Understanding the information-seeking behavior of pharmacy college faculty, staff, and students: Implications for improving embedded librarian services
Affiliation
Pharmacy Practice and Science College of Pharmacy, The University of ArizonaResearch & Learning, Arizona Health Sciences Library, The University of Arizona
Issue Date
2021
Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
Medical Library AssociationCitation
Kamada, H., Martin, J. R., Slack, M. K., & Kramer, S. S. (2021). Understanding the information-seeking behavior of pharmacy college faculty, staff, and students: Implications for improving embedded librarian services. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 109(2), 286–294.Rights
Copyright © 2021 Hitoshi Kamada, Jennifer R. Martin, Marion K. Slack, Sandra S. Kramer. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
Objective: Research was conducted on the embedded librarian program at The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy and the Health Sciences Library to understand how this service is relevant to users and identify the potential for further improvement. This study examined users’ information-seeking behaviors and considered the implications for the effectiveness of the embedded librarian service. Methods: The authors conducted 18 semi-structured interviews of faculty, researchers, and students at the College of Pharmacy to obtain descriptive accounts of how they seek information, manage information, and use the library and library services. The authors examined the interview transcripts through qualitative descriptive analysis. Results: The interview responses confirm that users seek information outside of the physical library and tend to ask their peers for information or assistance in obtaining information. They mostly feel comfortable in searching, but some of them may lack sufficient search skills and tend to use a few known databases. While those who are familiar with the librarian seek the librarian’s assistance more often, others tend not to seek the librarian’s assistance. The ways they manage information vary, which requires customized assistance. Conclusions: The close proximity of a physically embedded librarian is beneficial to users and positions the librarian to provide proactive assistance in the existing user information-seeking behavior environment. While some users do not seek assistance, the embedded librarian can provide proactive assistance in such areas as making users aware of other database options and helping them choose relevant databases and effectively manage information. © 2021, Medical Library Association. All rights reserved.Note
Open access journalISSN
1536-5050PubMed ID
34285671Version
Final published versionae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.5195/jmla.2021.950
Scopus Count
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Copyright © 2021 Hitoshi Kamada, Jennifer R. Martin, Marion K. Slack, Sandra S. Kramer. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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