Embracing the Non-Traditional: Incorporating Non-Traditional Elements into Library Identity

A shift in library and librarian identities occurs as libraries and library workers evolve and explore new practices. These changes prompt a discussion of what constitutes “traditional” and “non-traditional” practice in libraries. Identity and gatekeeper theories provide a lens through which the process of introducing and incorporating professional practices in libraries can be understood and offer insights into how ‘non-traditional’ ideas can be incorporated into the concepts of what constitute library collections and services for library workers and other stakeholders. Acceptance of non-traditional practice is aided by three factors. First, library organizational and professional identities must be sufficiently broad to incorporate non-traditional elements. Second, non-traditional elements must be successfully linked to stakeholders’ perspectives of libraries’ missions and mandates. Finally, institutional barriers to the introduction of non-traditional elements should be identified and addressed

Library Orientation Practices in Special Libraries

Purpose The library orientation session is an important marketing tool because it offers the first opportunity for library staff to connect with new clients (Craft and Ballard-Thrower, 2011; Rhoades and Hartsell, 2008). This paper aims to explore library orientation practices in special libraries and information centers with the goal of surveying current practices and identifying guidance for successful orientation program design and delivery. Design/methodology/approach This study explored library orientation practices in special libraries and information services through an electronic survey. The survey questions were developed based on themes that emerged from case studies on library orientations from the academic library literature. These themes included reasons for library orientation program redesigns, the importance of partnerships in orientation design and delivery and the tools and techniques used in the delivery of orientation sessions. Findings The results revealed that library orientations are taking place in special libraries, but there is no consistent approach to library orientation delivery. Even within a single library, multiple approaches to library orientations are taken based on client availability, demand and information needs observations of library staff. Participants’ responses were analyzed to develop recommendations for special library orientations. These include developing partnerships (particularly with human resource departments), using technology strategically, considering the timing of orientations for new potential clients in relation to their start as new employees in the host organization, customizing library orientations based on client segment, engaging in ongoing outreach, and being flexible in design and delivery methods. Research limitations/implications This study represents a starting step in an exploration of library orientation practices in special libraries. The key limitation of this study was the low response rate leading to small sample size. A larger sample of special libraries would be needed to produce a quantitative analysis of the prevalence of practices with an acceptable degree of statistical significance. Alternately, smaller samples of special libraries organized by characteristics such as size or type (e.g. corporate libraries, law libraries and medical libraries) could be conducted to determine if distinctive trends exist within these special library types. Practical implications This study revealed information about key practices and challenges that can be used by special library practitioners seeking to implement or redesign a library orientation program in their library. Originality/value While academic and practitioner literature exists detailing library orientation activities in academic and school libraries, there are very few papers on special library orientations. This study fills a gap in the literature by investigating library orientation practices in special libraries and information centers

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Moving from Librarian to Knowledge Manager

Embracing knowledge management (KM), or at least learning how to align one’s work with knowledge management vocabulary and processes within an organization, can prove beneficial to librarians whether they are working inside or outside of a library setting. For library and information science (LIS) professionals seeking opportunities outside of library settings, knowledge management projects, which may be led by teams from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, provide an opportunity that matches the skillset they have developed through their LIS education or through employment experience in a library. For libraries, particularly special and corporate libraries trying to articulate their value to funding or strategic decision making bodies, repositioning the work the library does in terms of knowledge management may prove beneficial as it allows the library to demonstrate its potential contributions to organizational goals and its ability to directly help business units. This article provides a brief introduction to knowledge management for LIS professionals who are unfamiliar with the concept or practice, identifies some barriers that have prevented libraries from engaging in KM activities in the past, outlines the competencies that are required to practice KM, and provides some directions on how LIS professionals can develop these competencies. The article provides readers interested in pursuing opportunities in knowledge management with the background information they need to get started

Library and Information Science (LIS) Transferable Competencies

This article uses data obtained from a content analysis of job advertisements to explore the questions of (1) what types of non-traditional jobs are available for library and information science (LIS) professionals and (2) how can LIS students and professionals take advantage of non-traditional job opportunities. Two groups of job advertisements were used in this investigation: advertisements from LIS-targeted job boards (two library school job boards and two library association job boards) and Government of Canada internal job postings. These two sets of job postings were selected to compare the competencies in job postings targeted to LIS graduates (the LIS job board advertisements) and job postings that were not targeted to the LIS community (the Government of Canada job advertisements). An analysis of these groups of job advertisements demonstrated that both samples focused mainly on transferable competencies. Due to the emphasis on transferable competencies, the analysis of job postings from the Government of Canada job list revealed that there are many non-traditional opportunities for LIS graduates. A typical LIS professional could apply for 51 (or 25.8%) of the job advertisements in this set, having met all of the listed criteria. This individual may be able to apply for an additional 40 (or 21.2%) of the jobs listed if they had certain additional competencies or knowledge obtained through prior experience working in the Government of Canada but not necessarily obtained by the average LIS professional. This supports the argument that there are numerous opportunities for LIS professionals in non-traditional jobs. The exploration of commonly requested competencies can be used to guide LIS job seekers to craft their resumes and CVs to address the competencies requested by potential employers

Personalizing professionalism: The professional identity experiences of LIS graduates in non-library roles

This thesis is a grounded theory study of the professional identity experiences of library and information science graduates in non-library roles. It produced a theory called the theory of personalizing professionalism that identified two identities which are held by individuals and which are both influenced by their interactions with others inside and outside of their professional groups:an internal appraisal of self (which includes their perceptions of their profession, motivations and interests, and socialization experiences) and an externally expressed identity (which guides how individuals present themselves to others through their use of labels and their career strategies)

Le programme de développement de nouveaux bibliothécaires axé sur les compétences de la Bibliothèque du Parlement

Employee orientation and development are essential organizational processes. This paper examines a competency-based new-librarian development program in a legislative library setting, emphasizing program redesign and continuous improvement. The new-librarian development program was originally introduced in 2012 and was revised in 2018 in response to changes in the organization’s structure, the introduction of a revised competency framework and feedback from stakeholders. The new-librarian development program uses recommended practices from the employee development literature as a frame. The process of developing and redesigning the program offers insights into how librarians can develop customized development programs. A copy of the competency profile for research librarians is included in the appendix.L’orientation et le développement des employés constituent des processus organisationnels essentiels. Cet article examine un programme de développement de nouveaux bibliothécaires axé sur les compétences dans une bibliothèque législative en mettant l’accent sur la refonte du programme et sur son amélioration continue. Le programme de développement de nouveaux bibliothécaires a été d’abord lancé en 2012 et a été révisé en 2018 en réponse à des changements dans la structure organisationnelle, à l’introduction d’un cadre conceptuel des compétences révisé et à la rétroaction provenant des parties prenantes. Le programme de développement de nouveaux bibliothécaires s’appuie sur les pratiques recommandées dans la littérature sur le développement des employés. Les processus d’élaboration et de révision du programme offrent un aperçu sur comment les bibliothécaires peuvent créer des programmes de développement personnalisés. Une copie du profil des compétences des bibliothécaires de recherche est incluse en annexe