Research Interests
My dissertation focused on the sensemaking behavior of hospital librarians. I used the Micro-Moment Time-line interview method of Brenda Dervin and her initial categories to conduct and analyze interviews with hospital librarians throughout the United States. Initial questions were framed by theories of Karl Weick, so that grounded analysis also considered decision making affected by awareness of the organizationals context. This text, entitled The Sense-Making Practices of Hospital Librarians, is waiting review prior to UMI availability.
- Evidence-based practice
- Research methods in LIS
- Consumer health information behavior
- Educational methods
I am equally interested in consumer health information behavior. As health information professionals, we are partners in health, advocates for informed decision making. Questions here concern health information literacy and ways in which we can support provider-patient trust in what should be a shared journey. I believe that the voice of the consumer (all of us!) should be heard, and that librarians can be part of the change that needs to happen.
While some may find that evidence-based practice is 'old wine in new bottles,' I believe the model proposed for health science librarians and the library science profession is incomplete, and may be based more upon an academic research model than upon the realities of working practice. Since the model is intended to bridge gaps between research and practice, our understanding of librarians in their work environments should be its basis.
As an educator in any setting, I am excited to discover better ways to involve people in the learning/teaching process. In LIS education, it's a way to bring new voices to the table, but this is true in any setting, for any population.