SLA Contact:
John Walsh
Phone: 703.647.4917
jwalsh@sla.org
Information Professionals Playing Expanding Role in Biomedical Research
Alexandria, Virginia, December 20, 2010 - An SLA-funded study finds librarians in the biomedical industry are providing a widening variety of research services.
Biomedical librarians are increasingly acting as researchers and authors as well, according to interviews with over a dozen information professionals who are active in biomedical research projects.
Through a research project funded by SLA, Betsy Rolland and Emily Glenn sat down with 14 fellow biomedical librarians to find answers to several key questions. The pair wanted to know how information professionals' traditional skills are being applied in non-traditional ways and how the biomedical research process can be or is being improved through targeted interventions and consultations from librarians.
The 14 participants were selected from a group of 54 information professionals who responded to an e-mail message seeking librarians working in non-traditional roles in biomedical research. While most of the study participants identified themselves as librarians, this term typically was not reflected in their job titles--instead, titles such as bioinformaticist and analyst were used. All but one of the interviewees worked in research teams ranging from 2 people to more than 15.
Rolland and Glenn also found that the librarians' duties were as varied as their titles. For example, instead of simply pointing researchers to various information sources, study participants are performing analyses, training researchers to use new tools, techniques and technologies to find information, and helping write grant proposals and the resulting manuscripts.
Overall, the study findings convey a clear message: self-described librarians are providing research services that go above and beyond the traditional duties of librarianship. As Rolland and Glenn wrote in an article in the October-November issue of Information Outlook, titled "Librarians in Biomedical Research: New Roles and Opportunities," information professionals "? are utilizing their traditional library-based skill sets, including analysis, research, need assessment, and objective data gathering, in non-traditional ways to make a major impact on their institutions' research programs."
To read the full report, visit:
http://www.sla.org/pdfs/2008SLAResGrant.pdf
To read Rolland and Glenn's article in Information Outlook, visit:
"Librarians in Biomedical Research: New Roles and Opportunities"
About SLA
The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is a nonprofit global organization for innovative information professionals and their strategic partners. SLA serves about 10,000 members in 75 countries in the information profession, including corporate, academic, and government information specialists. SLA promotes and strengthens its members through learning, advocacy, and networking initiatives. For more information, visit us on the Web at www.sla.org.
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