Introduction: Though it is well recognized that librarians bring value to knowledge synthesis teams,library technicians have largely been excluded from this process. This study was designed to determine the extentto which library technicians are currently participating in knowledge syntheses, to investigate where these twoprofessional groups, librarians and library technicians, see opportunities for future collaboration, and to identifythe challenges and successes perceived by both groups. Methods: An electronic survey, consisting of multiplechoice and short answer queries, was distributed to targeted listservs. The target audience for survey participantswas librarians, or library technicians, who work in a library with any scale of knowledge synthesis service.Responses were collated, coded, and organized by themes. Results: 170 responses were received and evenlyrepresented librarians (n=84) and library technicians (n=79), including 7 incomplete responses. 31% (n=50) ofrespondents stated that they currently collaborate or have collaborated in the past on knowledge synthesis projectswith the other professional group. Tasks completed by the library technician included article retrieval, citationmanagement, retrieving reference lists, and database searching. The major challenge reported with collaborationon knowledge synthesis projects was library technician qualifications. Major successes included time efficiencyfor librarians, and the opportunity for technicians to develop new skills. Discussion: Librarians and librarytechnicians collaborate on knowledge synthesis projects in several ways, and those expanding their servicesshould consider library technicians as possible collaborators. There are also challenges and limitations to keep inmind with these collaborations. More research and discussion in this area is needed.
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