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Evidence-based librarianship: a toolkit for public libraries

Learn about Evidence-Based Librarianship (EBL) and how it can improve decision-making and enhance library practices. This toolkit offers practical steps to formulate questions, find and appraise evidence, and apply results effectively.

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Evidence-based librarianship: a toolkit for public libraries

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  1. Evidence-based librarianship:a toolkit for public libraries Virginia Wilson Coordinator Saskatchewan Health Information Resources Partnership Stephanie Hall Chief Librarian Powell River Public Library May 26, 2007

  2. Ignoring the research • A recent review of the evidence found that “research findings are under-utilized” in librarianship (Genonie, Haddow and Rice 57) • Does this result in high risk decision making? (49)

  3. Could the tendency to ignore research evidence be the dirty little secret of an information-obsessed profession?

  4. Evidence-based librarianship "Evidence-based librarianship (EBL) is a means to impove the profession of librarianship by asking questions as well as finding, critically appraising and incorporating research evidence from library science (and other disciplines) into daily practice..." (Crumley and Koufogiannakis, 2002)

  5. Evidence-based medicine • Virginia - I think you had an example of the success of the evidence-based movement in medicine?

  6. Why use EBL? Libraries can use the research literature to: • Inspire • Inform • Improve (Pollard and Court v)

  7. Evidence can help answer questions like: * How have we done? * How are we doing now? * How can we do better? * Where are we going? * How do we get there? * How are we making a difference? * How do we get the resources? * And sometimes, if we try very hard with assessment techniques--How has what we do changed your life? (verbatim from Davies, 130)

  8. The EBL process • Step 1: Formulate a Question • Step 2: Find the Evidence • Step 3: Appraise the Evidence • Step 4: Apply the Evidence • Step 5: Evaluate the Results

  9. 1. Formulate a question • Taking the time to formulate a question that is precise, answerable, and that includes all the necessary information helps focus your thinking before proceeding to search for evidence. • Two common mnemonics for question formulation are PICO and SPICE

  10. 1. Formulate a question: PICO

  11. 2. Find the evidence • One of the barriers to the practice of EBL is the lack of a strong evidence base in our field. So, when searching for evidence: • Consider both quantitative and qualitative research • Think outside the LIS box

  12. Open Access Resources LISTA: http://www.libraryresearch.com ERIC: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ Directory of Open Access Journals http://www.doaj.org/ Evidence Based Library and Information Practice http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP License required LISA Library literature (Wilson) ISTA (formerly ISA) 2. Find the evidence: LIS sources

  13. 2. Find the evidence: domains of inquiry Koufogiannakis, Slater and Crumley suggest that every LIS practice question falls within one or more of the following domains: • collections • education • management • professional issues • information access and retrieval • reference/enquires (2004, page?)

  14. 3. Appraise the evidence Critical appraisal is the process of assessing and interpreting evidence by systematically considering its • relevance • validity • reliability

  15. 3. Appraise the evidencetools and checklists • Lindsay Glynn's Critical Appraisal Checklist • CriSTAL checklist …and several more available at: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/library/gosford/ebl/toolkit/appraise.html

  16. 3. Appraise the evidencetimesavers • EBL levels of evidence (Eldredge) • Systematic Reviews - few and far between • The Campbell Collaboration • EPPI • Evidence summaries

  17. 4. Apply the evidence • Applicability: "whether a study is generalizable or relevant to your situation" (Koufogainnakis and Crumley, "Applying Evidence to your Everyday Practice." in Booth and Brice, 2004 book. 120) • The evidence will usually be one of three things: 1. directly applicable 2. needs to be locally validated (i.e. replicate the study at the local level) 3. improves your understanding of the situation

  18. 4. Apply the evidence • Variables to consider when determining applicability: • User group • Time lines • Cost • Politics • Severity (Koufogiannakis and Crumley, 121-123)

  19. 5. Evaluate the results:Are we done yet? Not quite! It’s important to evaluate the success of your use of the evidence on two levels: • Practitioner - were all the steps of EBL followed successfully? • Practice implications - was the decision you made after consulting the research a good one?

  20. Disseminating your results • Crumley and Koufogiannakis state that "perhaps the largest obstacle in finding library research is that librarians generally do not publish their research" (2002, 69). • Consider sharing the results of your EBL research through publication or less formal means. The work you’ve completed could be quite valuable to your colleagues.

  21. Questions

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