Two Decades of Futility: The Decline of Medical/Health Science Librarian Salaries.

While medical and health science librarians' median salaries have increased over the last forty years; however, inflation-adjusted salaries are lower than in 2008. Utilizing data from the Medical Library Association's salary surveys from 1983 to 2023, this column explores median salary changes over time by discussing the median salary's performance against inflation and how the 2008 recession and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic impacted salaries. From 2017 to 2023, the median salary increased by 18%, but after adjusting for inflation, the median salary decreased by almost 6%. The findings have serious implications for recruitment and retention in medical and health sciences librarianship.

Integrating Medical Librarians in Evidence-Based Medical Practice in Africa: A Survey of Current Practices and Challenges.

Librarians' involvement in Evidence-Based Medical Practice (EBMP) has been widely reported from the Global North. The cross-sectional study designed a survey to investigate how African medical librarians integrate into EBMP. The respondents comprised medical librarians from 12 African countries. Findings revealed that African medical librarians are mostly involved in EBMP activities related to resource use, management, and evidence dissemination. The leading EBMP tools reportedly used or promoted by the librarians include UpToDate and Cochrane Library, while the leading challenges encountered in offering support for EBMP are related to skill deficiency, poor funding, and poor internet connectivity.

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.

MLA Colleague Connection: a transition to a virtual mentoring program.

Background: Since 2003, the MLA Membership Committee has facilitated an in-person mentoring program called Colleague Connection at the annual meeting. The program hinged on meeting attendance, so members who could not attend were excluded. The 2020 virtual meeting created an opportunity to rethink the Colleague Connection experience. Three members of the Membership Committee developed an expanded and virtual version of the mentoring program. Case Presentation: Colleague Connection was promoted via the MLA '20 vConference Welcome Event, MLAConnect, and email lists. The 134 participants were matched based on same-chapter preference, library type, practice area interest, and years of experience. Mentees chose mentor-mentee or peer pairs, resulting in 4 peer matchings and 65 mentor-mentee matchings. Pairs were encouraged to meet monthly, and conversation prompts were provided. A Wrap-Up Event was held for participants to talk about their experiences and network. A survey evaluated the program and sought suggestions for improvement. Conclusion: The online format boosted participation, and the format change was well received. In the future, a formal orientation meeting and communication plan can ensure pairs make their initial connections and provide clarity about program details, expectations, timelines, and contact information. The type of pairings and size of the program are important considerations for the feasibility and sustainability of a virtual mentoring program.

Health sciences and medical librarians conducting research and their experiences asking for co-authorship.

Objective: Health sciences librarians frequently engage in scholarly publication, both with other librarians undertaking intradisciplinary scholarship, and increasingly as members of research teams centered in other disciplines. We sought to assess the emotional and institutional context of authorship among health sciences librarians, including emotions experienced during authorship negotiation, the frequency with which authorship is denied, and the correlation of perceived support from supervisors and the research community with the number of publications produced. Methods: 342 medical and health sciences librarians took an online survey of 47 questions regarding emotions experienced when asking for authorship, denial of authorship, if they have been given authorship without asking, and the extent to which they felt supported to conduct research in their current job. Results: Authorship negotiation creates varied and complex emotions among librarians. The emotions reported differed when negotiating authorship with librarian colleagues and when negotiating authorship with professionals in another field. Negative emotions were reported when asking either type of colleague for authorship. Respondents reported feeling mostly supported and encouraged by their supervisors, research communities, and workplaces. Nearly one quarter (24.4%) of respondents reported being denied authorship by colleagues outside of their departments. Perceived research appreciation and support by the research community is correlated with the total number of articles or publications produced by librarians. Conclusion: Authorship negotiation among health sciences librarians involves complex and frequently negative emotions. Denial of authorship is frequently reported. Institutional and professional support appear to be critical to publication among health sciences librarians.

Trends in Adoption of Twitter by Health Sciences Librarians.

There is substantial research on librarians' engagement with various social media platforms as part of their professional obligations. We were interested in examining librarians' use of Twitter outside of the context of a job-related, but still professional, context. To find out more, we invited health sciences librarians via Twitter to discuss the impact that the platform has had on their professional lives, offering this column as an opportunity to share their experiences. The case reports support the premise that Twitter can be an impactful communications tool and can benefit librarians in meaningful ways, both professionally and personally.

