Author: HSLG

HINT · Publications

HINT Summer 2021

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HINT 19(2) Summer 2021

Contents:

  • A Message to the Future: Rotunda’s Time Capsule (Elaine Peppard)
  • The Library Becomes a Place to ‘Spark’ and Make Ideas a Reality (Natasha Smith & Miriam Williams)
  • HSLG Virtual Journal Club Report: Reflective Practice in Health Sciences Librarianship (Breeda Herlihy)
  • Review of YHEC Zoom Training: Advanced Search Strategy Design for Complex Topics:
  • Strategy Development, Text Analytics and Text Mining (Anne Madden)  
  • Research and Information Intersection (3): Creating a Research and Information Needs Analysis (Bernard Barrett)
  • Tips for Writing in Plain English  (Niamh O’Sullivan)
  • Book Review: “The Adventures of China Iron” by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (Elaine Peppard)
  • LITE Reading (Library, Information, Technology & Evidence) (MaryDunne)
Health library jobs

Job vacancy: Head of library services Saint John of God Research Foundation

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The Saint John of God Research Foundation clg is dedicated to providing a research infrastructure and developing a culture of inquiry across the Saint John of God Hospitaller Services Group. Our mission is to support the Hospitaller Services Group in achieving a service informed by research which will identify, respond to and support the needs of all individuals in the manner of Saint John of God. The Research Foundation funds research into mental health, intellectual disability and old age. The Company also supports research throughout Saint John of God Services through its Research Department and Library & Information Services. We advocate for the men, women and children who use our services, we share research findings and we facilitate professional training through our annual conferences and seminar series. 

Job Description: Head of Library Services

Fixed Term Contract 12 months with a view to permanency

37 hours per working week

Employer: St John of God Research Foundation, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin.

Location: Saint John of God Hospital, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin

Saint John of God Lucena Clinic Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, Rathgar, Dublin 

Reporting to: General Manager of SJOG Research Foundation, Dr Lesley O’Hara

Proposed start date: September 2021

Term: Full Time 37 hours per working week & 1 year Fixed Term Contract 

Hours: Normal hours of work will be Monday – Friday, 9 am till 5.30 pm 

The Role: The role of the Librarian is to manage and develop services, both in the physical library and on-line via the Library website. The Library service caters to over 2,500 users, in various locations. The scope of the Library covers Adult Mental Health, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, and Intellectual Disabilities. The Librarian provides timely access to up-to-date information. It is a proactive and responsive service which will evolve and change over time to reflect the needs of library users.

Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Take responsibility for the library content and development of a collection policy for the library regarding purchases and management of the online journal collection. Monitor usage and adjust acquisitions to reflect optimum value for money.
  • Manage orders, print books, eBooks, journals and other items.
  • Manage the yearly library budget.
  • Take a proactive approach to marketing the library service within St. John of God Services.
  • Be part of the induction process for new staff as requested.
  • Represent the Library on Committees e.g. Research Advisory Committee
  • Provide assistance to staff carrying out Research.
  • Flexibility: Can operate flexibly within a busy environment; can shift focus when required.
  • Motivated: Display a ‘can-do’ attitude, be committed to SJOG Research Foundation; demonstrate enthusiasm and passion for the role.

Key Competencies: 

Qualifications:

  • Hold a professional qualification in Library and Information Science. Either a degree in LIS or a primary degree with a post graduate MSC. in Librarianship or a similar qualification.

Knowledge & Experience (Essential):

  • Have 5 years experience in a Health Science or Academic Library and at least 2 years in a senior library management role
  • Have experience in database searching
  • Have experience in reviewing and negotiating Licensing Agreements with Publishers and/or Subscription Agents
  • Have experience using library management software
  • Have excellent interpersonal and communication skills
  • Have a high capacity for responsibility and individual initiative

Desirable Criteria: Knowledge of archiving and developing institutional repositories is desirable.

Application Process      

To apply: Please apply by sending your CV and Covering Letter to louise.syms@sjog.ie by deadline 13th August 2021.

