Facing the future: how many faces and how many futures for the health information professional?

1. Facing theFuture: How Many
Facesand How Many Futures
for theHealth Information
Professional?
Andrew Booth, Reader in Evidence Based Information
Practice, ScHARR, University of Sheffield

2. Disclaimer:
• “Information
scientists may be
equipped to scan
the horizon, but
they possess
silicon chips, not
crystal balls”
BOOTH, A. and WALTON, G., 2000. Some concluding trends and themes. IN:
Booth, A. and Walton, G. (eds.). Managing knowledge in health services.
London : Library Association Publishing, pp. 289-295

3. Looking Back…..Looking Forward
• Q: What would you
consider to be the
Unique Selling Point
of the “Academic
Health Sciences
Librarian” i.e. the
Bottom line justifying
your existence?

4. In OtherWords:In OtherWords:
““What has the Academic HealthWhat has the Academic Health
Science Librarian EverDone ForScience Librarian EverDone For
Us?”Us?”

5. And Your ResponseIs?
Many Faces,
Many Futures!

6. Arewein danger………
• Of having so
many hats that
none of them
quite fits?

7. Researchers’ Useof
Academic Librariesand their
Services
• Significant differences of perceptions and views
between researchers and librarians
• Communication channels need to be improved.
How?
• Research community uses social networking to
exchange and share research-based information.
• Role of libraries presently ill-defined.
• Researchers don’t readily recognize content on
theirdesktop is provided through library.
Researchers’ Use of Academic Libraries and theirServices A
report commissioned by the Research Information
Network and the Consortium of Research Libraries

8. Not having information skillstraining
can be…..
• “g o o d be cause yo u have to
le arn the hard way. Yo u
te nd to have be tte r skills if
yo u have had to find yo ur
o wn way aro und - but it
wo uld've be e n nice to have
be e n e ase d into it, in a bit
m o re structure d way as we ll”
Goodall, D. L. and P. Brophy (1997). A
comparable experience? library support
for franchised courses in higher education.
British Library Research and Innovation
Report; 33. Preston, CERLIM, University
of Central Lancashire.

9. Research habits
Users "power-browse" or skim material, using
"horizontal" (shallow) research. Most spend only
a few minutes looking at academic journal
articles and few return to them. "It almost seems
that they go online to avoid reading in the
traditional sense,”
Not just "screenagers". “Undergraduates to
professors….exhibit a strong tendency towards
shallow, horizontal, flicking behaviour in digital
libraries. Factors specific to the individual,
personality and background are much more
significant than generation."
INFORMATION BEHAVIOUROF THE
RESEARCHEROF THE FUTURE

10. Researchers ILtraining
should focus on IMnot IR– 1
(Booth, 2007)
• Inappropriate to meet IL needs of researchers
using instruction methods based on
undergraduates;
• Researchers do not follow neat stepwise
progression fromstate of unknowing
(“information need”) to knowing that underpins
most IL instruction.
• Information management, ratherthan
information retrieval, should be focus of IL
instruction for researchers.

11. Researchers ILtraining
should focus on IMnot IR– 2
(Booth, 2007)
• Information retrieval should focus on “area
scanning”, footnote chasing and known author
searching rather than keyword searching
• IL training should be “socialised” through formal
collaboration …..and integration with existing
research programmes or research groups.
• Training should focus on practically based
outcomes e.g. production of log book or portfolio.
• Training should optimally be tailored to individual
and delivered at time of need.

12. RIP- Library asPlace
• “the library has changed from being the
place for researchers to visit for help with
information searching and for picking up
the actual information, to being the “living
room” for undergraduate students, making
the researchers who visit the library feel
outnumbered, and sometimes
unwelcome.”
Haglund and Olsson (2008)

13. Rethinking theLibrary
Web Site
• “Libraries spend huge amounts of time and
money to work on the structure and content of the
library Web page, while few researchers use it as
a starting point for information searching. Many
researchers….used the Web of theirown
department as a starting point, and this is where
the library should establish a presence with direct
links targeted to that particular group”.
Haglund and Olsson (2008).

14. Future Pro o fing the Pro fessio n (2004)
• Developments within healthcare library
and information services relevant to
profession more generally.
• Certainly true within CPD as health sector
‘has supported work-based learning as
one of several ways to improve skills and
provide opportunities for lifelong-learning
for its workforce’[i].
[i] Chartered Institute of Library and
Information Professionals. FutureProofingthe
Profession: thereport of theHealthExecutive
AdvisoryGroup. CILIP, 2004.

15. In the red corner……
………………blue corner
• The Case for
Specialist Skills
• The Case forGeneric
Skills

16. Generalist vsSpecialist
(Petrinic & Urquhart, 2007)
Generic skillsGeneric skills
• Literature searching
(reference work)
• Outreach work
• Teaching and training
• Numeracy-related skills,
• Influencing and
persuading skills to work
across organizational and
departmental boundaries
• Experience of financial
management
Specialist roles
• Knowledge of anatomy
and physiology,
• Origin and meanings of
medical terms,
• Project management
• Literature searching
• Knowledge of evidence-
based practice,
• Research methods
(quantitative and
qualitative) and
epidemiology.

