities, and (4) EBP as an international movement., Results: These sources of evidence confirm the rise of EBP in health sciences librarianship. International initiatives sparked the rise of evidence-based librarianship and continue to characterize the movement. This review shows the emergence of a unique form of EBP that, although inspired by evidence-based medicine (EBM), has developed its own view of evidence and its application in library and information practice., Implications: Health sciences librarians have played a key role in initiating, nurturing, and spreading EBP in other branches of our profession. Our close association with EBM set the stage for developing our own EBP. While we relied on EBM as a model for our early efforts, we can observe the continuing evolution of our own unique approach to using, creating, and applying evidence from a variety of sources to improve the quality of health information services.

Librarians are increasingly moving out of the library and into the wider university setting as patrons spend more time seeking information online and less time visiting the library. The move to embed librarians in colleges, departments, or customer groups has been going on for some time but has recently received more attention as libraries work to find new ways to reach patrons that no longer need to come to the physical library. Few universities have attempted to embed all their librarians. This case study describes how one group of health sciences librarians dispersed its professional staff throughout its campuses and medical centers.

This is the 8th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship with a focus on the UK and Ireland in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors are from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Future issues will track trends from Scotland and Wales., (© 2013 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2013 Health Libraries Group.)

This article reviews the six papers published so far in this series on global trends in health science librarianship. Starting with a retrospective review of trends in the twentieth-century, the series has covered 6 different regions, with contributions from 21 countries. As this is the half-way point in the survey, it seems a useful point at which to reflect on what has emerged so far. The method of content analysis is used to identify key trends. The top five trends are explored., (© 2013 The author. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2013 Health Libraries Group.)

This is the 6th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship with a focus on Central Europe in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors are from Hungry, Poland and Czech Republic. Future issues will track trends the Middle East and then the Far East. JM., (© 2013 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2013 Health Libraries Group.)

This is the 5th in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in Latin America and the Caribbean in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors are from Argentina, Bermuda and Mexico. Future issues will track trends in Central Europe and the Middle East. JM., (© 2013 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2013 Health Libraries Group.)

This is the fourth in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in four Southern European countries in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors are from Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Future issues will track trends in Latin America and Central Europe., (© 2012 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2012 Health Libraries Group.)

This is the third in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors were asked to reflect on developments in their country--viz. Austria, Belgium, France and the Netherlands. Future issues will track trends in the Nordic countries, Southern Europe and Latin America. JM., (© 2012 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2012 Health Libraries Group.)

This is the second in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors were asked to reflect on developments in their country - viz. Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. Future issues will track trends in Northern Europe, the Nordic countries, Southern Europe and Latin America. JM., (© 2012 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2012 Health Libraries Group.)

This feature surveys 20th-century trends in health sciences librarianship. It sets the scene for a series of features looking at 21st-century trends in various countries and regions. Whilst the mission of the health science library remains constant, librarians must find ways of adjusting their role and the services they provide to take account of changes in the external environment., (© 2011 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2011 Health Libraries Group.)

HILJ readers may have encountered the phrase library 2.0 which has polarised librarians, with some sceptical whether library 2.0 offers anything new. Others are confident that the convergence of service goals and ideas with emerging Web 2.0 technologies will lead to a new generation of library services. Andrew Tattersall's article, 'How the Web was Won', belongs in the latter camp. His thesis is that Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 have opened up a whole new world for exploration by information and library professionals. Although the Web has created problems for the modern day explorer, potentially there is a bright future for information professionals if they are to succeed in deploying the resources., (© 2011 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2011 Health Libraries Group.)

Objective: The research studied the status of hospital librarians and library services to better inform the Medical Library Association's advocacy activities., Methods: The Vital Pathways Survey Subcommittee of the Task Force on Vital Pathways for Hospital Librarians distributed a web-based survey to hospital librarians and academic health sciences library directors. The survey results were compared to data collected in a 1989 survey of hospital libraries by the American Hospital Association in order to identify any trends in hospital libraries, roles of librarians, and library services. A web-based hospital library report form based on the survey questions was also developed to more quickly identify changes in the status of hospital libraries on an ongoing basis., Results: The greatest change in library services between 1989 and 2005/06 was in the area of access to information, with 40% more of the respondents providing access to commercial online services, 100% more providing access to Internet resources, and 28% more providing training in database searching and use of information resources. Twenty-nine percent (n = 587) of the 2005/06 respondents reported a decrease in staff over the last 5 years., Conclusions: Survey data support reported trends of consolidation of hospitals and hospital libraries and additions of new services. These services have likely required librarians to acquire new skills. It is hoped that future surveys will be undertaken to continue to study these trends.