Professional development in evidence-based practice: course survey results to inform administrative decision making

Abstract

Objective: To understand librarians’ evidence-based practice (EBP) professional development needs and assist library administrators with professional development decisions in their own institutions, the study team surveyed past participants of an EBP online course. This study aimed to (1) understand what course content participants found valuable, (2) discover how participants applied their course learning to their work, and (3) identify which aspects of EBP would be beneficial for future continuing education.Methods: The study team distributed an eighteen-question survey to past participants of the course (2011–2017). The survey covered nontraditional demographic information, course evaluations, course content applications to participants’ work, additional EBP training, and EBP topics for future CE opportunities. The study team analyzed the results using descriptive statistics.Results: Twenty-nine percent of course participants, representing different library environments, responded to the survey. Eighty-five percent of respondents indicated that they had prior EBP training. The most valuable topics were searching the literature (62%) and developing a problem, intervention, comparison, outcome (PICO) question (59%). Critical appraisal was highly rated for further professional development. Fifty-three percent indicated change in their work efforts after participating in the course. Ninety-seven percent noted interest in further EBP continuing education.Conclusions: Survey respondents found value in both familiar and unfamiliar EBP topics, which supported the idea of using professional development for learning new concepts and reinforcing existing knowledge and skills. When given the opportunity to engage in these activities, librarians can experience new or expanded EBP work roles and responsibilities. Additionally, the results provide library administrators insights into the benefit of EBP professional development.

Building capacity among health care librarians to teach evidence-based practice—an evaluation

“…Teaching librarians how to teach would help support these professionals in a crucial part of their work and help them meet demand for their services. Similar calls for further training in teaching for health care librarians have been made by those working in such roles in the United States and Canada [29,30,31]. There was also the issue of marketing library services, a key skill for which librarians are not trained but could be usefully added to a CPD portfolio.…”

Evaluating the impact of LIS continuing professional development programmes: a survey of university libraries in Northern India

“…Majid (2004, p. 58) defines CPD as "the systematic method of learning that leads to growth and improvement in professional abilities, enabling individuals to function successfully in a changing work environment". Evidence shows that Library and Information Science (LIS) Professionals are eager to engage in CPD and are dedicated to maintaining and expanding their knowledge and abilities (Lauseng et al, 2019; Organisational, environmental, and professional trends require LIS professionals to participate in "Professional Development" activities and training to continue providing their clients with the best service possible (Attebury, 2018;Luo and Hostetler, 2020). Employees who are informed and able to adapt to changes in the information service environment or a shifting clientele's needs benefit library organizations, individual practitioners, and users (Bliquez and Deeken, 2016).…”

“…Majid (2004, p. 58) defines CPD as “the systematic method of learning that leads to growth and improvement in professional abilities, enabling individuals to function successfully in a changing work environment”. Evidence shows that Library and Information Science (LIS) Professionals are eager to engage in CPD and are dedicated to maintaining and expanding their knowledge and abilities (Lauseng et al , 2019; Robinson, 2019). Furthermore, academic and professional LIS literature emphasizes how important CPD is for librarians and their organizations (Aslam, 2018; Kennedy, 2020).…”