Being Evidence Based in Library and Information Practice

Table of Contents:
PART 1: BACKGROUND AND MODEL 1. Introduction - Denise Koufogiannakis and Alison Brettle 2. A new framework for EBLIP - Denise Koufogiannakis and Alison Brettle 3. Articulate - Alison Brettle and Denise Koufogiannakis 4. Assemble - Denise Koufogiannakis and Alison Brettle 5. Assess - Alison Brettle and Denise Koufogiannakis 6. Agree - Denise Koufogiannakis and Alison Brettle 7. Adapt - Alison Brettle and Denise KoufogiannakisPART 2: EBLIP IN ACTION 8. Practitioner-researchers and EBLIP - Virginia Wilson 9. Academic libraries - Mary M. Somerville and Lorie A. Kloda 10. Public libraries - Pam Ryan and Becky Cole 11. Health libraries - Jonathan D. Eldredge, Joanne Gard Marshall, Alison Brettle, Heather Holmes, Lotta Haglund and Rick Wallace 12. School libraries - Carol Gordon 13. Special libraries - Bill Fisher 14. Conclusion - Denise Koufogiannakis and Alison Brettle

About the Author :
Dr Denise Koufogiannakis is Associate University Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In 2013 she received her PhD in Information Studies from Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK. Denise co-founded the open access journal Evidence Based Library and Information Practice and has held several editorial positions since the journal’s inception in 2006, including Editor-in-Chief from 2009-2011. Denise has contributed numerous research papers to the scholarly literature of EBLIP, and has served on the Program Committee of the international EBLIP conference series since 2003. In 2007, Denise was named a “Mover and Shaker” by Library Journal for her contributions to the evidence based librarianship movement. Dr Alison Brettle is a Reader in Evidence Based Practice at the University of Salford, UK. She has specialist expertise in literature searching, systematic review methodology, evidence based practice and the evaluation of health information services; pioneering the use of systematic reviews in library and information practice. She has over 20 years experience of health, social care and library related research and teaching environments and has led and supported a wide range of projects and published extensively. She has been involved with the open access professional journal, Evidence Based Library and Information Practice since its inception, and was Editor-in-Chief 2012-2014. She also hosted and co-chaired the 6th International Evidence Based Library and Information Practice in Salford in 2011. As an active member of the UK professional body, CILIP, she leads research training and awards on behalf of the Library and Information Research Group and has recently authored a systematic scoping review on the value of professionally trained and registered library and information professionals.

Review :
Library administrators and assessment librarians will welcome this focus on practice and application of EBLIP in a variety of settings and places. A timely and useful guide, Being Evidence Based in Library and Information Practice demonstrates both the model for Evidence Based Library and Information Practice (EBLIP) and different library settings for development of this ongoing research practice. It is an extremely useful guide for developing evidence-based library improvements and a lifetime of professional growth. Although ‘being evidence based is not a simple thing’, this book is essential reading to all librarians looking to develop advocacy skills and make informed decisions in the information world as it exists today. The entire book is clearly written, free of jargon (or jargon is explained succinctly), and engaging. Each chapter builds on previous chapters, and the chapters in Part 2 track back appropriately to the explanatory chapters in Part 1. If you are interested in becoming a researcher–practitioner, or in integrating data into your decision-making processes for your library, this book will be quite useful. The book also could be complementary to an introductory textbook on research methods for information professionals looking to grow these skills. Koufogiannakis and Brettle have written and edited one of the most essential books on librarianship in the last several years. They present a clear and strong case for why librarians of all settings need to integrate EBP into their workflow...The reader can gather some great ideas on starting to use EBLIP in their own practice. This book is highly recommended reading for all experience levels and types of librarianship. It is hard to imagine that more qualified authors exist for this topic than Koufogiannakis and Brettle. Upcoming and new professionals would be wise to read this book, whereas more seasoned professionals are more likely readers and implementers of the concepts presented. How do we make the case that a library tangibly impacts the communities it serves in order to secure funding? How do we maintain, improve, reimagine, or expand a library’s services, as appropriate? In Being Evidence Based in Library and Information Practice, editors Denise Koufogiannakis and Alison Brettle make a convincing case that we do so by grounding our professional practice and organizational decision making in evidence...Library administrators will find Being Evidence Based in Library and Information Practice useful for guiding organizational decision making. For library and information science faculty and graduate students, it will be a strong complement to any research methods curriculum. However, this book will resonate most strongly with practitioners who find it rewarding not only to perform the essential work of their library, but also to apply their curiosity and creativity to figuring out how better to do the work. Koufogiannakis and Brettle present an excellent overview of the history and evolution of library evidence-based practice along with the current state of EBLIP. The model they have presented is demonstrated to be usable across the library spectrum. This work is highly recommended.