Research evaluation support services in biomedical libraries

Abstract

ObjectiveThe paper provides a review of current practices related to evaluation support services reported by seven biomedical and research libraries.MethodsA group of seven libraries from the United States and Canada described their experiences with establishing evaluation support services at their libraries. A questionnaire was distributed among the libraries to elicit information as to program development, service and staffing models, campus partnerships, training, products such as tools and reports, and resources used for evaluation support services. The libraries also reported interesting projects, lessons learned, and future plans.ResultsThe seven libraries profiled in this paper report a variety of service models in providing evaluation support services to meet the needs of campus stakeholders. The service models range from research center cores, partnerships with research groups, and library programs with staff dedicated to evaluation support services. A variety of products and services were described such as an automated tool to develop rank-based metrics, consultation on appropriate metrics to use for evaluation, customized publication and citation reports, resource guides, classes and training, and others. Implementing these services has allowed the libraries to expand their roles on campus and to contribute more directly to the research missions of their institutions.ConclusionsLibraries can leverage a variety of evaluation support services as an opportunity to successfully meet an array of challenges confronting the biomedical research community, including robust efforts to report and demonstrate tangible and meaningful outcomes of biomedical research and clinical care. These services represent a transformative direction that can be emulated by other biomedical and research libraries.

Alignment of library services with the research lifecycle

“…Findings from this study seek to build on the rich history of health sciences libraries developing research support services. These services include bioinformatics, research informationists, data management, and research evaluation support [12–16]. This study appears to confirm the finding by Vaughan et al that researchers are unaware of scope of library services that are available to them [2].…”

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

“…For health providers, clinical decision support systems enable them to effectively support their evidence-based practice with the involvement of health sciences librarians who manage and retrieve data and information from patient EMRs [ 32 , 36 ]. Those librarians may also be asked to devise “research evaluation support services” to support evidence-based practices and increasing demand to assess research output and impact [ 37 ].…”

Research Support Services in Spanish Academic Libraries: An Analysis of Their Strategic Plans and of an Opinion Survey Administered to Their Directors

“…The importance assigned to assisting researchers with the publication process and evaluations may be related to the strong bibliometric approach applied in research evaluation in Spain. Nevertheless, a similar focus in bibliometrics is also observed in academic library services based in other countries [11][12][13][14][15][16].…”

“…Similarly, Ryś and Chadaj [15] report that bibliometric processes have become a vital part of library work in Poland. Gutzman et al [16] recently analyzed the experiences of seven US and Canadian medical libraries in providing research evaluation support services for their users. Despite the diversity of service models and the variety of products and services provided, the implementation of these services allowed libraries to expand their roles and to contribute more directly to the research missions of their institutions.…”