Adapting Systematic Review Services to Meet Researcher and Librarian Needs

Background: With the number of systematic reviews indexed in PubMed nearly doubling in the past decade, health sciences librarians are experiencing an increase in requests for their specialized skills and expertise to co-create research projects. A strategic approach to supporting evidence synthesis teams benefits investigators by enhancing the manuscript’s efficiency, impact, and quality. The method can be customized to align with library and user requirements at a given time and adjusted as needs evolve. Case Presentation: This case study describes the evolution of librarian-supplied information and support for growing numbers of evidence synthesis requests at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine. In the first phase, there were few inquiries and librarians responded to them on an individual basis. As information requests increased, step-by-step scoping review and systematic review libguides were created to optimize librarian time and make the education process more efficient and streamlined. In the most recent iteration, a formalized systematic review service using a cost recovery model was implemented to recoup expenses associated with services offered. Conclusions: Systematic review support at WMed has gone through changes as needed and the current fee-based service is a work in progress. Tracking usage under this model will help assess and manage librarian capacity to provide balance with other work priorities and timely service to research teams. Libraries considering enhancing or formalizing their evidence synthesis services need to be flexible and modify support as appropriate to maximize benefits to both librarians and researchers.