Program Information
The OSU Health Sciences Library (HSL) is offering OSU health sciences colleges, Wexner Medical Center and James Cancer Hospital clinical and research departments the opportunity to apply to receive the services of an embedded librarian. An embedded libarian would help support and enhance the use of information resources in research, teaching and/or patient care.
Embedded librarians are health sciences librarians who focus on meeting the information needs of specific customer groups. They often spend a majority of their time working alongside their customers instead of in the Library. Embedded librarians’ skills and expertise include, but are not limited to:
- expert searching of the literature and critical appraisal for problem solving and clinical decision making
- indexing and classification of information for specific purposes
- providing tailored education and curricular input that enhances knowledge about information literacy/competencies and evidence based practice
This award's purpose is to lend efficiency and forward momentum to a program, project or initiative that is a current priority for a health sciences college, clinical or research department. We believe that embedding librarians into research, teaching or patient care teams allows those teams to improve the capture, organization, management, application and use of biomedical literature and data. We would like to explore ways in which this can be true at Ohio State. This program also aims to attain the HSL mission of "connecting people with knowledge to encourage inquiry, innovation and collaboration."
One to two embedded librarian awards are planned for this initial funding period depending on the nature of the proposals. We reserve the right to limit or not award funding to any project.
Goals
- Providing substantive information expertise to teams to support the success of projects or initiatives
- Characterizing and documenting the value and impact of an embedded librarian to the research, patient care or education team in which they will work
- Determining the types of settings where librarians might be successfully embedded into the fabric of departmental research and/or projects
Expectations
Awardees will be required to do the following:
- Collaborate with the embedded librarian and the embedded librarian’s supervisor throughout the entire grant period.
- Provide brief monthly updates via meetings with the embedded librarian’s supervisor or designee.
- Produce, with the embedded librarian, a mid-project report to assess progress and provide guidance for immediate changes at the mid-point.
- Produce, with the embedded librarian, an end-of-project report to provide a summary of the collaboration and recommendations for future collaborations.
Report templates will be provided.
The HSL will collect and evaluate information about the project which will be used in internal and possibly external activities and publications. Recipients will be expected to cooperate with the gathering of evaluation information. Collection and use of the information about the embedded librarian’s role in the project must be covered under an IRB-approved protocol as necessary and follow all applicable University policies.
Though some embedded librarians have already developed subject expertise through education and experience, recipients will be expected to provide adequate and sufficient training resources to embedded librarians as necessary. This might include on-the-job training or attending workshops that allow the embedded librarian to become familiar with the language and culture of that particular discipline, or any other training deemed essential to the project.
Embedded librarians will provide expert information-related services as described in the application. Embedded librarians will work with the recipient to develop the best working plans for the duration of the project. Recipients and their embedded librarian will be required to submit a working plan with a timeline and deliverables within one month of project start. Note that some embedded librarians may also be regular library faculty, therefore will receive the same benefits and privileges of faculty and are expected to meet obligations of a library faculty member with regards to teaching, service and research. Some flexibility will be required to accommodate this (i.e. other research projects, service to the libraries, service to the profession, professional conference attendance, etc.). Like any other research partner, embedded librarians expect appropriate credit be given if they are substantial contributors to a research project, including, but not limited to, authorship as defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors of any publications including or based in part on their work.
Eligibility
The following individuals or groups may be the principle applicant for the award:
- A health sciences college, department or Center, or faculty member(s) within them including College of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Dentistry, College of Optometry, College of Public Health, and School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and departments and centers within these colleges or schools
- Units, departments or Centers of the OSU Wexner Medical Center
- Units, departments or Centers of the James Cancer Hospital, Solove Research Institute or Comprehensive Cancer Center
Deadline
The deadline for application is February 28, 2013. Awards will be announced by the week of March 15, 2013.
Project Start and End Dates
Embedded librarians will be available to work with awardees for a six- to twelve-month period between April 15, 2013 and March 30, 2014.
Award Amounts
What can you apply for?
This award provides access to embedded librarians' time, and their expertise should be used to impact a program, center, or college's core mission and work. Generally, projects would require embedded librarian services in the range of 10 to 20 hours per week for 6 to 12 months.
Cost Share
Salary expenses will be covered up to 20 hours per week, valued up to $35,000 annually. Additional hours over 20 up to 40 per week will be the award recipient’s responsibility at a rate of $35 per hour and will be transferred to the Library the first week of each month throughout the duration of the project. Applicants will be expected to provide work space and appropriate technology (PC, access to phone, pager if needed) for the embedded librarian.
Number of Applications
There is no limit to the number of applications a college, unit, center, or department may submit. Submissions will be judged per the criteria and selected based on whether they provide unique opportunities for embedded librarians while meeting the needs and program goals of the HSL.
Activity Types that may be Funded
Activities that could be funded include, but are not limited to:
- Developing curriculum, creating courses or online modules, and/or teaching workshops or courses related to evidence based practice or information literacy/competencies in existing or future courses
- Providing on-unit/in-lab just-in-time expert searching assistance to answer clinical questions or solve problems, or serving as an information search expert on a systematic review team
- Exploring the information seeking habits of a unit and developing plans for faculty and staff development, improving management of information, and developing plans for longitudinal integration of appropriate information use into workflows
- Embedding a librarian into departmental projects or research
- Evaluation and exploration of specialized/subject-based resources and development of portals or other enhanced access mechanisms
- Integrating emerging technologies into existing or growing services and programs
- Contributing information-based expertise to targeted outreach and engagement projects and programs
- Contributing to investigations of scholarly impact of a college or unit
Activity Types that may not be Funded
- Administrative assistant job duties: typing, copying, or proofreading manuscripts, scheduling appointments, providing delivery or pick-up of goods
- Project management that does not integrate information resources expertise
Guidelines for Partnerships
Colleges, centers, clinical units or other defined eligible groups may partner to create an application for one embedded librarian to provide expertise to more than one project. Limits on hours per week still apply.
Submitting Your Application
A Proposal Application is required. The application and all supporting documents must be submitted electronically to education@osumc.edu. The application will include a statement of need and impact, the project design, how the embedded librarian will be integrated into the project, a plan for evaluating the activities, and a time budget for the use of the embedded librarian’s time. Applicants should also submit a letter of support from their department chair or college dean, or their clinical unit’s administrator.
