1. Do clinical staff and
managers in an academic
teaching hospital use
library services and the
published literature in
their working lives?
Anne Murphy BA DLIS MSc
Head Librarian, Tallaght Hospital
4th
QQML Conference, 22nd
-25th
May 2012,
Limerick

2. Tallaght Hospital, Dublin

3. Tallaght Hospital Library
We provide 2,500 staff with
access to the knowledge base
of health care to support them
in their work

4. Overview
• Data sources
• Library Services
• Access to the
Published
Literature
• Conclusions

5. Three Sources of Data
• Statistics
2005-2011
Document Supply
• Two Surveys
March 2010,
Library Ireland Week
November 2010
Use of library services and
the published literature

6. Use of Library Services
March 2010 Survey
20%
17%
16%
12%
10%
9%
7%
5% 4% Online Journals
Online Databases
Book Borrowing
Print Journals
Reading / Study Place
Interlibrary Loan / Document
Supply
Reference and Enquiry /
Library Staff Advice
Medline training
Access to the Internet on
PCs in the Library

7. Use of Library Services
November 2010 Survey
29%
21%
18%
16%
10%
6% Online journals
Print journals
Online databases
Interlibrary Loan
Reference and Enquiry /
Library Staff advice
Access to AMNCH Library
online on the PCs in the
Library

8. Use of Library Services
Comparison: Doctors & Managers
0
20
40
60
80
100
Online
journals
Print
journals
Online
databases
Interlibrary
Loan
Reference
and
Enquiry /
Library
Staff
advice
Access to
Tallaght
Library
online on
the PCs in
the Library
Doctors
Managers

9. Use of Library Services
Comparison of the 2 Surveys
0
10
20
30
40
Online
Journals
Print
Journals
Online
Databases
Document
Supply
Reference
& Enquiry
PCs in the
Library
Other
Mar-10
Nov-10

10. Document Supply Use
2005-2011
31%
18%
1%0%
50%
Direct patient care
Teaching
Learning
Research
Hospital Work,
Other

11. Document Supply Use
Hospital Work, Other
28%
20%
18%
16%
9%
7%
2% Research to improve
existing service
Report Writing
Quality Improvement
Researching service
development
Department generated
in-service
Audit
Policy Development

12. Information-seeking Reasons
March 2010
20%
26%
10%
3%
41%
Evidence based
practice
Teaching
Learning
Research
Hospital Work,
Other

13. Published Literature Use
Nov 2010 Survey
34%
28%
15%
3%
20% Evidence-based
practice
Teaching
Learning
Research
Hospital Work,
Other

14. Published Literature Use
Comparison of the Two Surveys
0
10
20
30
40
50
Evidence-
based
Practice
Teaching Learning Research Hospital
Work
Mar-10
Nov-10

15. Published Literature Use
Doctors
19%
18%
14%12%
11%
11%
9%
6%
Treatment
Latest research on a
specific topic
New information in a
disease area
Specific patient problem
Diagnosis
Drug information
New therapy / product
information
Prognosis

16. Published Literature Use
Frequency of use for patient care
35%
31%
17%
5%
2%
6%
4%
0-1 per week
2-3 per week
4-5 per week
6-7 per week
8-9 per week
10 or more per week
Non-responder

17. Conclusions
• Clinical staff and managers use library
services and the published literature for
– Evidence-based practice
– Hospital work
– Teaching
– Learning
– Research