Search

The Grey Horizon Blog was created in April 2012 using Blogger. The selection and re-aggregation of information involves ongoing assessment of user needs and continuous work on the Blog. A weekly global email-digest listing of the postings will be distributed two months after the launch. Several metrics will be employed in October 2012 to evaluate the Blog. Blogger itself tracks the number of page-views over time. Google Analytics was set up as it tracks additional information on access and use of the Blog. As clients may be using feed readers to read Blog entries and may thus not visit the Blog at all, Feedburner has also been incorporated to track the number of times that the Blog RSS is accessed, as well as calculating the number of subscribers. A post-survey will be conducted in six months to complement the web statistics data. The additional feedback and comments will help us determine whether the Blog has successfully created an easy platform for users to keep current with unpublished literature, the type of resources found most important, and whether the amount of time spent maintaining the Blog met expectations. Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes XA International

The Health Information Network Calgary (HINC) is comprised of a group of libraries providing information services and resources to urban and rural sites in the Calgary Zone of Alberta Health Services. Establishing a current awareness service is a necessity in any discipline, especially in health care. Web 2.0 and social networks have transformed how health care professionals and researchers create knowledge, access information, collaborate, and disseminate research. One of the earliest forms of social media, blogging has taken the world by storm (1) . Although there is a wealth of literature on the use of blogs in providing current awareness services for libraries, there is a pronounced gap on how blogs are assessed or evaluated, especially for information alert purposes (2) . Clients within the HINC subscribe to e-mail alerts and RSS feeds, a trend particularly evident within the Cancer Care environment where a number of researchers have already implemented feed readers to remain aware of current literature. However, they often comment on challenges associated not only with maintaining alerts and managing RSS feeds, but also in selecting and creating alerts for unpublished materials. The need for a librarian-facilitated current awareness strategy became more and more apparent. The literature reviewed addressed the value of an alert, namely to indicate a gap in the participant‘s knowledge, rather than to deliver content the librarians may have perceived as useful (3). The authors saw the creation of a subject-based blog as an opportunity to disseminate current awareness “grey” information to this specific research community. The Grey Horizon Blog was created in April 2012 using Blogger. The selection and re-aggregation of information involves ongoing assessment of user needs and continuous work on the Blog. A weekly global email-digest listing of the postings will be distributed two months after the launch. Several metrics will be employed in October 2012 to evaluate the Blog. Blogger itself tracks the number of page-views over time. Google Analytics was set up as it tracks additional information on access and use of the Blog. As clients may be using feed readers to read Blog entries and may thus not visit the Blog at all, Feedburner has also been incorporated to track the number of times that the Blog RSS is accessed, as well as calculating the number of subscribers. A post-survey will be conducted in six months to complement the web statistics data. The additional feedback and comments will help us determine whether the Blog has successfully created an easy platform for users to keep current with unpublished literature, the type of resources found most important, and whether the amount of time spent maintaining the Blog met expectations. It is anticipated that this case study will portray how to successfully plan a subject-based blog to meet users’ current awareness information needs in grey literature. Further efforts will focus on targeting the Blog to the topic areas in grey literature where users feel more information is needed. The findings from this assessment will direct us to potential marketing opportunities and changing technology that haven’t been fully utilized in our Grey Horizon Blog.

The Health Information Network Calgary (HINC) is comprised of a group of libraries providing information services and resources to urban and rural sites in the Calgary Zone of Alberta Health Services. Establishing a current awareness service is a necessity in any discipline, especially in health care. Web 2.0 and social networks have transformed how health care professionals and researchers create knowledge, access information, collaborate, and disseminate research.

Social networking has positively impacted the realm of human interactivity. Although libraries have traditionally been viewed as a place for research and information seeking, Web 2.0 technologies, such as blogs and Instant Messaging (IM), are starting to change users’ experiences of current library services. In this study we aim to examine whether the opportunity for enhanced researcher-librarian interaction that Web 2.0 tools provide creates a synergistic experience for health research interest groups. In addition, we will explore whether these tools increase efficiency in obtaining information and/or improve quality and quantity of research evidence. This study was conducted by two hospital librarians working in tertiary hospitals. An email was distributed to the health care professionals from these two sites, inviting participation in two online research interest groups: Clinical Practice Guidelines and Patient Safety. A pre-survey of participants was intended to assess the comfort level of this group with Web 2.0 tools and to gauge their level of use both professionally and personally. We created a Virtual Interest Group (VIG) environment to incorporate the following Web 2.0 tools into the existing library website: user blogs, enabling commenting to facilitate a knowledge-sharing atmosphere; chat software to assist with easy access to acquired information; and Delicious tagging for a more systematic documentation of grey literature. A post-survey was conducted three months later in order to re-evaluate the participants’ experiences with social media, in particular with the online interest group environment. Findings from this study can be used to highlight future trends around the discoverability of grey literature with social media tools and to establish a basis for integrating Web 2.0 tools in library websites and services.

Introduction - Social networking has positively impacted the realm of human interactivity. Libraries have traditionally been viewed as a place for research and information seeking. Web 2.0 technologies, such as blogs and Instant Messaging (IM), are starting to change users' experiences of current library services. In this quality improvement study we aim to examine whether the opportunity for enhanced researcher-librarian interaction that Web 2.0 tools provide creates a synergistic experience for health research interest groups. In addition, we will explore if these tools increase efficiency in obtaining information and/or improve quality and quantity of research evidence. Method - This study was conducted by two hospital librarians working in tertiary hospitals. An email was distributed to the health care professionals from these two sites, inviting participation in two online research interest groups, Clinical Practice Guidelines and Patient Safety. A pre-survey of participants was intended to assess the comfort level of this group with Web 2.0 tools and gauge their level of use both professionally and personally. We created a virtual interest group environment to incorporate the following Web 2.0 tools into the existing library website: user blogs, enabling commenting to facilitate a knowledge-sharing atmosphere; chat software to assist with easy access to acquired information; and Delicious tagging for a more systematic documentation of grey literature. A post-survey will be conducted after three months in order to re-evaluate the participants' experiences with social media, in particular with the online interest group environment. Research Implications - Findings from this study can be used to illuminate future trends into the discoverability of grey literature with social media tools and establish a basis for integrating Web 2.0 tools in library websites and services. Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes XA International

Cognitive skill training, part of cognitive behavior management, is based on the cognitive behavioral theory. The principle that thinking controls behavior has been widely used by educators to develop methods to improve the performance of students, while clinicians provide multifaceted health promotion and psychological counseling programs. The plan of our educational project is to raise awareness among students, faculty members, and researchers of material not produced via standard commercial publishing channels, emphasizing the role that grey literature plays in teaching and research in our academic community. Pre-test surveys conducted prior to these ventures indicate that while both researchers, students, and faculty members may have used grey literature resources at some point during their research pursuits, more than one-third (36.7%) believe they haven't done so, a significant number expressing uncertainty in not knowing how to find, effectively use, and evaluate grey literature. In terms of specific grey literature resources, the majority (85.7%) of users have had rich experiences with association and government websites, but lack familiarity with other useful resources such as subject-based directories, databases, or well-established grey literature repositories. "When opportunity knocks, you should probably open the door!" (Schwann, Petermann, and Petz, 2008). This statement indicates the value and importance of theories in promoting new practices in health services. A theory can lay the foundation of a teaching or learning goal by describing the purpose, intervention, and assumed outcome of a proposed endeavor (Wayne State University). As health sciences librarians, the need to promote grey literature in terms of visibility and accessibility, thus raising awareness, forms the basis of our teaching goals and is thereby the focus of this paper. Undoubtedly, as the barrier between black and grey literature becomes narrower with the advent of technology that seeks to uncover the unrecoverable, challenges will inevitably arise, especially when deciding what exactly about grey literature needs to be promoted. The cognitive-behavioral theory helps describe various factors regarding lack of awareness and misguided conceptions about searching for elusive material, while also guiding the selection of sources of grey literature and the methodologies we have adopted in our promotion project. Three such educational initiatives that we have developed, based on the principle that change will occur only as you think differently, will be highlighted in this paper. These include the creation of a Grey Literature Speaker Series (http://glspeakers.wetpaint.com/), where subject specialists/liaison librarians at the University of Calgary discuss their experiences and challenges with uncovering and using grey literature in their subject areas; a joint presentation to faculty members and students at the University of Calgary Faculty Technology Days showcasing the impact and role that technology, such as mobile computing, has played and continues to play when it comes to the grey literature; and library information sessions to cancer researchers based on user experiences, expectations, and needs when it comes to seeking non-traditional material. The One-Minute-Paper, distributed after a session to assess participant learning outcomes, reveals that knowledge of different sources and current trends in grey literature has significantly increased. We therefore advocate the use of the cognitive behavioral theory as a channel for developing education programs and promoting grey literature in our academic community. Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes, Pratt student commentary XA International

