Health information and libraries journal
-
To compare the effectiveness and costs of providing information for patient care via librarian-mediated searches and information-skills training. ⋯ No one method of providing information for health professionals is more effective or cost-effective than another. A decision about which services to provide cannot be made on the basis of effectiveness or costs alone; the views of library staff and the health professionals they serve should also be taken into account. A proactive approach and targeting training towards those who are most likely to benefit may be an appropriate way forward.
-
Open access is making a noticeable impact on access to information. In 2005, many major research funders, including the Wellcome Trust, National Institutes for Health (NIH), and the Research Councils UK (RCUK), set out their position in a number of statements. Of particular note was the stipulation that authors receiving grants must deposit their final manuscript in an open access forum within 6-12 months of publication. ⋯ Could funding agencies accelerate the move to open access? The list of funding agencies supporting open access is growing. The National Institutes for Health and the Wellcome Trust have been joined by many of the world's major funders in biomedical research whose goal it is to make their research findings available with no barriers.
-
The question of who pays for research to be conducted and published is an important one as it may result in publication bias. The traditional model of medical publishing has relied on subscriptions for funding. There has been increasing interest in making the results of scientific research freely available. One proposed mechanism is an author-pays system, which shifts cost from subscribers to authors. We investigated the impact of author page charges on the nature and type of published research, and the association of industry funding with types of published research. ⋯ There is clearly a relationship between industry funding and certain types of published research. The model of funding of journal publishing can also affect the nature of published research. Shifting publishing costs to authors favours well-funded organizations, industry sponsored research and wealthy countries. Such potential for publication bias must be considered when planning for open access models.
-
Graduate students are expected to have basic information literacy skills. Knowing how to access and select relevant information and then utilize that information is a necessary skill in today's knowledge and information-age world. In the health-care sector, the rise in evidence-based medicine has brought into focus the importance of information literacy skills for nurses. In the case described, information literacy skills are embedded in the curriculum and strengthened in collaboration with library staff. ⋯ Finding a deficit in use of the library by graduate nurses, this paper outlines the response by the library to improving awareness of services, access and providing education in a bid to improve literacy skills.