Fiscal Year 2019 (July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019) was filled with continued innovation, thriving partnerships and diligent stewardship of our world-class resources. Find details, collection and usage statistics, and more in the full FY19 Annual Report Booklet and FY19 Annual Report Supplement and Appendices. Key points are below.
BUILDING ON STRONG FOUNDATIONS
FY 2019 ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS
Accelerating Research
Our primary focus is supporting a cutting-edge research university with innovative tools and services.
- Providing information essential to our scientists, our 8,340 e-journal titles were used 3,274,946 times and our 68,876 e-book titles were used 482,217 times.
- Increasing access to basic research computing skills, we continue to partner with the Institute for Informatics and the Center for High-Performance Computing on a series of hands-on workshops. During FY19, 21 workshop sessions drew 707 attendees (a 222% increase in attendance since the workshops began in 2016).
- Meeting the demand for data analysis tools, Becker Library provides 185 lab licenses and 1,331 individual licenses for nine research software tools. This not only reduces lab costs, but also creates a community of practice around these specialized tools.
- Evolving to meet the needs of our researchers, we created a new Division of Data and Research Computing and hired an additional senior support scientist to provide data management and sharing services, including a new series of REDCap workshops.
- Extending access to research discoveries, we continued to expand the medical school’s digital repository, Digital Commons@Becker. The total number of items downloaded since the repository launched in 2010 is now approximately 1.85 million.
- Helping to bring science from bench to bedside, we led the development of case studies for the Translational Science Benefits Model website, which launched in January 2019.
Strengthening Patient Care
We bring expertise and thoughtfully curated resources to clinicians at the point of decision-making.
- Increasing the delivery of evidence-based information at the point-of-care, clinical librarians regularly participated in teaching rounds at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
- Integrating information services seamlessly into the hospitals, a clinical librarian served as a member of the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) committee and co-instructor for the EBP fellowship program conducted annually by the Department of Research for Patient Care Services.
- Bringing trusted information to patients and families, a Becker librarian at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Center for Families Resource Library provided educational materials to patients and families and participated in community outreach events.
Enriching Teaching
We train students to be thorough and agile researchers who can lead in the age of the physician-scientist.
- Supporting the Institute for Informatics’ Clinical Informatics Fellowship Program, we hosted a fellowship rotation that included curriculum on licensing, evidence-based practice, taxonomies, info-button technology and clinical information resources.
- Collaborating with the Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences, we created an easy-to-use web guide to give curriculum and research faculty a practical, sustainable method for curating education resources.
- Training students to effectively communicate with patients, our health communication specialist is now included as an annual lecturer for the medical doctor, physical therapy and occupational therapy programs.
- Helping to make research documents more clear and understandable, our health communication specialist reviewed and edited survey instruments, recruitment material, consent documents, a student conference paper and more.
Improving Health and Wellness on our Campus
The Irwin M. and Laura J. Feuerstein Health & Wellness Information Center officially opened with a dedication ceremony in October 2018, thanks to the alumni couple’s generosity. Located on the first floor of Bernard Becker Medical Library, the center is a campus resource for the Washington University community providing access to printed and electronic health information and promoting programs and campus events on wellness and healthy living to benefit staff, students and faculty.