Medical Library Association | Education : Platform for Change

Platform for Change

Appendix I

Project Description

In May 1989, the MLA Task Force on Knowledge and Skills was appointed in response to a number of different initiatives. First was MLA's own strategic plan and the strategy that aims to influence curricula of academic institutions in the areas of design, development, and management of information systems. To achieve this, it was necessary to validate what it is that health information professionals do and then to determine what will be needed in the future. A second impetus, closely related to the first, was the current revision underway of the American Library Association (ALA) standards for accreditation of master's programs in library and information science. As a part of that revision process, each of the major library and information science associations was asked to provide the ALA Committee on Accreditation with educational and other policy statements pertinent to the needs of that organization so that they could be shared with the education programs.

The task force (see appendix 2 for list of members) determined that the best way to produce the desired results would be to survey a sample of the membership with two goals in mind: to define the knowledge and skills required for competent professional performance now and in the future, and to enable MLA to establish educational policies that would ensure the acquisition and maintenance of those activities throughout a professional career. When tabulated and analyzed, these data provided an inventory of knowledge and skills described in two major ways: scope-what are these skills, and setting-where is the learning most likely to be applied and most likely to occur.

Though there is little doubt that changes in the health information environment will call for significant changes in the knowledge and skills expected of health information professionals in the future, there had been little research on which to base judgments about what general areas of expertise are likely to be required. Nor had research been conducted to assess the present level of specific knowledge and skill among health sciences librarians.

In January 1990, an application was submitted to the Council on Library Resources for assistance in funding the survey and other related activities. The task force received a grant of slightly more than $9,300 from the council. Additional support was received from MLA and from the University of South Carolina.

Methodology

The task force identified an inventory of knowledge and skills with sixty-three topics grouped into seven knowledge bases;

health sciences environment and information policies;
health sciences information services;
health sciences resource management;
information systems and technology;
management of information services;
instructional support systems; and
research, analysis, and interpretation.

A questionnaire was distributed to a structured sample of 704 individual members of MLA in July 1990, with follow-up conducted in August. Usable responses were received from 375 of the 704 personal members to whom questionnaires were sent (53%).

The basic objective of the study was to gather data that would provide answers to the following questions:

To what extent do health sciences librarians consider identified areas of knowledge and skill important to effective professional performance now and in the environment of the future?
To what extent do health sciences librarians perceive that they now possess these skills?
Where do health sciences librarians tend to acquire knowledge in these areas?
Where do health sciences librarians consider such knowledge is best acquired?

In addition to these questions, the study was designed to explore possible relationships between the answers to the foregoing questions and the health sciences librarian's institutional setting, level of responsibility, and years of experience in the field.

These responses and the conclusions drawn from them were subsequently discussed with outside experts, including library educators, hospital administrators, medical educators, health sciences library directors, medical informatics researchers, and academic library directors.

Appendix II

Medical Library Association Task Force on Knowledge and Skills

Fred W. Roper, Ph.D., Chair
College of Library and Information Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208
Rachael K. Anderson
Arizona Health Science Library, University of Arizona, 1501 N. Campbell Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85724
Rick B. Forsman
Denison Medical Library, University of Colorado Health Science Center, 4200 E. Ninth Avenue, Denver, CO 80262
Carolyn Lipscomb
Health Sciences Library, CB# 7585, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Ellen R. Westling
Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard University, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115
M. Kent Mayfield, Ph.D.
Association for Retarded Citizens of Dane County, Madison, WI
Lucretia W. McClure, Board Liaison
Edward G. Miner Library, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642
Judy Messerle
Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard University, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115
Phyllis S. Mirsky
Central University Library, University of California-San Diego, C-075 G, La Jolla, CA 92093
Reneta Webb, Ph.D.
Medical Library Association, Suite 300, Six North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60602-4802