The Library Liaison Program

Last year, reference librarians were assigned to each Problem-based learning (PBL) group to assist the students in locating and evaluating quality resources to address learning issues that arose from the presented cases. These resource librarians attended the PBL sessions, participated in the discussions and met with the students individually to improve their information seeking skills, to develop critical appraisal techniques, and to learn about various resources available in the library's collection. Those resources included biomedical databases, evidence-based resources, electronic full-text resources, and print materials. The program was a large investment of time, energy, and effort for the library staff, but one that was felt to be important in developing life-long learning skills for future physicians. The program was pronounced successful by students, PBL tutors, and librarians in achieving the goals of the program and it was decided to continue the program for the 2001-2001 academic year.

This year, all MS1 PBL groups meet at the same time on the same day so each resource librarian has to divide time between two groups which allows only one hour to meet with each group. This time constraint though less than ideal, is working out well in meeting the goals of the program. The success of the program is due to the commitment of the resource librarians, support of library administration, and eagerness of the students to develop these information skills that will assist them in providing quality patient care during their academic years, and into the future.