Closing date: The closing date for applications is 13th August 2021 at 5pm.

Interview date: It is anticipated that interviews will take place mid to late August 2021.

Start date: The successful applicant will commence their role in September 2021 (This date is flexible).

Informal queries: Queries can be sent to the Administrative Assistant, SJOG Research Foundation, Louise Syms (louise.syms@sjog.ie).

 

Conference

Call for speakers: HSLG conference – November 2021

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The HSLG are planning an in-person* conference on Thursday 25 November 2021 in the Ashling Hotel, Dublin.

The theme of the conference is ‘Open to change’

Now that you have saved the date, we would like you to take an active part by giving a presentation of 10 or 20 minutes.

We have so much to learn from each other, and this is the perfect opportunity to share.

Please send a short description of your presentation to contacthslg@gmail.com by Friday 3 September 2021.

* Please note: if the event cannot be held in-person, we will have a virtual conference.

HSLG conference 2021 word cloud

Journal club meetings

HSLG Virtual Journal Club 24 June 2021 – reflective practice

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HSLG Virtual Journal Club, 24 June 2021, 11am – 11.45am

Main article:  Miller JM, Ford SF, Yang A. Elevation through reflection: closing the circle to improve librarianship. J Med Libr Assoc. 2020;108(3):353-363. doi:10.5195/jmla.2020.938 http://jmla.pitt.edu/ojs/jmla/article/view/938/

Secondary article: Miller JM. Reflective practice and health sciences librarians: engagement, benefits, and barriers. J Med Libr Assoc. 2020;108(1):17-28. doi:10.5195/jmla.2020.777 http://jmla.pitt.edu/ojs/jmla/article/view/777

Breeda Herlihy’s suggested questions:

  1. Reflective practice is practiced by many medical and health services professionals. Have you applied reflective practice in your work or if not, do you think there is value in applying reflective practice to health librarianship?
  2. Is reflective practice something best applied to a project e.g. collaboration on a systematic review rather than repetitive tasks e.g. sourcing journal articles?
  3. Three models are outlined in the article as useful frameworks for those new to reflective practice. Does anyone have experience with these or any others suggested in the supplemental appendix?
  4. The authors suggest that “talking with a colleague or mentor” or “talking with a group of people” are possible formats for reflective practice. Are these formats feasible in health libraries where librarians are often working on their own or leading up a unit unlike any others in the organisation? Could we explore establishing a reflective practice group or is the HSLG the manifestation of talking your practice through with a ‘group of people’?
  5. The article outlines four ways in which reflective practice can be used in health libraries. Can you envisage other scenarios where it might be useful?
Journal club meetings

HSLG Virtual Journal Club 21 April 2021 – Wikipedia Q&A

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HSLG Virtual Journal Club, 21 April 2021, 11am – 11.45am

Wikipedia Q&A

Wikipedia version of “Librarian”, available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Librarian

Suggested questions by Anne Madden:

  1. Does this Wikipedia entry feel like it was written by a librarian? See also the “Talk” tab – any comments? Does it feel neutral or do pro or con librarian views come across?  If you were considering librarianship as a career, would this piece encourage or deter you?
  2. Are librarians still “custodians” or keepers of knowledge or has this role now passed to publishers? If so, where does that leave librarians?
  3. Looking at the ownership or sponsorship of the earliest libraries, how much credence should we give any surviving texts from this era? What may have been the driving force for creating these libraries?
  4. In the 1870’s, librarian tasks were considered to be “”Eminently Suited to Girls and Women.” Do you think this was based on convenience or related to the position of women in society at the time? Or for some other reason?
  5. “The CDC had earlier named librarians as key public health staff to support COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing.” What librarian skills would have led them to that conclusion? What image does it seem to portray of librarians?  Is it an image we should promote?
  6. Copyright isn’t mentioned either. In fact, in the 17th Century, a librarian was seen as a “scribe, one who copies books”.  Do librarians need more legal skills to address copyright and publisher licencing issues, and should they be the first port of call for these issues?
  7. If you were to add a section on Health Librarians, what additional roles or skills would you include? What non-typical skills are you called on to provide in your service?
  8. Looking at the list of “additional responsibilities”, are the core roles of librarians still intact? What does this list suggest about assumptions on librarian values?
  9. When it comes to librarian education, there is very little consensus across the globe. Steve McKinzie argues that an academic qualification is required for e.g. reference interview and doesn’t rate “special training”.  In our own experience, what has been the role of any academic qualification and of CPD/special training?
  10. Technology: “librarians must continually adapt to new formats”. Instead of adapting, should we be leading or collaborating in developments in this field?
  11. Librarian stereotypes – help! Is this seriously still true?  Anyone have any personal experiences of any of this?  Do we inspire fear – timidly??
Courses

