CHLA 2022 CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS / RÉSUMÉS DU CONGRÈS ABSC/CHLA 2022

This workshop will provide health science librarians and information professionals at any level/context with an overview of the best practices in finding and identifying the best scientific evidence during novel public health emergencies. Attendees will be presented with an overview of a best practices statement developed by the Librarian Reserve Corps. Attendees will then apply the recommendations from the best practices statement in designing a plan to respond to real-life case study/information request during a public health emergency. A discussion period will follow on how to apply the best practices in other contexts, environments, and cultures. Attendees will also be invited to share their own experiences and best practices during the discussion session. Through hands-on learning and discussion, librarians and information professionals at any level/context will develop strategies to find and critically appraise the best evidence in any novel public health emergency situation. Introduction: This paper reports on results of a survey regarding librarians' training needs for instruction. While instruction is a competency recognized by national library associations and is a job requirement for many public services librarians, little opportunity for training in pedagogy exists in formal training venues, such as library school, resulting in librarians learning how to teach on their own. The research questions are: How do librarians learn to teach? What specific pedagogical skills do librarians need? What recommendations could lead to improved access to pedagogical training and to increased competency in instruction for librarians? Method: A 12-item survey on pedagogical training needs for health sciences and academic librarians will be sent to distribution lists of several library associations. Participants are asked to identify current teaching topics, how they learned to teach, and which of 38 areas of pedagogical training are needed. Quantitative items will be presented as categorical percentages and subgroup data will be reported using cross-tabulation analysis. Qualitative responses will be coded to derive themes. Results/Conclusion: Preliminary results from a small-sample (n=30) pilot survey indicated “Assessment methods”, “How to ensure deep learning rather than surface learning”, and “Curriculum and instructional development”” as areas of highest need. “Observing other instructors” and “On the job training” were the most frequently selected methods for pedagogical training, while “Courses in library school” received few selections. A strong need for more formal and accessible opportunities for gaining skills and knowledge in instruction was indicated. Final results from the full study will be rported. Introduction: Employing the principles of continuous quality improvement, the library set out to improve its services, collections, and technology in order to increase access and use of evidence across a large geographical area. Historically, the library, with two full-time staff, had only served one hospital. After regionalization in the early 2000s, which added over 40 sites as customers, the library faced both technological and collections related barriers that needed addressing in order to improve service provisions outside its walls. Description: The librarian reviewed the current state of library services in 2015 to explore improvement opportunities. Data from two evaluation surveys, collection usage data and costs, environmental scans of other health authority libraries, and peer-reviewed evidence on health libraries were analyzed. Four goals were established in alignment with the organization’s strategic plan for 2016-2021. Partners in the organization were engaged to leverage improvements in areas of evidence informed practice, awareness, orientations, and collections. Outcomes: Over 5 years, strategic incremental improvements led to a reduction in time-intensive tasks; increased usage of specific collections year-over-year; established metrics for refreshing and retiring collection materials and increased the ability of staff to access collections through significant technological change. Discussion: Setting specific goals aligned within the organization’s strategic plan has allowed the library to flourish and become a more fulsome partner in the areas of practice standards development, quality improvement, and organizational learning. Leveraging technology for a regional approach also meant that when COVID-19 hit in the last year of the five year plan, the library saw almost no service disruptions during its brief ten week facility closure.