Information-seeking behavior and the use of online resources: A snapshot of current health sciences faculty

摘要

Objective:The research assesses the informationseeking behaviors of health sciences faculty, including their use of online databases, journals, and social media. Methodology:A survey was designed and distributed via email to 754 health sciences faculty at a large urban research university with 6 health sciences colleges. Results:Twenty-six percent (198) of faculty responded. MEDLINE was the primary database utilized, with 78.5% respondents indicating they use the database at least once a week. Compared to MEDLINE, Google was utilized more often on a daily basis. Other databases showed much lower usage. Conclusions:Low use of online databases other than MEDLINE, link-out tools to online journals, and online social media and collaboration tools demonstrates a need for meaningful promotion of online resources and informatics literacy instruction for faculty. Implications:Library resources are plentiful and perhaps somewhat overwhelming. Librarians need to help faculty discover and utilize the resources and tools that libraries have to offer.