Why You Need a Librarian
By Robin Featherstone
*Originally published April 26, 2017; updated April 17, 2019*
Robin Featherstone (MLIS) is the Information Specialist to Cochrane’s Editorial and Methods Department, and served as TRanslating Emergency Knowledge for Kids’ (TREKK’s) research librarian for over five years (2013–2019). In this post, Robin describes just some of the reasons librarians are so critical to knowledge synthesis and translation.
Before I tell you why librarians are critical to knowledge translation (KT), let me dispel a few misconceptions. I’m a librarian, but I don’t look like a circa-1950s secretary. I don’t collect cats. My job isn’t to alphabetize books; and please don’t ask me to organize yours. In fact, I don’t even work in a library!
Modern-day librarians work in all sorts of non-traditional settings, like hospitals and research centres. We tend to have the opposite problem to knowledge brokers — they have to explain what they do all the time. But because of longstanding stereotypes about our profession, we spend more time explaining what we don’t do than talking about our real work.
So thanks KnowledgeNudge! I’m thrilled for this opportunity to talk about research librarianship and our role in KT.
Librarians in Health Research
Librarians are ubiquitous information consultants, active wherever knowledge is created. We are critical to KT because we reduce research waste by maximizing existing knowledge.
As a research-embedded health librarian, I support evidence-based practice and knowledge syntheses, like systematic reviews and rapid reviews. I help refine topics into answerable questions, and collect the literature that researchers use to answer their questions. I work on KT projects, like Translating Emergency Knowledge for Kids (TREKK), and identify the evidence that helps make KT initiatives successful.
Librarians most commonly contribute to the initial “Synthesis” component of KT, but we also contribute to “Dissemination.” For example, I was part of the social media team for TREKK. Because we know how to find high-quality evidence, we can help you share your research findings. And we archive KT research for future use.
If you’re starting as a knowledge broker and haven’t worked with a librarian before, I urge you to find one. Ask your colleagues: Who conducts their literature searches? Librarians may also go by titles like, “Information Specialists,” “Information Professionals,” or “Knowledge Management Consultants.” We work for research centres, academic institutions, hospital networks, private enterprise and public institutions. You may already work with a librarian, but don’t even know it.
Or maybe you work with a librarian, but just assumed they alphabetized books all day. Tell them about your KT project ideas. I guarantee you’ll be grateful you did!
About the Author
Robin Featherstone is the Information Specialist to Cochrane’s Editorial & Methods Department. Previously, she was research librarian at the Alberta Research Centre for Health Evidence (ARCHE) and the research librarian for TRanslating Emergency Knowledge for Kids (TREKK). Robin completed her Masters of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) at Dalhousie University (2004–2006), and was a National Library of Medicine Associate Fellow (2006–2008).
