"Searching" vs. "Finding"

So, it turns out that the class script I posted yesterday wasn't ANYTHING like what my faculty person wanted; fortunately, he called me at about 11AM today to clarify and I think I was able to give them something useful.

I always learn something when I teach, and what I learned is an idea that may not be groundbreaking for you, but which stopped me in my tracks when it occurred to me. I'm talking about the difference between "searching" and "finding."

Searching is what librarians are REALLY good at: we build strategies, use thesauri, cross databases, and generally think of every way we possibly can to get at information. The mechanics of searching are complex: using the Clipboard in PubMed is one of the mechanics of searching, and there are a lot of little technical minutiae just like that.

However, the mechanics of searching actually have very little to do with finding (and this was the Ah-ha! for me). Finding is getting to some piece of information that will actually meet your information need. It has absolutely nothing to do with the process of looking for what you eventually find. Good searching can help you find, and bad searching can keep you from finding, but searching is not and never will be finding.

What this means is that I'm REALLY TEMPTED to stop showing the MeSH browser in PubMed. I'm REALLY TEMPTED to tell people that for most searching, a keyword and limits and the "related articles" link will find them something useful. I'm REALLY TEMPTED to start talking about finding instead of spending all my time on searching.

Librarians in general and medical librarians especially scream at this sort of thinking. If there's a life on the line, by golly, you better be running the most robust search you can. Yes, of course you should. But, how many hospitals live without librarians these days? And WHAT CLINICIAN CAN ACTUALLY DO A DECENT SEARCH? I mean, really? I would rather have a half-assed search find something in PubMed than have a clinican with no access to a librarian stumbling around in Ovid (or worse).

I say, Amen! to NCBI for figuring out that finding is what we're trying to do, and making it as easy as possible to find something. Why aren't all library systems like this? Why don't they all map an incredibly sophisticated and robust taxonomy to an even more sophisticatedmetathesaurus?

Of course sophisticated systems that make finding possible without a lot of searching crap takes out the obvious need for a librarian, which might be a wee bit of a snicker, but otherwise it is pure genius. And frankly, once our obvious reasons for existence are gone, we can start looking for real ways to make a difference.

Outcomes Research in Health Care Script

In case anyone has ever wondered what I talk to the Health Policy department about, here's the script of a class I'm giving on Tuesday. At least, I hope this is the script. I'm not really clear on what exactly my faculty wants and I've asked four times. I'm frankly a little afraid to ask him again.

*******
Outcomes Research in Health
January 31, 2006
One hour (45 minutes)

Introduction
• Introduce self
• Just talking about resources, not search fundamentals; happy to do one-on-one for assistance with actually doing a search
• Launch browser
• Click through to library
• Use links on web site to activate proxy server (doesn’t work from the VA)

PubMed
• Open PubMed
• PubMed is really the place to start all heathcare research
• Can use OVID, too, but PubMed has some special features for this area
• Can run a regular search and narrow down, absolutely
o Use MESH and subheadings to really get into things
o Can limit to practice guidelines
o Nice tutorials linked from the sidebar
o Pneumonia[MAJR] AND “outcome assessment (health care)”[mesh]
• Open Special Queries page
• Special Queries page provides a goldmine of goodies

Clinical Queries
• Find clinical trials, systematic reviews
• Access to clinical information
• Pneumonia[MAJR], clinical prediction guides and narrow
• Narrow vs. broad

Health Services Research Queries
• Articles related to quality or costs (see handout for specifics)
• Pneumonia[MAJR], outcomes assessment and narrow
• Narrow vs. broad
• Surprisingly little overlap with the “outcome assessment” Mesh search above

“HealthStar” Subset Search
• HealthStar used to be a separate NLM database for administrative information
• In regular PubMed search box, enter: jsubseth AND economics
• Then “and” in whatever major topic desired
• This can be like using a flamethrower to light a match but can be useful
• jsubseth AND economics AND pneumonia


Books of Possible Interest
• Under the “Books” link on far right in PubMed interface
• Health Services/Technology Assessment Text (HSTAT)Show this one
• Health, United States, 2004

Cochrane
• Serious EBP resource
• Link on library databases page
• Open Cochrane
• Searching is a little less clear
• Click on advanced search, use the Mesh search
• Pneumonia
• Show what comes up in the different areas

Ebsco Health Business Fulltext Elite (if time)
• Very heavily administrative
• Link on library databases page
• Open EHBFTE
• Use subjects “outcome assessment (medical care)” or “medical care—quality control”

The Last Refuge of the Damned

Why did I do the worst case scenario first? I don't know, but it came to me almost fully formed.

I would really appreciate comments on these; remember, this is the first of three and it is supposed to represent the worst case scenario. Did I miss anything? Is there some way the future could be even more bleak?

The Last Refuge of the Damned
“I never thought I would say this,” the director began, “but we are in a dangerous situation. We’ve done everything we possibly could to make the building and our services appealing to our end users, but usage continues to decline. On this year’s student survey, only one in five students had even visited the library this year.”