17. Generic versus
Specialist
• Contextual knowledge [Specialist]
• Managerial skills [Generic]
• Professional skills [Generic]
• Learning and teaching [Generic]
• Interpersonal [Generic]
• & NHS Context [Specialist]
• Technical [Generic]
= COMPLIANT (Lacey & Booth, 2003)

18. Revisiting
COMPLIANT
• Do Technical skills
receive unmerited
emphasis?
• Very volatile training half-
life/ time-limited
• User can construct, via
Google, site-specific
search engines (swikis),
personalised search
page, gadgets e.g. To do
list, text translator,
person-specific RSS
news feeds.
• Very few technical skills
remain exclusive domain
of librarian.
• Alternative to Technical?
• Knowledge of social
networking tools e.g. blogs,
wikis and podcasts would
be useful.
• Little technical knowledge
required - comprehensive
knowledge of possible
uses.
• Librarian probably inhabits
Facebook community, uses
Citeulike to share
references and
occasionally visit YouTube
and MySpace.

19. But what will bethenext
Facebook/YouTube?
COMPLIANTshould read COMPLIANCE
(T for Technical replaced with CEof
Continuing Education!)
Otherwise danger we will settle for
alternative - COMPLACENCE!

20. FOLIO Programme
• Two year series [12 courses]; One year
extension of 6 courses; 2 x 1 year
extensions of 3 courses
• 6-8 weeks delivered by email and basic
Web technologies
• 2-3 hours per week
• Submission of Portfolio – Distinction,
Honours, Standard, Fail
• Spawned FOLIOZ, FOLIAGE and Precept-

21. FOLIO Breakout
Course
‘Breaking out of the Box: Extending the health
LIS professional role – skills and strategies”

22. E-LearningE-Learning
REF and
Impact
Factors
Information
Literacy
Systematic
Reviews
Hybrid
Services
Managing
within Budget
Cuts
Research
Training

23. Face(s) Lift(s) - 1
• From “Library As Place” to “Information
Specialist in Context”
• Information Commons
• Facilitating e-learning (not just for Distance Learners)
• From Teacher to Tutor
• Problem Based Learning
• Interactive Learning
• Learning in Context
• From Impact Factor to Maximising Impact
• Article Citations & h indexes
• Identifying “Impact Stories”
• From Information Management to Knowledge
Translation

24. Face(s) Lift(s) - 2
• From Scattering to Tailoring and Targeting
• Institutional Repositories
• Open Access Journals (Hosting?)
• From Expert Searcher to Search Consultant
• From “Handmaiden” to “Genuine Partner” in
Research
• Evidence Syntheses
• Collaborative Tool Provider
• Wikis, Blogs, Podcasts
• Intellectual Property e.g. Reusable Learning Objects

25. AGONY AUNT
SELLER
PROFESSOR COACH
ENTERTAINER
SPACE: Training Styles
Inventory
SELLER - I try to convince my audience
with my message
PROFESSOR – I try to instruct my
audience with my message
AGONY AUNT – I try to help my
audience with their problems
COACH – I try to encourage my
audience from the sidelines
ENTERTAINER – I try to get my
audience to have fun
Message
Audience
Presenter

26. Learning in Context
Coomarasamy & Khan BMJ 2004;329: 1017-9.

28. TheFutureWill be
“Nip and Tuck”!
• Before we get our
Facelift…….
• ….We will
probably receive a
“Tummy Tuck”….
• OR even………
Amputation  !

29. We are Going to Be Very
Stretched!
The Future is Here!: It just Isn’t
Evenly Distributed Yet!

30. Facing theFuture
The Me1st
and Me2
Generation
• i-Pod
• i-Google
• i-Phone
• i-Pad
• i-Will-Survive!

31. Our Future is What We Make It!Our Future is What We Make It!

32. References- 1
• Booth A (2007) Researchers require tailored information
literacy training focusing on information management,
not simply information retrieval. Report for Research
Information Network Consultative Group on Librarianship
and Information Science.
http://www.rin.ac.uk/training-research-info-spec
• CIBER. Info rm atio n be havio ur o f the re se arche r o f the
future – (A British Library/JISC Study)
http://www. bl.uk/news/pdf/googlegen.pdf
• Lacey, T., & Booth, A. (2003). Education, training and
development forNHS librarians: supporting e-learning.
A review commissioned by the National electronic
Library forHealth Librarian Development Programme.
Sheffield: University of Sheffield, ScHARR (School of
Health and Related Research

33. References- 2
• Boulos MN, Maramba I, Wheeler S. Wikis, blogs and
podcasts: a new generation of Web-based tools for
virtual collaborative clinical practice and education. BMC
Me d Educ. 2006 Aug 15;6:41.
• Kamel Boulos MN, Wheeler S (2007). The emerging
Web 2.0 social software: an enabling suite of sociable
technologies in health and health care education. He alth
Info Libr J. 24(1):2-23.
• Partridge H & Hallam G (2006) Educating the Millennial
Generation for evidence based information practice
Library Hi Te ch 24 (3): 400-419.
• Petrinic T, Urquhart C (2007) The education and training
needs of health librarians—the generalist versus
specialist dilemma. He alth Info rm atio n and Librarie s
Jo urnal24 (3), 167–176.

34. References- 3
• Haglund L and Olsson P (2008). The Impact on
University Libraries of Changes in Information
Behavior Among Academic Researchers: A Multiple
Case Study. Jo urnalo f Acade m ic Librarianship 34 (1),
52-59
• Research Information Network (2008). Researchers’
Use of Academic Libraries and theirServices A report
commissioned by the Research Information Network
and the Consortium of Research Libraries
http://www.rin.ac.uk/researchers-use-libraries
• Tattersall A (2008) 'Blogging in an Academic Health
Library Setting. Librarie s fo r Nursing Bulle tin; June
2008.