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

OBJECTIVE: The research assesses the information-seeking 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.