The concept of information literacy, which describes the knowledge and skills required in all contexts (i.e. educational sectors, the workplace), as well as in people's everyday lives in today s information rich society, was introduced in the United States in the early 1970s (Limberg et al. 2002; Lloyd et al. 2008). According to the Association of College and Research Libraries Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (2000), it has been concluded that an information literate individual is able to determine the extent of information needed, access information efficiently, evaluate information and its sources critically, and use information effectively. Information literacy skills become even more central to meeting the requirements of dealing with complexity and large volumes of information from grey literature. Our interests as health sciences librarians and thereby the focus of our poster presentation lie in portraying the unstructured nature of grey literature and discussing methodologies and approaches towards teaching this elusive material to those in the health sciences sector, particularly medical students and healthcare practitioners, clients we serve within the Health Information Network Calgary. The Network was formed in 2005 through fee-for-service contracts between the University of Calgary and two partners, the Calgary Health Region and the Alberta Cancer Board. An integrated health knowledge service is provided for healthcare practitioners, staff, patients, and families from Knowledge Centres at major acute care sites, with the University of Calgary Health Sciences Library serving as the Network hub. In both medical school contexts and workplace settings, such as acute care facilities, information literacy is closely associated with the ability to acquire and develop competencies to enable individuals to think critically and use information appropriately. It is becoming widely recognized that giving the end user knowledge related to research information, widening his/her horizons, and implementing critical thinking and carefulness in using information, is more essential than instruction on how to search various information resources. In our own teaching we employ case-based problem-based learning, described by L. Carden, P. Willingham and D. Bibb (2001). We have found this method more effective, active and more student-centered, as it falls in line with a general trend in education, which focuses on making our users independent lifelong learners, and also fits our service goals within the Health Information Network in meeting the needs of medical students and healthcare practitioners. Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes, Pratt student commentary XA International

This presentation was delivered at the Eleventh International Conference on Grey Literature, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., December 14, 2009, Cognitive skill training, part of cognitive behavior management, is based on the cognitive behavioral theory. The principle that thinking controls behavior has been widely used by educators to develop methods to improve the performance of students, while clinicians provide multifaceted health promotion and psychological counseling programs. The plan of our educational project is to raise awareness among students, faculty members, and researchers of material not produced via standard commercial publishing channels, emphasizing the role that grey literature plays in teaching and research in our academic community. Pre-test surveys conducted prior to these ventures indicate that while both researchers, students, and faculty members may have used grey literature resources at some point during their research pursuits, more than one-third (36.7%) believe they haven't done so, a significant number expressing uncertainty in not knowing how to find, effectively use, and evaluate grey literature. In terms of specific grey literature resources, the majority (85.7%) of users have had rich experiences with association and government websites, but lack familiarity with other useful resources such as subject-based directories, databases, or well-established grey literature repositories. "When opportunity knocks, you should probably open the door!" (Schwann, Petermann, and Petz, 2008). This statement indicates the value and importance of theories in promoting new practices in health services. A theory can lay the foundation of a teaching or learning goal by describing the purpose, intervention, and assumed outcome of a proposed endeavor (Wayne State University). As health sciences librarians, the need to promote grey literature in terms of visibility and accessibility, thus raising awareness, forms the basis of our teaching goals and is thereby the focus of this paper. Undoubtedly, as the barrier between black and grey literature becomes narrower with the advent of technology that seeks to uncover the unrecoverable, challenges will inevitably arise, especially when deciding what exactly about grey literature needs to be promoted. The cognitive-behavioral theory helps describe various factors regarding lack of awareness and misguided conceptions about searching for elusive material, while also guiding the selection of sources of grey literature and the methodologies we have adopted in our promotion project. Three such educational initiatives that we have developed, based on the principle that change will occur only as you think differently, include the creation of a Grey Literature Speaker Series (http://glspeakers.wetpaint.com), where subject specialists/liaison librarians at the University of Calgary discuss their experiences and challenges with uncovering and using grey literature in their subject areas; a joint presentation to faculty members and students at the University of Calgary Faculty Technology Days showcasing the impact and role that technology, such as mobile computing, has played and continues to play when it comes to the grey literature; and library information sessions to cancer researchers based on user experiences, expectations, and needs when it comes to seeking non-traditional material. The One-Minute-Paper, distributed after a session to assess participant learning outcomes, reveals that knowledge of different sources and current trends in grey literature has significantly increased. We therefore advocate the use of the cognitive behavioral theory as a channel for developing education programs and promoting grey literature in our academic community.