Distance Support Services: Defining, Discussing, and Determining Future Roles

Introduction: With over 6 million students now taking at least one course online, higher education is significantly shifting educational and outreach approaches (The Sloan Consortium, 2011). This trend is particularly strong in the medical field, as “fully online health sciences programs show higher growth than online programs in other disciplines” (The Sloan Consortium, 2011). To meet these emerging needs, library support must now occur via Learning Management Systems, Guides, Tutorials, and Websites. In parallel with the education trends, telemedicine consultations are becoming options more readily available to patients and practitioners making online learning and collaboration a professional skill. In early 2013, a Distance Support SIG informally developed a network to discuss issues and professional development around this topic. Informal membership formed around a self-managed listserv. Other Sections with interest in the topic, such as NAHRS and EMTS, were identified. However, a clear profile of participants supporting distance programs, what types of distance programs, and professional development needs were unclear. Methods: To better identify the positions, types of libraries, and needs of SIG participants, the researchers developed a short survey distributed to the informal distance support listserv via Qualtrics. After talks with EMTS and the decision to merge the Distance Support SIG with EMTS, the survey was redistributed to EMTS members via the EMTS listserv. The second survey ran in RedCAP. Given the change in participant pool and the merging of the Distance Support SIG with EMTS, some questions were revised

Interlibrary loan and document delivery in North American health sciences libraries during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: The study purpose was to understand how early months of the COVID-19 pandemic altered interlibrary loan (ILL) and document delivery (DD) in North American health science libraries (HSLs), specifically the decision-making and workflow adjustments associated with accessing their own collections and obtaining content not available via ILL. Methods: Researchers distributed an online 26-question survey through 24 health science library email lists from January 6-February 7, 2021. Respondents reported their library’s ILL and DD activities from March-August 2020, including ILL/DD usage and policies, collection access, decision-making, and workflow adjustments. In addition to calculating frequencies, cross-tabulation and statistical tests were performed to test a priori potential associations. Two researchers independently and thematically analyzed responses to the 2 open-ended questions and reached consensus on themes. Results: Hospital libraries represented 52% (n=226/431) of respondents, along with 42% academic (n=179) and 6% (n=26) multi-type or other special. Only 1% (n=5) closed completely with no remote services, but many, 45% (n=194), ceased ILL of print materials. More than half (n=246/423; 58%) agreed that ILL requests likely to be filled from print remained unfilled more than is typical. Open-ended questions yielded 5 themes on ILL/DD staffing, setup, and systems; 6 on impacts for libraries and library users. Conclusion: Lack of communication regarding collection availability and staffing resulted in delayed or unfilled requests. Hospital and academic libraries made similar decisions about continuing services but reported different experiences in areas such as purchasing digital content. Hybrid ILL/DD workflows may continue for managing these services

The Structural Biology Knowledgebase: a portal to protein structures, sequences, functions, and methods

The Protein Structure Initiative’s Structural Biology Knowledgebase (SBKB, URL: http://sbkb.org) is an open web resource designed to turn the products of the structural genomics and structural biology efforts into knowledge that can be used by the biological community to understand living systems and disease. Here we will present examples on how to use the SBKB to enable biological research. For example, a protein sequence or Protein Data Bank (PDB) structure ID search will provide a list of related protein structures in the PDB, associated biological descriptions (annotations), homology models, structural genomics protein target status, experimental protocols, and the ability to order available DNA clones from the PSI:Biology-Materials Repository. A text search will find publication and technology reports resulting from the PSI’s high-throughput research efforts. Web tools that aid in research, including a system that accepts protein structure requests from the community, will also be described. Created in collaboration with the Nature Publishing Group, the Structural Biology Knowledgebase monthly update also provides a research library, editorials about new research advances, news, and an events calendar to present a broader view of structural genomics and structural biology

New Methods of Teaching and Learning in Libraries

New Methods of Teaching and Learning in Libraries by Ann Whitney Gleason is the eleventh book in a series discussing a range of topics that are important to health sciences librarianship

Emerging Strategies for Supporting Student Learning: A Practical Guide for Librarians and Educators

Emerging Strategies for Supporting Student Learning: A Practical Guide for Librarians and Educators written by Barbara Allan, is a short but content-heavy book that discusses ways to support student learning through incorporating current and new technolog