Evaluación de la gestión de calidad en la red de bibliotecas médicas de Villa Clara / Evaluation of quality management in Villa Clara medical library network

La calidad es una exigencia vigente a nivel mundial en el área de la educación, a su vez constituye un indicador fundamental para las instituciones educativas, sujetas a proporcionar un servicio de excelencia. Por ello resulta necesario evaluar la gestión de calidad en las bibliotecas médicas de Villa Clara, de manera tal que se contribuya al mejoramiento de su funcionamiento y lograr un mayor nivel de satisfacción de las necesidades informativas de sus usuarios. Se tomaron como referentes teóricos el modelo de evaluación de bibliotecas universitarias cubanas, y los documentos normativos y teórico-metodológicos del Centro Nacional de Información sobre la temática.

Quality is a worldwide requirement in the education area, and at the same time it is a fundamental indicator for educational institutions which are subjected to provide a service of excellence. For this reason, evaluating the quality management of medical libraries in Villa Clara is a necessity, in order to contribute to the improvement of their functioning and to achieve a higher level of satisfaction of their users' information needs. The evaluation model for Cuban university libraries and the normative, theoretical and methodological documents of the National Information Center of Medical Sciences regarding this subject were taken as theoretical references.

Medical students and residents appreciate ebooks' convenience, but prefer the print book reading experience.

BACKGROUND: Increasingly, libraries buy medical monographs as ebooks, but that may not be what medical students and residents want. Some studies have shown that they prefer print books for some types of reading. On the other hand, for participants in distributed medical programs, ebooks are more accessible. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether medical students and residents at an institution with a distributed medical education program prefer medical ebooks or print books. METHODS: In February 2019, 844 medical students and residents were invited to complete an online questionnaire on their format preferences. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-two students and residents responded. Most preferred electronic format for reading a few pages, but print for entire books. Respondents preferred ebooks because they were immediately available, searchable and could be used on the go, and print books because they strained users' eyes less, facilitated absorption of the text and could be held in users' hands. The location of respondents and year of study had little effect on responses. DISCUSSION: Libraries should consider buying quick reference and large, heavy textbooks as ebooks and pocket-sized or shorter, single-topic titles, in print format. CONCLUSIONS: Libraries have a responsibility to make both print and ebooks available to their users.

Landscape of health sciences librarian-mediated search services.

BACKGROUND: Health librarians have traditionally provided mediated searches to support patient care, education and research. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to discover the types of search result formats used by health science libraries, determine current practice among health science libraries (types of requesters served, fees, deduplication, turnaround time and citation manager use) and uncover innovative methods for providing search results. METHODS: An online survey was distributed to the MEDLIB-L, ExpertSearching, MidContinental Chapter of the Medical Library Association and ICON listservs and through direct email to selected Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries reference and education librarians. RESULTS: Librarians affiliated with 127 institutions from 11 countries (including the USS) and 36 USS states and territories responded. One hundred and forty-two of the total 150 analysed responses provided information on full-text access, and 81 of those 142 responses (57%) indicated that the institutions' link-resolver links were included in search results provided to the requester. The survey responses provide information on literature search services regarding turnaround time, use of a citation managers, fees and deduplication. CONCLUSION: With the developing landscape of citation managers and the tools offered, these data can be used as a benchmark for librarians who are considering evaluating or modifying their search service delivery.

[The librarian at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social]. / El bibliotecario en el Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social.

In the information units that make up the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) Library System, the task of guiding and training users on the use of information is a complex process, due to the specificity of the users' information needs. The information systems that are used in the Institute require the personal librarian to have specific information skills for access, evaluation, organization and use of information through information technologies. However, there are important challenges, such as the lack of definition of the professional profile of the medical librarian, because it is essential for the staff to efficiently satisfy the demands and needs of users according to their various profiles.

En las unidades de información que integran el Sistema Bibliotecario del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), la tarea de orientar y formar a los usuarios sobre el uso de información es un proceso complejo, debido a la especificidad de las necesidades de información de los usuarios. Los sistemas de información que son utilizados en el Instituto exigen al personal bibliotecario contar con competencias informativas específicas para el acceso, evaluación, organización y uso de la información por medio de las tecnologías de la información. Sin embargo, existen grandes retos, como la carencia de la definición del perfil profesional del bibliotecario médico, ya que es indispensable para que el personal logre satisfacer de forma eficiente las demandas y necesidades de los usuarios de acuerdo con sus diversos perfiles.

