Building capacity for librarian support and addressing collaboration challenges by formalizing library systematic...

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences Librarianship
• Information Science
• Academic Research Support

Background:

• Increasing demand for systematic review support in health sciences libraries.
• Common barriers include time constraints, methodological complexities, and student-led projects.
• Need for strategic approaches to enhance librarian capacity and efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and implementation of a structured systematic review service at a health sciences library.
• To address challenges in supporting student-led systematic reviews and ensure research quality.
• To maximize librarian time and expertise through a defined service model.

Main Methods:

• Developed a two-tiered service model for advisory consultation and collaboration.
• Defined librarian roles, built expertise, and created guiding documentation.
• Piloted, revised, marketed, and evaluated the systematic review service.

Main Results:

• A structured service model was successfully implemented, enhancing librarian capacity.
• Collaboration challenges and research quality concerns were identified and addressed.
• The service framework supports efficient librarian time utilization and expertise maximization.

Conclusions:

• A two-tiered service model offers a scalable framework for systematic review support in libraries.
• Librarian autonomy in collaboration decisions is key to quality research and efficient resource allocation.
• Monitoring service usage and research outputs can inform workload management and advocate for resources.