Assessment of Biomedical and Science Librarian E-science Learner and User Needs to Develop an E-science Web Portal and Support Library and Institutional E-science Initiatives and Collaborations

Objective: To determine biomedical and science librarians\u27 need for an e-science web portal and to gather data on their user needs and Web 2.0 preferences in order to design a e-science web portal and support the development and strengthening of libraries’ e-science initiatives and collaborations. Methods: Using feedback from librarian interviews from attendees of an e-science symposium and boot-camp, we researched and developed questions to survey learner needs. We created the survey using SurveyMonkey. A small group of medical librarians then tested the survey. Based on the feedback of the testing, the survey was revised. The survey was administered to 178 health sciences librarians. After 3 weeks, 73 data sets and responses were collected and analyzed. Results and Conclusions: Preliminary results reveal a small yet significant number of diverse biomedical and science libraries actively engaged or actively pursuing e-science collaborations. These results indicate librarians have urgent needs for online scientific content and data tool tutorials to support and facilitate the exchange of e-science knowledge and experience among colleagues. In addition and important to note, the results indicate a significant need for and lack of awareness of online e-science resources. Thus, to support the e-science initiatives, biomedical and science librarians need an interactive e-science web portal designed by librarians that integrates e-science web resources and scientific content development. Additional areas for future research include identifying and examining the specific types of e-science collaborations and endeavors among biomedical and scientific institutions and their libraries and librarians and studying the future effectiveness and/or impact of the web portal and its resources and Web 2.0 tools on these collaborations and endeavors. Presented April 7, 2010, at the Second Annual University of Massachusetts and New England Area Librarian E-Science Symposium, Shrewsbury, MA