A Community of Practice: Librarians in a Biomedical Research Network

Abstract

Providing library and reference services within a biomedical research community presents special challenges for librarians, especially those in historically lower-funded states. These challenges can include understanding needs, defining and communicating the library's role, building relationships, and developing and maintaining general and subject specific knowledge. This article describes a biomedical research network and the work of health sciences librarians at the lead intensive research institution with librarians from primarily undergraduate institutions and tribal colleges. Applying the concept of a community of practice to a collaborative effort suggests how librarians can work together to provide effective reference services to researchers in biomedicine.

Emerging roles of health information professionals for library and information science curriculum development: a scoping review

“…Specifically, health sciences librarians are often expected to attend curriculum committee meetings and reach out to students both within and outside the classroom [ 24 ], and librarians can play critical roles in developing course competencies and sharing them with other instructors [ 25 ]. Similarly, biomedical librarians are highly involved in the education process by helping to develop student skills in seeking and using quality biomedical information resources [ 26 ].…”