Electronic Table of Contents Service: Still "Forwarding" 11 Years Later.

An electronic table of contents (eToC) program was implemented by a medical librarian more than 11 years ago at a pediatric hospital (now a clinical and academic health system) with the goal of saving healthcare providers time and assisting them in staying current on the literature in their specific disciplines and/or general medicine. The eToC program still remains a highly popular service with more than 180 clinicians participating. This paper describes the implementation and maintenance of the program.

Determining COVID-19's impact on an academic medical library's literature search service.

Objective: At many institutions, literature search services are an important aspect of health science librarianship. This exploratory study analyzes how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the use of an academic hospital medical library's literature search service. Methods: To evaluate the pandemic's impact on literature searching at The University of Tennessee Medical Center's Preston Medical Library, data were analyzed for changes from the year before the pandemic (March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020) to the first year during the pandemic (March 1st, 2020 to February 28, 2021). This was accomplished using LibWizard, a library feedback and assessment application, to review literature search data during the two periods. Variables of interest included total searches, purpose of searches, affiliation of the searcher, and searches with a pandemic-related research question. Results: A 36.6% drop in literature search service usage was reported from the pre-pandemic year to the during-pandemic year. There was a 55.3% decrease in searches intended for research, as well as significant decreases in the number of searches requested by all patron affiliations. After March 2020, 10% of all searches concerned a COVID-related topic. Conclusion: The overall decrease in literature search requests, decrease in research searches, decrease in searches among all patron affiliations, and increase in searches on a COVID-related topic suggest that healthcare worker and institutional priorities changed during the pandemic. The results revealed research interests during the first year of the pandemic, as well as an overall change in library service functionality.

Identifying diversity, equity, and inclusion enhancement opportunities through an online mixed methods library survey.

Objective: A mixed methods survey was conducted at a health sciences library to assess patrons' perceptions of the library's digital and physical environments in relation to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Methods: Developed by the library's DEI Team and preceded by a pilot assessment, the survey posed 17 Likert Scale questions and 2 free-text response questions on the topics of belonging, inclusivity, equitability, emotional and physical safety, and commitment to DEI. The survey was created in Qualtrics, pilot tested, and launched in February 2020 for approximately 12 weeks. Results: Objective question responses were received from 101 individuals, with 24 open-ended responses. The quantitative findings showed largely positive perceptions of the DEI climate. Questions about feeling welcome and feeling physically safe were among those with the highest responses. The three lower-scoring questions indicate areas for improvement, including services for people whose native language is not English, for individuals with disabilities, and for families. The qualitative findings indicate the library's strengths include its exhibitions, welcoming atmosphere, and LGBTQ+ inclusivity initiatives. In contrast, opportunities for enhancement encompass non-English language resources, website updates, and accessibility to some physical spaces. Conclusion: The DEI Team is using the online survey data to enhance library services, staffing, programming, policies, and spaces. These improvements include looking into providing a space for patrons with families, expanding services for individuals whose first language is not English, assessing library accessibility for people with physical disabilities, and enhancing the physical space with quiet areas, improved lighting, and meditation spaces. Employee DEI training is ongoing, using results from a training needs survey to identify knowledge gaps. The library has a history of successful partnerships with campus entities, which will help the DEI Team to move forward with their work.

User Experience (UX) Librarianship and Health Sciences Libraries (HSLs).

This article provides the results of an investigation into how health sciences librarians with user experience (UX) duties describe their roles and initiatives. Through an online survey, 40 respondents provided details on institutional demographics, work plans, participant recruitment, and data collection. Four interviews were also conducted. This investigation provides perspectives on UX within the health sciences library (HSL) environment including barriers and successes. It is hoped that the results of this article will influence research into timely and efficient UX initiatives within HSLs and provide librarians, staff, and administrators the information they need to support decision making.

Developing a Culture of Inclusivity through a Library Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team. Part 2: Team Activities.

The Health Science Center Libraries at the University of Florida formalized, focused, and expanded their diversity, equity, and inclusion-related activities by creating a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team. This paper describes the activities of the Team from 2018 to 2020, including efforts related to assessment, programming, promotion, and space. Future plans are also discussed. The Team activities described here can serve as models for other health science libraries with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Developing a Culture of Inclusivity through a Library Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team. Part 1: Team Formation.

Health science libraries are ideally suited for proactive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, as their work and spaces transcend disciplinary boundaries. In 2018, a DEI Team was created by the Health Science Center Libraries at the University of Florida, with the purpose of improving the library's climate for its diverse patrons and employees. This article provides an overview of the Team's formation and development, including its charge, culture, structure, teamwork, leadership, and reporting processes. Recommendations are offered for other libraries seeking to establish similar committees.

Using a Reflexive Process to Investigate Organizational Change: The Use of the Research Spider Matrix.

Academic health sciences libraries increasingly are urged to develop research support services for faculty and students. However, moving to a research-centric culture is not easy. It requires assessment of existing competencies (defined as knowledge, experience, and skills) to identify capacity and gaps and to inform individualized and unit-level professional development activities. This case study examines the self-assessment process undertaken by librarians at a large urban academic health sciences library as they began to build a new research support services unit.