El bibliotecario en el Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social / The librarian at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social

En las unidades de información que integran el Sistema Bibliotecario del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), la tarea de orientar y formar a los usuarios sobre el uso de información es un proceso complejo, debido a la especificidad de las necesidades de información de los usuarios. Los sistemas de información que son utilizados en el Instituto exigen al personal bibliotecario contar con competencias informativas específicas para el acceso, evaluación, organización y uso de la información por medio de las tecnologías de la información. Sin embargo, existen grandes retos, como la carencia de la definición del perfil profesional del bibliotecario médico, ya que es indispensable para que el personal logre satisfacer de forma eficiente las demandas y necesidades de los usuarios de acuerdo con sus diversos perfiles.

In the information units that make up the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) Library System, the task of guiding and training users on the use of information is a complex process, due to the specificity of the users' information needs. The information systems that are used in the Institute require the personal librarian to have specific information skills for access, evaluation, organization and use of information through information technologies. However, there are important challenges, such as the lack of definition of the professional profile of the medical librarian, because it is essential for the staff to efficiently satisfy the demands and needs of users according to their various profiles.

Health Libraries Group at 75.

Celebrating its 75th year in 2022, Lynsey Hawker and Imrana Ghumra, Co-Chairs of the Health Libraries Group (HLG) look back on its origins, celebrate key activities and achievements. From its humble beginnings as the Medical Section of the UK Library Associations' University and Research Section, becoming a Section in its own right, its evolution as the Medical, Health and Welfare Libraries Group. Celebrating its publications, awards, partnership working and advocacy work, they invite you to share your memories and reflections on the HLG and its previous incarnations.

Validation of a generic impact survey for use by health library services indicates the reliability of the questionnaire.

BACKGROUND: A validated generic impact questionnaire can demonstrate how individual and groups of health libraries contribute to continuing education and patient care outcomes. OBJECTIVES: To validate an existing generic questionnaire for Knowledge for Healthcare, England by examining: (1) internal reliability; (2) content validity; and (3) suggest revisions. METHODS: Methods used included Cronbach's alpha test, simple data mining of patterns among a data set of 187 questionnaire responses and checking respondents' interpretation of questions. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha was 0.776 (acceptable internal reliability). The patterns of responses indicated that respondents' interpretations of the questions were highly plausible, and consistent. The meaning of 'research' varied among different occupational groups, but overall, respondents could identify relevant personal and service impacts. However, users were confused about the terms that libraries use to describe some services. DISCUSSION: The analysis indicated that the questionnaire worked well for the two types of personal services (literature/evidence searches and training/e-learning) frequently cited on the responses. Further research may be required for library assessment of the impact of other services such as digital resource services. CONCLUSIONS: The generic questionnaire is a reliable way of assessing the impact of health library and knowledge services, both individually and collectively.

[Information services facing the COVID-19 pandemic]. / Los servicios de información ante la pandemia por COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused various effects in the world, among them the saturation of information in the traditional media, as well as in those of scientific dissemination, due to the accelerated production of informative material. At the Mexican Institute for Social Security (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social), librarians have contributed to the careful selection of documents as they are in charge of providing specialized information services to health personnel in order to support them in academic, educational, teaching and research activities. In the context of physical distancing, the need for up-to-date and accurate information on the new coronavirus became a priority. In this sense, librarians have focused their efforts to carry out strategies that would allow to provide specialized information services remotely, reinforcing reference services such as bibliographic alert and Selective Information Dissemination, to reach users in a timely manner, simple and agile, updated, reliable and quality information on COVID-19. These services have been well received by users, but it is still necessary to systematize the provision of information services to identify which documents are of greatest interest and usefulness.

La pandemia por COVID-19 ocasionó diversas afectaciones en el mundo, entre ellas la saturación de información en los medios de comunicación tradicionales y en los de divulgación científica, debido a la producción acelerada de material informativo. En el Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, el personal bibliotecario ha contribuido a la selección cuidadosa de documentos, ya que brinda servicios de información especializada al personal de salud para apoyarlo en actividades académicas, educativas, docentes y de investigación. En el contexto del distanciamiento físico, la necesidad de contar con información actualizada y veraz sobre el nuevo coronavirus se convirtió en una prioridad. En este sentido, el personal bibliotecario enfocó sus esfuerzos en llevar a cabo estrategias que permitieran brindar servicios de información especializada vía remota al reforzar los servicios de referencia, como la alerta bibliográfica y la Diseminación Selectiva de Información, a fin de hacer llegar a los usuarios, de forma oportuna, sencilla y ágil, información actualizada, confiable y de calidad sobre la COVID-19. Estos servicios han sido bien recibidos por los usuarios, pero aún es necesario sistematizar el otorgamiento de servicios de información para identificar cuáles documentos son de mayor interés y utilidad.

Los servicios de información ante la pandemia por COVID-19 / Information services facing the COVID-19 pandemic

La pandemia por COVID-19 ocasionó diversas afectaciones en el mundo, entre ellas la saturación de información en los medios de comunicación tradicionales y en los de divulgación científica, debido a la producción acelerada de material informativo. En el Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, el personal bibliotecario ha contribuido a la selección cuidadosa de documentos, ya que brinda servicios de información especializada al personal de salud para apoyarlo en actividades académicas, educativas, docentes y de investigación. En el contexto del distanciamiento fìsico, la necesidad de contar con información actualizada y veraz sobre el nuevo coronavirus se convirtió en una prioridad. En este sentido, el personal bibliotecario enfocó sus esfuerzos en llevar a cabo estrategias que permitieran brindar servicios de información especializada vía remota al reforzar los servicios de referencia, como la alerta bibliográfica y la Diseminación Selectiva de Información, a fin de hacer llegar a los usuarios, de forma oportuna, sencilla y ágil, información actualizada, confiable y de calidad sobre la COVID-19. Estos servicios han sido bien recibidos por los usuarios, pero aún es necesario sistematizar el otorgamiento de servicios de información para identificar cuáles documentos son de mayor interés y utilidad.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused various effects in the world, among them the saturation of information in the traditional media, as well as in those of scientific dissemination, due to the accelerated production of informative material. At the Mexican Institute for Social Security (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social), librarians have contributed to the careful selection of documents as they are in charge of providing specialized information services to health personnel in order to support them in academic, educational, teaching and research activities. In the context of physical distancing, the need for up-to-date and accurate information on the new coronavirus became a priority. In this sense, librarians have focused their efforts to carry out strategies that would allow to provide specialized information services remotely, reinforcing reference services such as bibliographic alert and Selective Information Dissemination, to reach users in a timely manner, simple and agile, updated, reliable and quality information on COVID-19. These services have been well received by users, but it is still necessary to systematize the provision of information services to identify which documents are of greatest interest and usefulness.

The publication fate of abstracts presented at the Medical Library Association conferences.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine how many abstracts presented at the 2012 and 2014 Medical Library Association (MLA) annual conferences were later published as full-text journal articles and which features of the abstract and first author influence the likelihood of future publication. To do so, we replicated a previous study on MLA conference abstracts presented in 2002 and 2003. The secondary objective was to compare the publication rates between the prior and current study. METHODS: Presentations and posters delivered at the 2012 and 2014 MLA meetings were coded to identify factors associated with publication. Postconference publication of abstracts as journal articles was determined using a literature search and survey sent to first authors. Chi-squared tests were used to assess differences in the publication rate, and logistic regression was used to assess the influence of abstract factors on publication. RESULTS: The combined publication rate for the 2012 and 2014 meetings was 21.8% (137/628 abstracts), which is a statistically significant decrease compared to the previously reported rate for 2002 and 2003 (27.6%, 122/442 abstracts). The odds that an abstract would later be published as a journal article increased if the abstract was multi-institutional or if it was research, specifically surveys or mixed methods research. CONCLUSIONS: The lower publication rate of MLA conference abstracts may be due to an increased number of program or nonresearch abstracts that were accepted or a more competitive peer review process for journals. MLA could increase the publication rate by encouraging and enabling multi-institutional research projects among its members.

Content analysis of medical college library websites in Pakistan indicates necessary improvements.

