Poster Board Number: 162
Title: Librarians Collaborating with Faculty for Scholarly Publication
Objective: To move reference librarianship beyond the “desk side” and rethink librarian-user engagement, as well as librarian involvement with research, through more active collaboration with two nursing faculty to write a book on nursing and systematic reviews.
Methods: An opportunity to collaborate with two nursing faculty was presented to a liaison librarian. The faculty sought collaboration with librarians to write book chapters on evidence-based nursing and systematic reviews. The project included reference librarians working with nurses and nursing students at other sites in our multicampus university. Part of the learning process for participants included nuances of how to write for inclusion in a book rather than a published paper; negotiations with book authors; and learning about the book publishing process, including industry-specific terminology, for example, what is a copyright editor, who is a reviewer, and when are contract amendments in order.
Results: Results include increased awareness of publishing process, how to work with faculty collaborators, process of writing collaboratively, art of negotiating honoraria, and librarian’s perceptions of themselves as coauthors and equal collaborators with faculty, not just as “free labor” or at-will service professionals. Nursing faculty saw the scholarly role librarians play in the systematic review research process, beyond execution of literature searches. Librarians were recognized as full participants and listed as co-collaborators.
Conclusions: Faculty realized the vital role librarians play working with researchers and clinicians, assisting them in learning about realistic expectations for comprehensive systematic review searches (time demands and how to manage citations) and providing tips for conducting effective searches. Librarians realized that book publication involves an ongoing process and, similar to systematic review work, takes time. Effort and time invested in the project helped librarians realize that detailed negotiations, such as knowledge of demands and deadlines, should be discussed before embarking on a book project.
Authors: Marie K. Saimbert, Information and Education Librarian, George F. Smith Library of the Health Sciences, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ; Janette (Jenny) Pierce, Public Services Librarian, Health Sciences Library at Stratford, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Stratford, NJ; Pam Hargwood, Information and Education Librarian, Robert Wood Johnson Library of the Health Sciences, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ; John T. Oliver, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY
