Location
CTICC – ROOM 1
Session Number
3A3
Keywords
Embedded library, embedded librarianship, LibGuides, case study
Description
This case study covers a number of areas in which a 90 year old medical library has been able to redefine purpose and services, and considers both the positive as well as the negative aspects of the embedded relationship.
According to the Shumaker assessment of readiness for embeddedness, the Witwatersrand Health Sciences Library (WHSL) and the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand were more than ready to embrace a partnership by 2010. A survey indicated that a high proportion (93.5%) of academic staff felt that evidence-based information literacy (IL) should be included in the formal medical undergraduate curriculum. Tensions between faculty and librarians with regard to in-curriculum teaching of IL skills, as discussed in the literature, were not evident in this study. A majority of respondents (69.4%) indicated that librarians, in conjunction with both medical practitioners as well as pre-clinical scientists, should be involved in co-teaching IL skills to students in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Embedding into formal teaching has led directly to a change in status and job description for the librarian, from a full support service position to a 50% academic and 50% support service role, with dual reporting structures.
Simultaneously, successful embedding of e-resources occurred with the acquisition of cloud based software that enables the creation of content, sharing of knowledge and measurement of results. Marketing is accomplished by wordplay. Further collaborations include physical refurbishment of several sections, and a “serendipity of service” demonstrates that these areas have been used in ways that were never envisioned prior to restructuring. Additionally, professional librarians at WHSL actively contribute to Faculty’s research output by collaborating with systematic review teams for evidence-based practice in structured searching of the literature. Librarians are co-authors of these systematic reviews in the professional literature of the different subject disciplines.
Included in
THE EMBEDDED LIBRARY: A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN OR IN HELL?
CTICC – ROOM 1
This case study covers a number of areas in which a 90 year old medical library has been able to redefine purpose and services, and considers both the positive as well as the negative aspects of the embedded relationship.
According to the Shumaker assessment of readiness for embeddedness, the Witwatersrand Health Sciences Library (WHSL) and the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand were more than ready to embrace a partnership by 2010. A survey indicated that a high proportion (93.5%) of academic staff felt that evidence-based information literacy (IL) should be included in the formal medical undergraduate curriculum. Tensions between faculty and librarians with regard to in-curriculum teaching of IL skills, as discussed in the literature, were not evident in this study. A majority of respondents (69.4%) indicated that librarians, in conjunction with both medical practitioners as well as pre-clinical scientists, should be involved in co-teaching IL skills to students in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Embedding into formal teaching has led directly to a change in status and job description for the librarian, from a full support service position to a 50% academic and 50% support service role, with dual reporting structures.
Simultaneously, successful embedding of e-resources occurred with the acquisition of cloud based software that enables the creation of content, sharing of knowledge and measurement of results. Marketing is accomplished by wordplay. Further collaborations include physical refurbishment of several sections, and a “serendipity of service” demonstrates that these areas have been used in ways that were never envisioned prior to restructuring. Additionally, professional librarians at WHSL actively contribute to Faculty’s research output by collaborating with systematic review teams for evidence-based practice in structured searching of the literature. Librarians are co-authors of these systematic reviews in the professional literature of the different subject disciplines.