BACKGROUND: Library websites are important for marketing library services and providing access to electronic resources. OBJECTIVES: To determine the extent and quality of medical college (school) library websites in Pakistan, according to predetermined criteria. METHODS: A checklist of 40 items was developed from the literature on academic library website evaluation as well as observation of known best practice. The checklist was used on the 45 medical college websites that fitted initial inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Of the possible 114 candidates for inclusion, 52 institution websites contained no information about the library, 17 only provided minimum details, leaving 45 medical college library websites that could be included. Library websites lack uniformity, and most of the important features as only three library websites contained more than 20 items from the checklist. The Agha Khan University Medical College, Karachi library website contained the highest (27) number of items. DISCUSSION: The findings indicate the design of medical college library websites is generally inadequate in Pakistan. The websites are not performing a useful role in communicating with faculty and students. The findings point to inadequate website design skills among librarians or the lack of co-operation with professional website designers. CONCLUSIONS: Marketing of library services and good customer relations demand improvements in the information architecture of medical college library websites as well as continued maintenance of the content to ensure that it is up to date.

Outreach marketing may be a successful strategy for NHS libraries.

This dissertation study investigates the ways that NHS libraries are currently marketing their services within their organisation and was submitted as part of the MA Library and Information Management at the University of Sheffield in 2019. This paper presents the findings from twelve semi-structured interviews carried out with NHS library managers in the East of England to identify the most and least successful methods, and in comparison with that which is currently in the general marketing literature. The study found that outreach marketing was the most effective and that librarians are currently conducting marketing to the best of their ability, but they lack time and funding to be able to make the most of their promotional campaigns. F.J.

A comparative study of medical ebook and print book prices.

BACKGROUND: Although most medical libraries buy ebooks, there has been little discussion of the comparative costs of medical ebooks and print books. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether individually purchased medical ebooks cost more or less, on average, than the same titles in print format and, if so, to calculate the price differential. METHODS: The author searched the platform of monograph vendor YBP for the 1095 titles in the 'Clinical Medicine' category of Doody's Core Titles 2018 edition. For each title, the print price and the lowest ebook price were noted; the ratio of ebook price to print book price for each title was then calculated. RESULTS: On average, ebooks cost 2.20 times more than their print equivalents, though the size of the price differential varied greatly with the publisher. For some publishers, ebooks cost nearly the same amount as print books, while for others, ebooks cost three or even four times as much as the print. DISCUSSION: The greater price of some ebooks may make them unaffordable for libraries or mean that those titles cannot be purchased as ebooks even when that format would be preferred. CONCLUSIONS: Buying ebooks, at least on a title-by-title basis, can be very costly for medical libraries.

Information seeking patterns of psychiatrists during clinical practice.

This study is based on Gerardo Ruiz's doctoral thesis on the information seeking patterns of psychiatrists in Mexico City, which he completed in January 2018 from the Autonomous National University of Mexico. The paper presents the key findings from a survey and interview involving 92 psychiatrists to identify the differing roles and information behaviours of three types of mental health practitioners. Similarities and divergences were found in their behavioural patterns in obtaining information to make clinical decisions, depending on purpose for the sought information which aligned to the role of the psychiatrist and on the information contexts of institutions in which they work. The implications for practice highlighted in this study focus on the influencing factors of time and availability of sources in enabling the mental health specialist to search, disseminate and evaluate information to be used in clinical practice, as well as to have in place broader communication with colleagues in order to enrich clinical care for better diagnosis and treatment.F.J.

Extending medical librarians' competencies to enhance collection organisation.

BACKGROUND: Like many health library associations, the Medical Library Association (MLA) developed competencies guiding lifelong learning and competence for medical librarians. Medical librarians should be able to develop skills in identified areas. One MLA indicator of organising resources defines expert skill as the ability to develop classification and metadata schemes for unique collections. OBJECTIVES: This manuscript reviews available curricula for selected library programmes in the United States and Canada, along with professional development and informal opportunities for skill development to identify how medical librarians, who are not experts in cataloging or metadata and not employed as cataloging or metadata librarians, can progress in competency. METHODS: The authors reviewed library school and continuing education programming around metadata, along with answers from a pre-existing informal poll regarding cataloging and metadata roles in health sciences libraries. Data were collected and examined using descriptive statistics. DISCUSSION: Gaps and opportunities for education around organising resources are discussed, including library school courses, formal continuing education opportunities and informal learning (e.g. peer support networks, on-the-job learning). CONCLUSION: Education in organising resources should be created throughout the educational journey of librarianship. Continuing educational opportunities in organising resources should be created by professional organisations that expect competency in this area.