Wiley Cochrane Library training

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Cochrane&ESI

Cochrane and Evidence Synthesis Ireland are providing training from Wiley on the Cochrane Library on 29 September (Introduction) and 20 October (advanced) at 2pm, online: https://evidencesynthesisireland.ie/training/

Introduction course (29 Sept)

  • What’s in the Cochrane Library?
  • What’s new in the Cochrane Library?
  • How to run searches and browse content
  • How to set up alerts
  • Where to find help

Advanced course (20 Oct)

  • How to run advance searches
  • How to use the Search Manager
  • New PICO search
  • How to use MeSH

 

Also, from Evidence synthesis Ireland – Webinar, 12,00, 24 September 2020

Informing policy using mixed methods evidence reviews – Case studies from the Health Research Board’s Evidence Centre

In this webinar, the speakers will describe their approach to conducting mixed methods evidence reviews using two case studies. They will focus on how they design mixed methods search strategies, their use of machine learning via text mining for screening, and how they analyse and integrate qualitative and quantitative findings.

Speakers include:

– Louise Farragher, Senior Information Specialist, HRB Evidence Centre:

Louise Farragher is an information specialist in the Health Research Board’s Evidence Centre.
In the Evidence Centre, she leads a team of information specialists who work with researchers to design and implement appropriate search strategies to find published and grey literature evidence for evidence reviews of complex policy questions.

– Joan Quigley, Research Officer, HRB Evidence Centre:

Joan Quigley is a Research Officer in the Health Research Board’s Evidence Centre.
In the Evidence Centre she leads systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Previously, she worked as a health technology assessment consultant for UK and global pharmaceutical companies.

– Camille Coyle, Research Officer, HRB Evidence Centre:

Dr. Camille Coyle is a Research Officer in the Health Research Board’s Evidence Centre and an Adjunct Associate Professor in Trinity College Dublin’s Centre for Global Health.
In the Evidence Centre, she leads systematic reviews, and in the Centre for Global Health she teaches qualitative research methods and supervises dissertations. Previously, she worked as a health research consultant for various UN agencies and non-governmental organisations.

 

Conference

Research integrity seminar 2020 – presentations

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The HSLG committee would like to thank all who attended and presented at HSLG 2020. It was a great opportunity to share ideas and network with library colleagues. Here are some of the presentations.

Dr Maura Hiney and Dr Patricia Clarke, Health Research Board National Forum on Research Integrity and the National Open Research Forum

Michelle Dalton — Appearances can be deceiving – how to avoid “predatory” publishers

Patricia Patton — Using Mentimeter, an audience response system, to enhance feedback and engagement in information skills training

Emma Quinn — Imposter Syndrome

Prof Declan Devane, Evidence Synthesis Ireland Evidence for informed health choices

Prof Declan Devane, Evidence Synthesis Ireland the role of Evidence Synthesis Ireland

 

Events · HSLG Bursaries · HSLG Committee

Bursaries for HSLG members

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To enable as many health librarians as possible to attend CPD events including virtual or in-person courses and conferences, the HSLG is offering bursaries to cover early-bird registration fees for members.

To apply, please complete the bursary form on our website and email it to us at contacthslg@gmail.com.

Note: Funds are restricted so early application is advisable.

The HSLG Committee