There were grim looks between the librarians around the table. They all knew what had happened over the last ten years: the library renovation, the move to provide outreach and department- or school-specific services, the push to expand the idea of what a library was and could do—nothing had stopped the slide in usage that had begun in the late 90’s. At best, they could say that all of their work had merely postponed the inevitable.

“Ubiquitous computing killed us,” said one of the librarians. “Once enough information really was easily available anytime and anywhere, people just didn’t need a library anymore.”

“I agree,” said another. “I think it was the Tablet PC rollout in 2006. “Once those kids got those machines in their hands, we never saw them again.”

“I don’t know that it was just the machines,” said the first. “The fact that there is so much out there that really is free on the Internet these days just makes what we have to offer less appealing.”

Several people replied at once: “But, the stuff on the Internet is crap!”

“You know that, and I know that,” said the director, “but our patrons don’t know and don’t care. The end result is the same.” She sent a stern look around the table. “We could also look at ourselves and say we didn’t look enough to patron needs, that we stuck with the traditional model of librarianship too long, and then it was too late to really do anything.”

One staffer piped up, “You could also blame administration for never fully funding us and for treating us like second-class citizens for the last 15 years!”

The director ignored this and turned on the overhead projector. The librarians saw the lines of an organizational chart appear. As what the document represented became clear in their minds, faces paled with fear or turned red with anger.

“What is this?!?” demanded one of the staff.

“This is the new reality,” said the director. “The remnants of the print collection are being moved to offsite storage. One clerical position will be retained to maintain the print collection and to fill whatever limited requests come in for access. Copyright compliance will be integrated into Teaching and Learning Technologies. I’ve talked with their director and she doesn’t anticipate needing more than two people for this.”

“Where’s reference?” asked the head of public services in a small voice.

The director looked over the top of her glasses. “There won’t be any more reference,” she said. “Once the print collection is gone, the building will be turned over to the schools for testing and study space.”

General groaning followed this announcement. “Even if the collection is all electronic, they’ll still need people to buy it and organize it,” someone commented. “Where are those people?”

The director looked around. “An Elsevier rep was at the last management meeting. With all of the financial savings from eliminating the library, the institution will be making the ConsultSuite available. They’re touting it as a ‘true virtual library’ and saying it will more than adequately meet the needs of faculty, students, and staff. All of you will be employed until the end of the fiscal year and then your positions will be eliminated. Those of you with applicable skills will have preference given if you apply for positions elsewhere in Information Resources.”

Silence followed this pronouncement. “I don’t see your name on here,” one of the librarians said to the director. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m retiring,” the director said, taking off her glasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Enough is enough.”

Scenario Planning

SLIM's theory-based curriculum has been berated by a number of people, and their online classes have gotten a lot of guff as well, but one of the best classes I took was an online management course on scenario planning. The basic concept is that you gather information, look at it, and come up with a best case, worst case, and middle of the road scenario. Then, you undertake activities that fit into all three scenarios. That way, everything you do will be "right," regardless of what actually happens--which is of course completely unpredictable.

I'm elbow-deep in the future of libraries right now, what with journal club (x2), the changes happening at our insitution, and the general buzz in libraryland, so I decided to do a little scenario scripting as I begin to make recommendations for the future of digital resources here.

Here are some of my basic assumptions, and I'll post my first completed scenario in a minute.

1. Patron preference for digital over print will continue to increase
2. More materials will be freely available online although considerable content will still be within paid access “walled gardens”
3. Prices for print and paid-access “walled gardens” will continue to increase at a rate faster than inflation
4. Budgets will increase at a rate less than that of inflation causing ongoing shortfalls each year
5. Patrons are going to be increasingly less willing to come to the library for materials
6. Patrons are going to be increasingly less willing to wait or pay for ILL
7. Patrons are going to be increasingly less willing to learn separate database interfaces
8. As more information becomes available, the idea of “good enough” information will completely overtake the search for “the best” or “all available” information

Lazy Post

If Queequeg can do it, I can do it, too.

1. Name three things you can't live without:
Beatrice, sunlight, text

2. If you could hang out for a night with any fictional character, who would it be?
I have absolutely no answer for this! I just don't know!

3. As a kid, what did you want to be when you grow up?
Meteorologist, professional musician (string bass)

4. Right now what do you want to be when you grow up?
The big boss lady

5. What song always makes you cry?
"Stones in the Road" by Mary Chapin Carpenter

6. What's the best advice you've ever been given?
The way to manage your to-do list is not to do more but to manage the expectations behind the list.

