title: Effects of librarian-provided services in healthcare settings: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effects of librarian-provided services in healthcare settings on patient, healthcare provider, and researcher outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medline, CINAHL, ERIC, LISA (Library and Information Science Abstracts), and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from inception to June 2013. Studies involving librarian-provided services for patients encountering the healthcare system, healthcare providers, or researchers were eligible for inclusion. All librarian-provided services in healthcare settings were considered as an intervention, including hospitals, primary care settings, or public health clinics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-five articles fulfilled our eligibility criteria, including 22 primary publications and three companion reports. The majority of studies (15/22 primary publications) examined librarians providing instruction in literature searching to healthcare trainees, and measured literature searching proficiency. Other studies analyzed librarian-provided literature searching services and instruction in question formulation as well as the impact of librarian-provided services on patient length of stay in hospital. No studies were found that investigated librarians providing direct services to researchers or patients in healthcare settings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Librarian-provided services directed to participants in training programs (eg, students, residents) improve skills in searching the literature to facilitate the integration of research evidence into clinical decision-making. Services provided to clinicians were shown to be effective in saving time for health professionals and providing relevant information for decision-making. Two studies indicated patient length of stay was reduced when clinicians requested literature searches related to a patient's case.
authors.affiliation: Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Laure
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Perrier
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Farrell
authors.affiliation: Gerstein Science Library, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: A Patricia
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Ayala
authors.affiliation: St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lightfoot
authors.affiliation: George J Farha Medical Library, Kansas University School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita, USA.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kenny
authors.affiliation: West Hills Hospital & Medical Center, West Hills, USA.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aaronson
authors.affiliation: Taubman Health Sciences Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Allee
authors.affiliation: Winn-Dixie Foundation Medical Library, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, USA.
authors.forename: Tara
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2175-4819
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brigham
authors.affiliation: Daniel Library, The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, Charleston, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Connor
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Library, Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: Teodora
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Constantinescu
authors.affiliation: The Commonwealth Medical College, Scranton, USA.
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muellenbach
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical Library, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Helen-Ann Brown
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.affiliation: Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, Ponoma, USA.
authors.forename: Ardis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D006268:Health Facilities; D006801:Humans; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval; D016245:Librarians; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D005791:Patient Care
keywords: Librarians; Library Services; Medical Informatics; Systematic Review