Applied and conceptual approaches to evidence-based practice in research and academic libraries

Evidence-based practice is an approach to professional practice that involves a structured process of collecting, interpreting and applying valid and reliable research and evidence to support decision-making and continuous service improvement in professional practice. This paper reports on emerging initiatives in evidence-based practice at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Library, a regional multi-campus university in Australia. It demonstrates how evidence-based practice forms part of our organisational strategy to engage with our community and society. The case study describes a new model of embedding evidence-based practice through a role explicitly dedicated to developing the library’s evidence base. While other libraries may have a person responsible for assessment, performance metrics or data analysis, the Coordinator (Evidence-Based Practice) has a broader mandate – to work with library staff to develop tools, skills and expertise in evidence-based practice. The paper will describe why this role was created and how the Coordinator is working to engage with library staff to understand their business and the evidence needed to support service improvement for the Library. By doing this, USQ Library is building the capacity to demonstrate value to stakeholders, gain a deeper understanding of clients’ needs and experiences, promote robust decision-making and improve service delivery. The paper also outlines an initiative led by the Coordinator (Evidence-Based Practice) to develop a conceptual model of evidence-based practice within academic libraries at the organisational, rather than individual level. Current models of evidence-based library and information practice apply predominantly to individuals. Informed by relevant literature and 16 semi-structured interviews with library professionals from Australian and New Zealand university libraries, three themes emerged to describe how evidence-based practice might be experienced at the organisational level. The lived experience at USQ Library and our research investigations suggest that being evidence-based provides benefits to an academic library’s culture, practice and impact

Understanding EBLIP at an organizational level: an initial maturity model

Objective - Existing research around evidence based practice in the LIS (library and information science) professional context over the past two decades has captured the experience of individual practitioners, rather than the organization as a whole. Current models of evidence based library and information practice (EBLIP) relate to, and apply predominantly to, individuals or specific scenarios. Yet despite a growing demand from institutional and library leaders for evidence to demonstrate why investments in libraries should continue, little is known about how an organization can enhance its maturity in evidence based practice. This paper addresses this gap by seeking to understand what an evidence based university library looks like and answering the questions: how does a university library leader know the library’s service and practice is evidence based? How can a university library measure and progress its maturity in evidence based practice? Methods - Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with library professionals employed at Australian and New Zealand university libraries. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis techniques. The interviews, combined with a literature review and environmental scan of evidence based practices in university libraries, informed the development of a draft capability maturity model as a framework for developing evidence based practice in university libraries. Results - The model identifies and describes characteristics at five different levels of evidence based practice maturity from least mature (Ad hoc/Sporadic) to most mature (Transforming). Three dimensions of experience help to define the characteristics at each level of maturity and provide a framework to understand how a university library might develop its organizational capacity in evidence based library and information practice. Conclusion - Library leaders and practitioners will benefit from the model as they seek to identify and build upon their evidence based practice maturity, enabling more robust decision-making, a deeper understanding of their clients and demonstration of value and impact to their stakeholders

Engaging with our communities: future trends and opportunities for reference services

Libraries across the world are constantly reinventing themselves as they respond to changing community needs and the benefits and challenges posed by new and emerging technologies. This literature review was undertaken to inform a visioning and planning exercise in the Visitor Experience team at State Library of Queensland to identify opportunities and trends for the provision of engaging and relevant reference services. Four key themes are discussed in this review: changing community expectations and user behaviour, defining and measuring the impact of the modern library and reference services, offering flexibility in spaces and service delivery, and the roles of library staff and future skills sets. This review confirms that libraries, specifically reference and information services, remain in a unique position to support their communities in learning, work, recreation, creativity and innovation. The challenge for library leadership is to measure the impact of the library in their local community context

Taking off the edges – implementing a streamlined client identity management experience at State Library of Queensland

Introduction Patron registration is a key dependency for the implementation of the State Library of Queensland’s new universal resource management system Alma, due to go live in November 2014. As Alma was designed for university libraries working with student administration systems, it did not offer an online registration option, mandatory for continued equitable access to State Library services. With 50-70 per cent of library members registering online each month, it was imperative that a new approach be designed to enable state-wide access to collections and services. The Identity Management Project was conceived to create an easy registration experience for members. In addition, we seized the opportunity to put clients first by streamlining the management of personal information held in 19 systems used to facilitate marketing, computing access, venue hire and more. Methods The Identity Management Project aimed to create a consistent, convenient, and personalised online experience for clients to access collections and services, whether they want to borrow a book, search a database, use a computer or subscribe to a newsletter. The goal was to reduce the multiple identities an individual has within the SLQ environment by moving to one person = one identity model, to make it easy for clients to register, update, renew, opt in and out of services. This deceptively simple concept required functional and cultural shifts in how State Library manages client information across the whole organisation. The challenge was to make the client’s experience the focus rather than being confined by the workflows of multiple systems. As the project is breaking new ground, an action research approach was implemented, using experience pathways to design client-focussed workflows. Results This paper will report on how we achieved the goals of: simplifying access to State Library’s collections and services; reducing labour intensive, and often duplicated, staff efforts; implementing consistent identity management principles organisation-wide; and improving reporting capabilities. Ultimately State Library clients should be empowered through a simple registration process for instant online access with one username and password for all services plus the ability to manage their details and access. Conclusions This project has challenged State Library to re-examine how and why we collect client information and to explore data sharing between existing stand-alone systems. The project demonstrates how libraries can offer clients a streamlined experience and increase ongoing engagement by implementing identity management principles across an organisation. Relevance This paper reports on a cutting edge approach to implementing identity management within State Library of Queensland. It will present the results of an innovative solution to streamline and increase client online engagement by removing barriers to access and creating future opportunities for personalisation

