MLA/AAHSL Educational Research/Assessment Task Force - Charge

Goal: Identify/develop standards for conducting educational research/assessment for health sciences librarians. Identify/develop standards for reporting health sciences educational research/assessment. Increase the competency of health sciences librarians conducting educational research by outlining a plan for webinars and other training opportunities for health sciences librarians interested in conducting educational research/assessment. 

Statement of problem or need: Health sciences librarians are involved in health sciences education, but the impact of their involvement has not been well-documented in peer-reviewed literature. An AAHSL Task Force looking at librarian involvement in competency based medical education identified few articles that showed demonstrable impact using validated educational assessment tools. Justification: This taskforce is needed to identify and/or develop standards for conducting educational research/assessment done by health sciences librarians. This will allow librarians to conduct research on the impact of librarians in health sciences education. 

Past relevant MLA action or policy: MLA is moving beyond statements and working towards action. This taskforce will serve to create standards to demonstrate evidence of the impact that health sciences librarians have as educators.