A pilot study of the effects of faculty status for medical librarians in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: Within many institutions, there are debates over whether medical librarians should be classified as faculty or professional staff, a distinction that may have considerable effect on the perception of librarians within their local institutions. This study is a pilot exploration of how faculty status may affect the professional experiences of academic medical librarians within their local institutions. METHODS: Surveys were sent to 209 medical librarians listed as having some instructional function at Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accredited medical institutions in the United States. Survey responses were captured using Qualtrics survey tool and analyzed for frequencies and associations using SPSS version 27. RESULTS: Sixty-four medical librarians at academic medical institutions completed the survey developed for this study. Of the respondents, 60.9% indicated that librarians at their institution have faculty status, while 71.9% believe that librarians at their institution should have faculty status. Ninety percent of librarians with faculty status reported that they are expected to generate scholarly materials, compared to 28% of those without faculty status. CONCLUSIONS: Many medical libraries offer faculty status to librarians. While many medical librarians are active in instruction, research, and other activities normally associated with faculty status, it is not clear if faculty status impacts how librarians are perceived by other health care workers within their institutions.

¡Presente!: Affirming Latinx voices within health sciences library scholarship.

Increasing diverse author representation within medical librarianship scholarship among BIPOC information professionals is an important endeavor that requires closer examination. This commentary looks to examine the ways in which the profession can support Latinx librarians and library workers in fully participating within the scholarly pipeline by exploring our unique and authentic voices, structural barriers, hesitation and fears, Whiteness in the profession and knowledge production, bias in the peer review process, lack of resources and support, and finally, a call to action.

Providing Information to Support COVID-19 Pandemic Response: Academic Medical Librarians' Roles in Creating an Intelligence Report.

In March 2020, the Dean of the George Washington (GW) University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) and the GW COVID-19 Incident Management Team asked the Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Public Health to initiate a daily report that surveyed COVID-19 literature/resources. This COVID-19 Intelligence Report would serve as a concise, authoritative source of COVID-19 information for clinicians, the Incident Management Team, and operational leaders. The Senior Associate Dean established an Intelligence Gathering Team comprised of clinicians and librarians. Himmelfarb librarians facilitated the collection, distribution, and archiving of COVID-19 resources and Intelligence Reports.

A Novel Partnership Between Physicians and Medical Librarians During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

An ongoing collaboration between physicians and librarians provided critical information during the COVID-19 pandemic. A development team, which consisted of the hospital and medical school disaster preparedness medical director, the medical library director, professional librarians, and the Departments of IT and Marketing in a multi-state healthcare system worked together to develop a shared website to distribute and curate timely resources during COVID-19. The initial impacts of this collaboration and the website show the benefits of this novel partnership.

An Investigation of the Backgrounds of Health Sciences Librarians.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the educational and professional backgrounds of health sciences librarians currently working in the U.S. and Canada. A survey consisting of 15 questions was created using the software program Qualtrics. 389 total surveys were received. Respondents reported having a wide variety of educational and professional backgrounds. Only about 22% of respondents reported having health sciences work experience prior to entering the field. Recruitment into the field of health sciences librarianship should take a broad approach, and professional development efforts should appeal to a wide array of experience levels.

Clinical Medical Librarian Licensure: Pros versus Cons.

In hospitals and clinics, anyone who "touches" a patient has a license authorizing them to do so-from the phlebotomist to the cardiologist, from the genetic counselor to the social worker, and so on, except for the clinical medical librarian. This column discusses the intent versus the realities of occupational licensure for clinical medical librarians and provides recommendations for next steps.

Librarians Promoting Changes in the Health Care Delivery System through Systematic Assessment.

Patient engagement in health care decisions largely depends on a patient's health literacy and the health literacy attributes of the health care organization. Librarians have an established role in connecting patients with health information in the context of their care. However, librarians can play a larger role in helping to make changes in their organization's health literacy attributes. This article discusses one medical library's process of leading systematic assessment of their organization's health literacy attributes. Included in this discussion is the institutional support, timeline, assessment tool, the results for five areas of health literacy, marketing and the event-planning process to disseminate results. The systematic assessment process described employs the Health Literacy Environment of Hospitals and Health Centers document, which provides assessment tools for Print Communication, Oral Communication, Navigation, Technology, and Policies and Protocols.

Teaching Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine in the US and Canada.

