Shaping the Future of Information Literacy Research by Health Sciences Librarians: A Bibliometric Study

Objectives: Information literacy (IL) publications have been examined in many disciplines, but there is limited published literature to assess health sciences librarians’ productivity on IL research. This study aimed to examine the status and characteristics of IL research authored by health sciences librarians over the period of 2008 to 2018. Methods: Bibliometrics, the statistical analysis of publications, was used to assess the indicators of productivity, collaboration, and visibility on IL research by health sciences librarians. Data was collected from Scopus and Web of Science. EndNote software was used to remove duplicates and Rayyan was used to systematically screen search results for inclusion. Quantitative analysis was performed, examining the number of publications per year, the most prolific authors and their affiliations, most prolific journals, the origin of the first author’s country, etc. Results: Of the 3,387 search results, 479 (14.8%) unique articles met the inclusion criteria of being authored by health sciences librarians. Study results showed that the number of included publications increased 12% each year on average with the peak in 2016 (n=62). Health Information and Libraries Journal was the most prolific journal that published IL studies in the domain of health sciences librarianship. However, the most highly cited article was published in the Journal of the Medical Library Association. In terms of visibility, 373 (78%) articles have been cited at least once. Authors were highly collaborative with a collaboration index of 2.8. Conclusions: Over the ten-year period, the volume of IL literature authored by health sciences librarians has increased. Health sciences librarian researchers tend to publish in health sciences library journals. This study shapes the future for health sciences librarians on IL publication practices. Further research might be needed to examine differences in IL publication characteristics after the implementation of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy

Health Sciences Libraries: Supporting Public Libraries Supporting All of Us

Title: Health Sciences Libraries: Supporting Public Libraries Supporting All of Us Objective: Public libraries are known for being community-centered institutions providing equitable access to information and resources, playing an important role in improving individuals\u27 access to health-related information. This project aimed to examine the perceived role and current practices of inner-city public librarians in delivering health-related information to members of their community. Methods: An online survey was created using Qualtrics and distributed to branch libraries within a single library system serving diverse socioeconomic and demographic groups. The survey consisted of eighteen multiple choice and open-ended questions. Information was collected around four domains: demographics, perception of the role of public libraries in proving health-related information, current practices in providing health-related information, and perceived need for training to better support patrons with health information access. Both quantitative and qualitative assessments were conducted from the responses. Results: 64 completed survey responses were collected from thirteen of the eighteen branch libraries surveyed. Understanding medical jargon, communicating with patrons, and limited availability of print resources were noted as being the top challenges in providing health-related information to patrons. When asked for health-related information, the majority of respondents reported consulting books from the library catalog as their go-to resources. 96% of respondents indicated that library employees need training on health literacy and ways to effectively provide health-related information to patrons. Conclusions: Survey results indicated that many library workers believe public libraries play a significant role in providing equitable access to health-related information to patrons. However, many of respondents reported a need or want for additional training regarding available resources for finding adequate health-related information online. This study shows there is opportunity for health sciences libraries to partner with public libraries on programming and training needs in order to better support the needs of our communities

Springing for Student Textbooks? Exploring New Directions for Library Collections

Given the increasing costs of student textbooks, it is only natural that students would engage in cost-avoidance behaviors. Likewise, some professors have modified their curricular choices to avoid passing along the cost of required texts for their students. At the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the library has licensed several databases that include access to a number of assigned student textbooks. While the provision of these textbooks was not the intent in the licensing of these resources, it is an added benefit of the subscription and their availability is appreciated by the students who may avoid individual purchases. Because there has been no effort on the part of the library to license resources for the purpose of providing access to textbooks, students in certain programs have access to many assigned texts while students in other programs have access to no textbooks at all. Using an adapted version of a previously created survey, faculty were asked questions about currently licensed platforms, the selection of course textbooks, and the importance of textbook availability. The purpose of the survey was to gauge faculty members’ level of knowledge and interest in expanding the course textbook offerings available through the library’s electronic collections. Proposed future actions include expanding textbooks offerings, exploring potential funding streams to support the expansion, and involving librarians in curricular development and textbook selection

The Status of Scholarly Efforts of Librarians on Health Literacy: a Bibliometric Analysis

Objective: In order to determine the status of scholarly efforts on health literacy by librarians, researchers examined the characteristics of health literacy publications authored by librarians from 2000 to 2020. Methods: Bibliometric analysis was used to assess the indicators of productivity, affiliation, collaboration, and citation metrics of librarians in health literacy–related research. Data were collected using the Scopus database; articles were screened for inclusion before importation into Microsoft Excel for analysis. SPSS software was used to run basic descriptive statistics. Results: Of 797 search results, 460 references met the inclusion criteria of librarian authorship. There was a significant linear trend upward in publications since 2001 with an average increase of 1.52 papers per year. The number of publications per year peaked in 2019 (n=59). Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet was the most prolific journal. The majority of references were authored by at least two authors and by multidisciplinary teams. Nineteen percent (n=107) of the librarian authors were responsible for more than one publication, and 84.1% of publications were cited at least once. Conclusions: In the last two decades, librarian involvement in health literacy publications has exponentially increased, most markedly in the years following 2014. The productivity, multidisciplinary collaboration efforts, and consistent growth in literature indicate that librarians are engaged in health literacy scholarship. Further research is needed to explore the work of librarians whose impacts on health literacy may not be reflected within well-indexed, peer-reviewed publications