Investigation of the stress-strain of American Standard or National Course bolts

The purpose of this investigation is to determine, if possible, a formula for the initial tensile load that will consider the Nominal Diameter of the bolt and the yield point of the material from which the bolt is manufactured; to determine, if possible, a torque stress relation, when tightening the bolt --Preface, page iii

‘It’s what we do here’: embedding evidence-based practice at USQ Library

Over the past two decades, evidence-based practice and its application to library and information science has been an ongoing topic of discussion among researchers and practitioners. Evidence-based practice refers to a structured process of collecting, interpreting and applying valid and reliable research and evidence to support decision making and continuous service improvement in professional practice. Earlier research focused on how librarians perceive and experience evidence-based practice, and the benefits of doing so (Miller et al, 2017, Gillespie et al, 2017, Gillespie et al, 2016, Luo, 2017). In 2016, the University of Southern Queensland Library chose to intentionally incorporate evidence-based practice, by creating a role explicitly dedicated to enabling capacity among staff and to develop the library’s evidence base. While other libraries may have a person responsible for analysing data and statistics, the Coordinator, Evidence-based Practice, is charged with a broader mandate – to work with library staff to develop tools, skills and expertise in evidence-based practice. By doing this, we aim to enable the library to demonstrate value to stakeholders, gain a deeper understanding of clients’ needs and experiences, promote robust decision making and improve service delivery. This paper draws on recent research and the broader, existing understanding of evidence-based library and information practice to describe why this role was created and how the Coordinator, Evidence-based Practice is working to engage with library staff to understand their business and the evidence needed to support business improvement for the Library. The paper will discuss how we have supported a culture of evidence-based practice and the benefits of having a dedicated role has had on building the capacity of library staff as evidence-based practitioners. USQ Library is still at the beginning of the journey in developing, not only the evidence-based practice function, but also harnessing the potential of the local evidence base to support the university’s strategic goals and objectives. The new role of Coordinator, Evidence-Based Practice, demonstrates evidence-based practice in action. It represents a clear strategic and intentional commitment by decision makers to make evidence-based practice a visible, embedded and valuable part of professional practice at USQ Library. This paper will argue that this role serves as a new model of embedding evidence-based practice into Australian academic libraries. By explicitly positioning evidence-based practice so prominently within USQ Library we are taking a leap forward, using local, professional and research evidence to transform our collections, spaces and services in response to ever-evolving client needs

Transforming a university library into a learning organisation

Purpose The purpose of this study is to discuss the strategies to promote a culture of professional learning within an Australian academic library. As the COVID-19 experience has shown new and evolving roles require skills, knowledge and abilities that current library employees may not have trained for. One framework which supports continuous professional development and employee motivation is the concept of a learning organisation, where staff across all levels of the library acknowledge the value of continuous learning and autonomously engage in activities to keep their skills up to date and relevant. Design/methodology/approach The article is a case study of a three-year period of interventions and outcomes in an Australian academic library. Findings The strategies discussed provide insights for library managers and leaders about how organisational change can be incrementally embedded through clarity of purpose, aligned leadership, transparent processes, self-determination and social learning. Research limitations/implications The case study examines a single institution. Originality/value The paper provides practical strategies and examples from the case study of one university library which has successful embedded workplace learning as a regular and accepted part of staff routines

Evidence-based practice: evaluating our collections and services

[Introduction]: Over the past two decades, evidence-based practice and its application to library and information science has been an evolving focus of discussion, experimentation and application among researchers and practitioners. This paper will discuss opportunities for theological libraries to apply evidence-based practice in evaluating collections and services in order to better demonstrate value to stakeholders, gain a deeper understanding of client needs and experiences, promote robust decision-making and improve service delivery

Evidence-based practice: evaluating our collections and services

Over the past two decades, evidence-based practice and its application to library and information science has been an evolving focus of discussion, experimentation and application among researchers and practitioners. This presentation will discuss opportunities for theological libraries to apply evidence-based practice in evaluating collections and services in order to better demonstrate value to stakeholders, gain a deeper understanding of client needs and experiences, promote robust decision-making and improve service delivery

Visualising the pandemic pivot: using evidence-based practice to capture and communicate an academic library’s COVID-19 response

The COVID-19 pandemic required an agile and quick transformation of services in university libraries in the wake of government health directives. As an evidence-based library, engaging in the collection of evidence and reflective practice was a natural extension of the pandemic response. Once the critical response period had passed, staff at the University of Southern Queensland set about capturing the Library’s pandemic response within the wider context of society, government, and university activities in the form of a timeline. The timeline served to document actions taken in a time of crisis, recognise the staff workload involved, acknowledge the milestones achieved, and identify new performance measures to evaluate the impact of COVID-safe services This article offers a lived experience of how a university library can apply an evidence-based practice approach to inform decisions and drive improvements to service delivery. The timeline activity was not just about documenting what the Library did and when. It generated a source of evidence which has proved to be a useful tool in planning the return to campus activities and informing decision making about ‘COVID normal’ service models