There is no comprehensive review of the extent to which evidence-based veterinary medicine (EBVM) is taught in AVMA-accredited colleges of veterinary medicine in the US and Canada. We surveyed teaching faculty and librarians at these institutions to determine what EBVM skills are currently included in curricula, how they are taught, and to what extent librarians are involved in this process. Librarians appear to be an underused resource, as 59% of respondents did not use librarians/library resources in teaching EBVM. We discovered that there is no standard teaching methodology nor are there common learning activities for EBVM among our survey respondents, who represent 22 institutions. Respondents reported major barriers to inclusion such as a perceived shortage of time in an already-crowded course of study and a lack of high-quality evidence and point-of-care tools. Suggestions for overcoming these barriers include collaborating with librarians and using new EBVM online teaching resources.

Book discussion course: timely topics for medical students.

Several library faculty members at the Louisiana State University Health Shreveport Health Sciences Library offered a book discussion course as an elective for first-year medical students. This article provides details on how the librarians developed, taught, and evaluated this elective. The librarians took a team-teaching approach, required the students to read two books, and outlined the criteria for participation. At the end of the course, the students completed an evaluation, commenting on positive and negative aspects of the course. The elective proved to be successful, and the librarians look forward to offering the course again in the spring of 2014.

Identifying the roles of medical librarians in COVID-19 crisis in Iran.

BACKGROUND: The best mechanisms for medical librarians to be more involved in health, especially during crisis condition, and to expand their roles are using experiences of other individuals and performing new activities. This study aimed to identify the roles of medical librarians in the COVID-19 crisis in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research was done by a qualitative content analysis method. Research participants in the first phase included whole scientific papers (19 documents) which had been published by medical librarians related to the COVID-19 issue and in the second phase 10 medical librarians involved in the COVID-19 who were interviewed and continued until data saturation. Data were collected through each interview, and data analysis was performed using content analysis method. Then, obtained information of the first and second phases was merged together, and codes, subcategories as well as main categories were formed. RESULTS: According to the results, 7 main categories and 24 subcategories regarding the roles of librarians in COVID-19 crisis were identified. The main categories include hygiene services promotion, development of health information-seeking skills, health research services, interaction-level development, evidence-based policy development, information dissemination services promotion, and management services development. Furthermore, regarding barriers to the role of medical librarians in the COVID-19 crisis in Iran, four subcategories were identified that are medical librarian-related barriers, organization-related barriers, profession-related barriers, and context of society (country conditions)-related barriers. CONCLUSION: Medical librarians relatively have been able to provide effective health information services to managers, health-care specialists, and the general public in a variety of health fields.

Invaluable Resources.

As an oncology nurse and lifelong beneficiary of libraries and librarians, I know that libraries provide a solid foundation to frame our points of view, practice strategies, and policies. Even in this age of "just Google that," any sturdy, scholarly response is rooted in the literature, relying on libraries or, in this day and age, information resources. But, let's face it, the most robust access to any library system is not possible without the help of an expert navigator: a librarian who knows how to mine information and package it for our own needs.

Relationship Between Psychological Empowerment and Productivity of Medical Librarians.

INTRODUCTION: Psychological empowerment is really important and has remarkable effect on different organizational variables such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, productivity, etc. So the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between psychological empowerment and productivity of Librarians in Isfahan Medical University. METHODS: This was correlational research. Data were collected through two questionnaires. Psychological empowerment questionnaire and the manpower productivity questionnaire of Gold. Smith Hersey which their content validity was confirmed by experts and their reliability was obtained by using Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, 0.89 and 0.9 respectively. Due to limited statistical population, did not used sampling and review was taken via census. So 76 number of librarians were evaluated. Information were reported on both descriptive and inferential statistics (correlation coefficient tests Pearson, Spearman, T-test, ANOVA), and analyzed by using the SPSS19 software. FINDINGS: In our study, the trust between partners and efficacy with productivity had the highest correlation. Also there was a direct relationship between psychological empowerment and the productivity of labor (r =0.204). In other words, with rising of mean score of psychological empowerment, the mean score of efficiency increase too. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that if development programs of librarian's psychological empowerment increase in order to their productivity, librarians carry out their duties with better sense. Also with using the capabilities of librarians, the development of creativity with happen and organizational productivity will increase.

Information Resources for Hospital Administrator Healthcare Management Decision-Making.

The purpose of this study was to identify information used by hospital administrators for healthcare management decision-making and what barriers hinder their practice of evidence-based management (EBMgt). A cross-sectional and non-experimental design was utilized. One hundred eight questionnaires were distributed to potential participants. Data analyses were performed using Spearman's correlation. The findings showed that the main resources hospital administrators used for decision-making was organizational data and personal experience. Lack of time was the top barrier to hospital administrators' practice of EBMgt. There was a significant correlation between lack of information searching skills and unfamiliarity with EBMgt (p<0.01) among hospital administrators.