Library technicians collaborating with librarians on knowledge syntheses: a survey of current perspectives
Introduction: Though it is well recognized that librarians bring value to knowledge synthesis teams, library technicians have largely been excluded from this process. This study was designed to determine the extent to which library technicians are currently participating in knowledge syntheses, to...
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University of Alberta
2020-12-01
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doaj-1c508b8ff2884b959ebda73f55bbefa02021-02-09T06:01:29ZengUniversity of AlbertaJournal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association1708-68922020-12-0141310.29173/jchla29459Library technicians collaborating with librarians on knowledge syntheses: a survey of current perspectivesGlyneva Bradley-Ridout0Alissa Epworth 1University of Toronto Unity Health Toronto Introduction: Though it is well recognized that librarians bring value to knowledge synthesis teams, library technicians have largely been excluded from this process. This study was designed to determine the extent to which library technicians are currently participating in knowledge syntheses, to investigate where these two professional groups, librarians and library technicians, see opportunities for future collaboration, and to identify the challenges and successes perceived by both groups. Methods: An electronic survey, consisting of multiple choice and short answer queries, was distributed to targeted listservs. The target audience for survey participants was librarians, or library technicians, who worked in a library with any scale of knowledge synthesis service. Responses were collated, coded, and organized by themes. Results: 170 responses were received and evenly represented librarians (n=84) and library technicians (n=79), including 7 incomplete responses. 31% (n=50) of respondents stated that they currently collaborate or have collaborated in the past on knowledge synthesis projects with the other professional group. Tasks completed by the library technician included article retrieval, citation management, retrieving reference lists, and database searching. The major challenge reported with collaboration on knowledge synthesis projects was the library technician qualifications. Major successes included time efficiency for librarians, and the opportunity for technicians to develop new skills. https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/jchla/index.php/jchla/article/view/29459 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Glyneva Bradley-Ridout Alissa Epworth |
spellingShingle |
Glyneva Bradley-Ridout Alissa Epworth Library technicians collaborating with librarians on knowledge syntheses: a survey of current perspectives Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association |
author_facet |
Glyneva Bradley-Ridout Alissa Epworth |
author_sort |
Glyneva Bradley-Ridout |
title |
Library technicians collaborating with librarians on knowledge syntheses: a survey of current perspectives |
title_short |
Library technicians collaborating with librarians on knowledge syntheses: a survey of current perspectives |
title_full |
Library technicians collaborating with librarians on knowledge syntheses: a survey of current perspectives |
title_fullStr |
Library technicians collaborating with librarians on knowledge syntheses: a survey of current perspectives |
title_full_unstemmed |
Library technicians collaborating with librarians on knowledge syntheses: a survey of current perspectives |
title_sort |
library technicians collaborating with librarians on knowledge syntheses: a survey of current perspectives |
publisher |
University of Alberta |
series |
Journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association |
issn |
1708-6892 |
publishDate |
2020-12-01 |
description |
Introduction: Though it is well recognized that librarians bring value to knowledge synthesis teams, library technicians have largely been excluded from this process. This study was designed to determine the extent to which library technicians are currently participating in knowledge syntheses, to investigate where these two professional groups, librarians and library technicians, see opportunities for future collaboration, and to identify the challenges and successes perceived by both groups.
Methods: An electronic survey, consisting of multiple choice and short answer queries, was distributed to targeted listservs. The target audience for survey participants was librarians, or library technicians, who worked in a library with any scale of knowledge synthesis service. Responses were collated, coded, and organized by themes.
Results: 170 responses were received and evenly represented librarians (n=84) and library technicians (n=79), including 7 incomplete responses. 31% (n=50) of respondents stated that they currently collaborate or have collaborated in the past on knowledge synthesis projects with the other professional group. Tasks completed by the library technician included article retrieval, citation management, retrieving reference lists, and database searching. The major challenge reported with collaboration on knowledge synthesis projects was the library technician qualifications. Major successes included time efficiency for librarians, and the opportunity for technicians to develop new skills.
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url |
https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/jchla/index.php/jchla/article/view/29459 |
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