The education and training needs of health librarians—the generalist versus specialist dilemma

Abstract

Aims and objectives : The aims of the study were to examine whether and how librarians with a generalist background can transfer to roles demanding more expert knowledge in the health sector. The objectives were (i) to compare the education and training needs of health librarians with science degrees with the education and training needs of health librarians with arts and humanities degrees; (ii) to compare the education and training needs of librarians working in the National Health Service (NHS) sector with the education and training needs of librarians working for the health sector but within higher education. Methods : Face-to-face interviews with 16 librarians, a convenience sample of librarians working in the Thames Valley NHS region. Results : The main findings confirmed that structured continuing professional development (CPD) is required to meet the rapidly changing needs in the health sector. The emphasis ought to be on teaching skills, outreach work, marketing and promotion, research skills and methods, subject knowledge and terminology, and management skills. Library school curricula do not appear to meet the demands of medical library posts. A first degree in scientific subjects is advantageous in the early stages of a career but diminishes with continuing training and experience. There is no evidence of a significant difference in training needs and provision between the librarians in NHS posts as opposed to those in higher education (HE) posts. Conclusions : The conclusions suggest that library schools need to update their programmes to include teaching skills, advanced search skills, project management skills, research methods, with more practical exercises. Particular attention should be given to librarians with a first degree in non-scientific subjects in terms of time allocated for CPD, quality of training and access to reliable mentorship.

Librarians' Roles in Evidence-Based Dentistry Education: A Review of Literature and a Survey in North America

“…Petrinic also made a similar suggestion based on the findings in her recent study on the education and training needs of health librarians. 37 Finally, there also seems to be a need for learning how to find ways to integrate EBM into curricula both strategically and tactically, since several participants pointed out the challenge of incorporating EBD into the dental curricula. Future studies of librarians who have successfully integrated EBD into the dental curricula would shed light on this issue.…”

Musings of a student librarian: a case report of taking a course in health librarianship

“…There are gaps in the curriculum when it comes to preparing students to meet the requirements of medical library positions, for example, background training in biomedical sciences or specialized skills and knowledge for health librarians engaged in outreach work, clinical librarianship, teaching, research, or support of systematic reviews [8].…”

“…There is a need in Canada for studies, such as that of Petrinic and Urquhart [8], that examine the educational needs of library school students and the continuing professional development of practicing librarians. Further research focusing on the education of health librarians in Canada is needed if educators and professionals hope to identify gaps in the curriculum.…”

“…This problem is exacerbated by the limited number of dedicated training opportunities in library schools.'' [8] Confidence can be increased by accounting for individuals and their learning styles. As an independent learner, I prefer to pour over library books or journal articles and share my findings in class discussions.…”

Social Practice of a Career Guidance Project Based on the Wisdom of the Classic of Changes

“…All kinds of specialists or generalists are actually at various points on a specialist-generalist continuum (Ludlow, 2014;Nicholson, 2005;Petrinic & Urquhart, 2007;Phillips, 2008;Smith, 2005), students in all school levels, including all higher education institutes, need to practise both yin and yang projecting strategies as well as pursuing career visions reconciling the ideal with the realistic.…”