7. Are you a good liar?
Absolutely not--my face shows everything

8. What still surprises you about your life?
I'm a suburbanite mommy librarian and generally happy being just that

9. What quality can make you instantly connect to someone?
Eye sparkle

10. What turns you off right away?
An "I deserve it" attitude

11. What's really difficult for you?
Managing the expectations behind the list (see #6)

12. What do you wish you'd done differently?
I wish I had demanded my parents buy me a bass for high school graduation

13. Desert island picks?
Swiss army knife and a semi full of sunscreen

14. Favorite spot at home?
Kitchen table--I just love to sit there

15. What emotion motivates too many of your actions?
Fear (see #6, yet again)

16. Favorite kind of extreme weather?
Wind without storms--it's a Kansas thing, and maybe a southern/western Kansas thing at that

17. Do you have any recurring dreams?
I have nightmares about tornadoes

18. Psychic or shrink?
Shrink

19. Vintage or modern?
Modern

20. Do you ever scream?
Not usually, although I yell more than I'd like

21. What are you most afraid of?
My to-do list (again, see #6)

The Clean Inbox: An Update

So, I dumped my entire inbox into a folder for "later" a few days ago and started over with a clean slate. I'm pleased to say that I have maintained the serenity of the clean inbox, now having just four messages which all require action this morning (that is, they should be gone by noon). I highly recommend this, as it's so easy to go ahead and tidy the inbox when there's only 10 to 30 messages instead of 100+.

Most interesting about this process has been watching the things that I let sit and thinking about why I let them turn into e-clutter. There was email about a project I can't make any headway on; there's guilt and annoyance attached to those. I decided to file them without even trying to take action, because there's nothing I can do and just looking at the the email upset me. I know what's next on that project and there's no reason to beat myself up about it.

Two that I held onto were negative responses to something I had done; when I really looked at it, I was holding onto them because I wanted there to be some way to go back in time or argue with the senders and change their content. That's not very likely, is it? I was keeping the email to remind myself to try something different next time. Yuck. Into the trash with those.

I read somewhere that there's always a really good reason we keep things beyond their use or time of intent, and I have realized that in this case, I'm not keeping email--I'm keeping feelings, and a lot of negative feelings at that! That's just not useful.

Maybe with this understanding I can make the change in my inbox permanent. My new mantra is that email is email; reply to it, act on it, file it, or trash it. A clean inbox is a happy inbox.

Now, I wonder if I can start going through my email backfiles five messages at a time?

WDT

Well, Maybe YOU'LL Be Interested In It

So, I says to myself I says, why not start a blog of all the stuff you see that might be interesting to the department you serve? Usually I email juicy tidbits to individuals, and I've gotten positive response, so blogging it seemed like a good idea. SEEMED.

I set it up (over at http://hpmmeta.blogspot.com, if you happen to want to look) and sent out an email announcing its construction. I get three responses, all, shall I say, underwhelming. I'm not sure if it's the medium, the message, or both.

Oh, well. I'm going to keep it up for a while because it's a useful exercise for me to ground myself in their area. And, if you're interested in the things that interest the people who teach the people who will evenutally be hospital CEOs (and thus, looking to cut your little budget), by all means, take a look and let me know what you think.

Ring-a-ring o' EBooks

Trixie LOVES "Ring-a-ring of roses", and for some reason the froufrala we are having about ebooks right now makes me think of the rhyme. Perhaps it's because we're all holding hands, running around and around in circles, and we occasionally all fall down. It's not as much fun doing it metaphorically at work as it is doing it in real life with my beautiful girl, though.

Here's the deal: the School of Medicine wants ebooks for their new curriculum. Fantastic! The library is helping them select useful materials. Fantastic! Many of the faculty love AccessMedicine, which I shepharded through as a purchase last year for another purpose but which is proving quite popular. Excellente!

Then, why do we all keep "falling down"? It's a combination of communication problems, varying definitions of what an ebook is or can be, and a total lack of understanding of the how the process of collecting and aquiring of library materials works. These people have no idea that we're extensively experienced in looking at a resouce and dtermining the quality of both the information and the interface, and so we are having to constantly reinterject ourselves into probelm conversations where WE ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWERS, if someone would just bother to ask us.

Many people have decried the fact that librarianship has a serious Rodney Dangerfield aspect--"we just can't get no respect." I don't have any new insight into the phenomenon, I can just say that it's darned annoying to see it in action.

WDT

The Clean Slate

Today I did something that would have been unthinkable for me a short while ago: I categorically dumped all of the email sitting in my inbox into a folder to think about "later," and I unchecked the "keep new" boxes on the hundreds of items I was keeping new in Bloglines. So, I now have a shiny clean inbox and a shiny clean feed reader. It's scary, and I'm consumed with guilt for some reason, but I feel lighter somehow.

The simple fact is that I hoard electronic clutter. Emails, documents, news items, web pages--it doesn't take up any space, right? I might need it someday, right?? It's just too cool to let go, right???

Wrong. At some point the material ceases to be useful and just sucks up my time and energy. I would never consider keeping this kind of clutter in the real world (I'm a regular shredder of paper material), so why do I keep it in the virtual world, especially when the virtual world is where I spend almost all of my work time?

The question now is if I can keep the inbox and the feed reader clean. We'll see.

WDT