Giving It All You’ve Got: The Value of Extending Hours in an Academic Health Sciences Library

Objective University libraries’ student satisfaction surveys regularly reveal student demand for increased operating hours to accommodate student learning. While academic libraries may provide extended hours, use of such models in academic health sciences libraries appears to be less widely adopted, perhaps due to budgetary concerns and lower general gate counts than academic library counterparts that may already provide extended hours. In the face of student demands, our institution shifted its budget to provide an additional 10 weekend hours, between Friday and Sunday, to help meet these demands. This study assessed the return on investment for those increased hours by tracking increased physical use of library spaces in the year following adoption of extended weekend operating hours. Methods This study utilized physical library usage data [gate counts, room reservations, and circulation transactions] for the time period January 2018-January 2020, restricted to Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The date range allowed for comparison of weekend physical use statistics during one complete year pre-extended hours with one complete year post-extended hours data. For the two time periods, for all periods except exams, we ran descriptive statistics to assess the percent increase in physical library usage, with sub-analyses by patron type whenever data allowed. Results We saw an upsurge in room reservations across all three weekend days with a 52.95% increase during the Spring Semester, a 38.81% increase in the Fall Semester, and a 9.16% increase during the Summer Semester. Room reservations during the extended hours in 2019 accounted for 17.42%, 20.98%, and 18.92% of all reservations during the Spring, Fall, and Summer Semesters respectively. Gate count and circulation data analysis is ongoing. Conclusions Based on this data, we are confident that the return on investment for these extended hours was high

This is How We\u27ll Do It: Considerations in Creation of a Literature Search Best Practices Guideline

Background Literature searching skills and approaches among librarians may vary considerably, based upon the ways that literature searching is taught in formal and informal education. Informal observation of the literature search assistance approaches among health sciences librarians in the Information and Research Services department in Lapus Library indicated that patrons requesting such service might receive varying levels of service. This poster describes the creation of a best practices guideline for literature search assistance to address differential levels of service and build consensus about best practice when consistent pre- or in-service training in this area is missing. Description The Literature Search Best Practices Guideline has been shaped by two means: a discussion series and a survey of the department\u27s librarians. The survey sought to identify common logistical and clarifying questions asked by the librarians in response to literature search requests, stratified by stakeholder category (students, faculty, clinicians, etc.). The discussion series focused on technological, procedural, relational, and ethical considerations in literature search assistance. The survey results and issues identified as inherent in literature search assistance have been organized into a draft Literature Search Best Practices Guideline. Librarians have all contributed to the creation of the guidelines through participation in the discussion series as well as written contribution to the guidelines. Furthermore, the discussion series has created an ongoing dialog about ethics and critical thinking in everyday library practice. Conclusions We plan to share the final guideline in a public repository, use the guidelines to train new librarians at our institution, and perform follow-up analysis of the usefulness and practical application of the guidelines in our department. Additionally, ongoing discussions related to professional ethics, citation choices, and authorship negotiations will be continued

Research gaps and priorities for quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA)

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic highlighted the need for more rapid and routine application of modeling approaches such as quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) for protecting public health. QMRA is a transdisciplinary science dedicated to understanding, predicting, and mitigating infectious disease risks. To better equip QMRA researchers to inform policy and public health management, an Advances in Research for QMRA workshop was held to synthesize a path forward for QMRA research. We summarize insights from 41 QMRA researchers and experts to clarify the role of QMRA in risk analysis by (1) identifying key research needs, (2) highlighting emerging applications of QMRA; and (3) describing data needs and key scientific efforts to improve the science of QMRA. Key identified research priorities included using molecular tools in QMRA, advancing dose–response methodology, addressing needed exposure assessments, harmonizing environmental monitoring for QMRA, unifying a divide between disease transmission and QMRA models, calibrating and/or validating QMRA models, modeling co-exposures and mixtures, and standardizing practices for incorporating variability and uncertainty throughout the source-to-outcome continuum. Cross-cutting needs identified were to: develop a community of research and practice, integrate QMRA with other scientific approaches, increase QMRA translation and impacts, build communication strategies, and encourage sustainable funding mechanisms. Ultimately, a vision for advancing the science of QMRA is outlined for informing national to global health assessments, controls, and policies.Sanitary Engineerin