Is the Way Clear? Assessing the Usefulness of Resource Guide Sharing in Academic-Public Library Collaboration

Objectives: This study assesses resource guides as a means of low-barrier, geography-agnostic interprofessional outreach. Resource guides are a mainstay of library services, but how effective is the format as a method of sharing expertise? This study aims to assess the impact of distributing a resource guide on public library workers’ knowledge of and use of consumer health resources.

Methods: Using a two-group pretest/posttest design, consenting public library workers within a single metro area were given a pretest where they were surveyed on their current perceived and actual knowledge of consumer health resources. Subjects were then randomly allocated into control and intervention groups. The intervention group received a digital copy of a consumer health information resource guide designed by health sciences librarians. After a period of three months, both groups completed a posttest identical to the initial pretest survey. At the end of the study, the control group also received a copy of the guide.

Results: The intervention group that received the resource packet showed improvement in neither perceived nor actual knowledge of consumer health resources when compared to the control group that did not receive the resource packet. However, the sample size was very small: this is not a statistically significant result.

Conclusions: The primary utility of this pilot study is to inform future research on resource guides as a form of interprofessional outreach. This study alone does not prove the [in]efficacy of the resource guide used or guides in general. Distributing resource guides is a very common method of outreach, and further assessment is needed to determine if they are effective.