The evolving role of the librarian in evidence-based medicine

Librarians' participation in evidence-based medicine (EBM) is rooted in pas t practices, most notably in clinical medical librarianship. EBM extends th e librarians' role beyond identification of the literature to involvement i n practicing and teaching quality filtering and critical appraisal of the l iterature. These activities require librarians to acquire new knowledge and develop new skills. A professional development program for librarians at t he Library of the Health Sciences (LHS) at the University of Illinois at Ch icago (UIC) is described. The program's goals are to increase librarians' s kills and support the EBM curricular initiative at the UIC College of Medic ine (COM). The unique program has been a collaborative effort of the LHS an d the COM. The locally developed classes provide Librarians: with instructi on in clinical study designs, statistical concepts, and critical appraisal of the Literature. Other interventions such as an EBM round table are also described. The programs' success is measured by librarians' growing involve ment in EBM medical curricula, journal clubs, and morning reports. Addition ally, librarians gained competence in new skills and professional satisfact ion from working collegially with COM students, residents, and faculty.