Pre-requisites, barriers and advantages of clinical informationist participation in grand round: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Clinical specialists require access to the most recent and up to date professional information. However, barriers such as insufficient time and lack of necessary information retrieval skills necessitate the presence of clinical informationist (CI) in medical teams. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine the pre-requisite for CI participation in the grand round. METHODS: This was a qualitative study carried out using content analysis approach. Study involved all fellowship students and attending physicians in the department of gastroenterology at Al-Zahra hospital in Isfahan (Iran), who were selected using purposive sampling. Gathered reports were analysed using qualitative content analysis and concept mapping approaches. DISCUSSION: To improve the process of CI collaboration with clinical specialists during the educational rounds, it is necessary for CI to have certain pre-requisite skills. CONCLUSIONS: By identifying the pre-requisites for CI participation in the grand round and explaining advantages of this participation for clinical specialists, this study proposes a suitable process for implantation of CI participation in grand rounds.

Medical library services in Switzerland: catching up with EBM.

The feature is a part of the series about medical library services in various countries. It gives an overview of medical library services to support research, education and clinical practice in Switzerland. Data were collected by means of an online survey and set in the wider context of the Swiss healthcare system. Key findings are that library services, including support by academic librarians, are provided to health care staff in hospitals - both university and others, while there is no information service infrastructure to serve the large number of GPs and specialists who mostly run their own practice. The authors recommend that - if the health authorities take EBM seriously - information services should be introduced for these small practices. J.M.

Los Centros Municipales de Información como eslabón fundamental del Sistema Nacional de Información en Salud / The Municipal Information Centers as a fundamental link in the National Health Information System

RESUMEN Los Centros Municipales de Información en la provincia de Villa Clara se crearon para fortalecer la estructura del Sistema Nacional de Información en Salud. Su propósito inicial fue garantizar el aseguramiento informativo y científico-técnico que requerían los profesionales y técnicos en la atención primaria de salud. La provincia emprendió de inmediato las acciones técnico-metodológicas necesarias para materializar progresivamente esta tarea; el primer territorio donde se fundó este tipo de institución fue en Caibarién, cuya posterior denominación fue Bibliotecas Municipales de Referencia. El desarrollo de estas se ha caracterizado por la efectiva implementación de los continuos procesos de transformación, la introducción de las nuevas tecnologías, la preparación de sus recursos humanos y la implementación de nuevos programas para el desarrollo de competencias informacionales.

ABSTRACT The Municipal Information Centers in Villa Clara province were created to strengthen the structure of the National Health Information System. Its initial purpose was to guarantee the scientific-technical and information assurance required by professionals and technicians in primary health care. The province immediately undertook the technical and methodological actions necessary to carry out this task progressively; the first territory where this type of institution was founded was in Caibarién, whose later denomination was Municipal Reference Libraries. The development of these libraries has been characterized by the effective implementation of continuous transformation processes, the introduction of new technologies, the preparation of their human resources and the implementation of new programs for the development of informational competencies.

Medical academic libraries in Romania - breaking with the past and turning towards the future.

This article is part of a series in this regular feature which looks at new directions in health science libraries. This article provides an updated overview of medical libraries in Romania, with a focus on the academic libraries which function under the patronage of medical schools. Information was collected through a survey questionnaire sent out to Romanian academic medical libraries in March 2017. The responses provide an overall picture of the state of Romanian medical libraries, highlighting the main trends and areas in which progress is evident, as well as the problems confronting these libraries. J.M.

Rethinking bibliotherapy: a neurorhetoric narratology model for addiction treatment.

This study sought to revise the collection development policy for a bibliotherapy library used by the residents at a women's AOD treatment centre in Tampa, Florida (USA). The research was conducted by Peter Cannon as part of his PhD on rhetoric and reading therapies. The article summarises the key findings from a reading preference survey of the residents and a semi-structured group interview of the mental health professionals at the centre. The results are used to support the development of a new bibliotherapy model that Peter has termed neurorhetoric narratology. Preliminary findings suggest this new model can offer the residents a new bibliotherapy track that employs less emotionally triggering texts that will be useful for treatment.