Medical Reference Services Quarterly最新文献

This column explores gender trends over the past decade in medical and health sciences libraries through data reported from the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) and Association of Research Libraries' (ARL) salary surveys of their member institutions. Trends are related to gender composition and percentage of men in libraries are examined. Specifically, the column probes whether the gender composition in academic medical libraries has varied, whether the percentage of men in reporting libraries is increasing, and whether men are overrepresented in administrative positions. Findings and their implications for the medical and health sciences librarianship profession are presented.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Dataset Catalog provides a single catalog where researchers can search multiple open data repositories simultaneously. The catalog includes datasets related to biology, medicine, health, and life sciences. Users can find descriptions of datasets, access links, and licensing information. While still in beta form, the website is user-friendly, and NLM is currently evaluating user feedback to retool and refine the product for its full launch.

While AI has been used in health sciences libraries for decades, the emergence of publicly available large language models (LLMs) has the potential to change how researchers conduct literature searches for systematic reviews. Using a recently published systematic review as a model, we compared the review's published Medline OVID search strategy with 3 strategies that ChatGPT created when prompted with the review's objective. Then we ran the published review and each LLM search strategy through Medline to compare the results with the articles identified by the review's authors to be important.

As part of the All of Us Data Training and Engagement for Academic Libraries Program, a toolkit was created to provide resources for academic librarians to increase library visibility and research capacity. The toolkit, created from program documents, is intended to simplify library worker's task of bringing the All of Us Research Program to academic institutions to enhance the academic library's research capacity for biomedical and public health data and is intended for wide use. The impact of the toolkit was seen during the 2024 Medical Library Association Annual Conference.

The Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Policy Portal is the publicly available interface for the World Health Organization's up to date global health data in the areas of cervical cancer, family planning, infertility, sexual health, sexually transmitted infections, and violence against women. This overview details how users can visualize sexual and reproductive health and rights data on charts and maps and explore related resources including the Global Abortion Policies Database.

Primary care providers and medical students often receive limited dermatologic education, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment for patients with cutaneous conditions. Additionally, dermatology education has historically focused on light skin, neglecting skin of color, which exacerbates diagnostic delays and treatment disparities. The University of Utah's Eccles Health Sciences Library and Department of Dermatology, along with Oregon Health & Science University, developed Utah Dermatology Education Resources & Modules (UtahDERM) to address these educational gaps. UtahDERM features a custom-built slide-viewer platform with clinical dermatology images, diagnoses, clinical characteristics, and textbook references, along with a quick reference tool for core dermatology diagnoses.

As a small library at a newly opened regional campus, the team at the Tampa Bay Regional Campus Library sought to build community and an inclusive culture. This desire, along with the aims to increase patron engagement, highlight library offerings, and provide an outlet for stress relief and mindfulness, led to the development of a monthly book display with physical, virtual, and social media components. Over time, the book display developed from a personal project to a larger effort involving most members of the library team. This project helped increase engagement and raise the library's profile on campus.

Covidence is a tool that facilitates systematic review screening. Librarians obtained Covidence review data from a large research institution to identify the effect that the total number of citations, team members, and librarian collaboration has on the possibility of completion and time needed for screening. The fewer the citations and the fewer the citations per collaborator, the more likely the team is to complete title and abstract and full text screening, and the faster they will finish the screening process. This relationship was stronger for the number of citations per collaborator than the number of citations alone.

Access to precise and reliable scientific evidence is one of the fundamental principles of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) in clinical decision-making processes. Medical librarians, by employing advanced search and information retrieval techniques, play a pivotal role in accessing such evidence. This observational study compared the search and evidence retrieval behaviors of two groups: Medical librarians and medical specialists familiar with EBM and systematic reviews. The study population consisted of 40 participants (20 medical librarians and 20 medical specialists), whose performance in retrieving the best available evidence from credible sources was evaluated using two distinct clinical scenarios. A researcher-developed checklist was created in accordance with the Guidelines for Evaluating Evidence-Based Search Strategies and was utilized to assess the search performance of participants. The findings revealed that medical librarians employed structured search strategies and were more successful in retrieving accurate evidence. They consistently utilized structured search strategies, field-specific search tools, and narrowing techniques in all cases. In contrast, medical specialists spent less time on searches and exhibited a greater tendency to use natural language terms in their search queries. medical specialists did not systematically employ controlled vocabulary or place keywords in specific fields, such as titles, keywords, or abstracts. In conclusion, librarians' expertise in accessing the best available evidence underscores their crucial role in supporting medical specialists in obtaining and implementing evidence, thereby improving the quality and reliability of evidence-based practices in healthcare settings.

Job postings for medical and health sciences librarians provide valuable data for those seeking a better understanding of the evolving field of librarianship. Our data indicate a decrease in the number of postings from 2022 to 2024, a modest increase in the percentage of postings advertising remote/hybrid work, an increase in the average minimum posted salary, and a majority of postings focused on one or more public service components of library services. Utilizing this data provides a more complete picture of a profession in transition.