A Guide to Developing End User Education Programs in Medical Libraries

Citation

Fourie, I. (2007), "A Guide to Developing End User Education Programs in Medical Libraries", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 438-439. https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830710821032

This work offers an excellent opportunity for all involved in the training of end‐users in the medical and health sciences to benchmark their services and to find stimulation in discussions of new and innovative practices. The selection of 18 case studies covers a wide spectrum of user types and institutions. The user groups include residents, medical students, physical therapy students, pharmaceutical students, dental students, veterinary students and practising health professionals.

Under the capable editorship of Elizabeth Connor, all case studies are presented in a similar format, namely introduction, setting, educational approaches, evaluation methods, future plans, conclusion and references. Further information about subject‐specific classes or programmes or teaching philosophies is made available via the web sites featured in the book, and where necessary appendixes are included on tests, curricula, etc. The contributions are all well written, brief and to the point; the focus is on descriptive and practical advice. The similarity in structure also makes it easy to follow the discussions and to find required information.

There are 18 chapters covering contributions, respectively, from Texas A&M University, Washington State University, the University of Missouri‐Columbia, James Madison University, the University of Pittsburgh, the Hardin Library, Christiana Care Health System, the University of South Alabama, Jefferson Medical College, the William H. Welch Medical Library, the University of California, the University of the West Indies, the New York University College of Dentistry, the Health Sciences University of North Carolina, the University of Pittsburgh, Stony Brook University, the School of Medicine at the University of California and the Library at Wake Forest University.

Issues discussed include integrating informatics objectives into the curricula of medical and health sciences, developing credit and non‐credit coursework, clinical medical librarianship, distance learning and new and emerging technologies, assessment, the librarian's role, the use of computer‐based case studies, evidence‐based medicine, health care informatics, experiences in adapting courses, and experiences in offering training effectively within very limited time frames.

The Guide also includes very useful tests on computer literacy, pre‐ and post‐test questions, etc. as well as a reasonable index. Although intended for hospital and academic health sciences librarians, A Guide to Developing End User Education Programs can also be highly recommended for library school students interested in evaluating educational programming, as well as any librarian involved in end‐user education.

The only aspect where I disagree with the editor is her description of the book as “this modest collection of case studies”. I think her work makes a substantial contribution based on sound practical advice and experience, and is certainly worth its $24.95.