1 Placing the Academic Library at the center of the veterinary PhD students’ formation Life Sciences Library University of Liège, Belgium European Conference of Medical and Health Libraries - June 2008, Helsinki, Finland Christine Brouwir - Sandrine Vandenput EAHIL BSV

2 Veterinary schools in French-speaking Belgium NORTH SEA Bruxelles Liège University ULg Dutch-speaking French-speaking 6 years FUNDP UCL ULB DVM (2007) n = 320 M1 M2 M3 B1 B2 B3 3 years masters (ULg only) 3 years bachelors (all schools) Louvain-la -neuve Namur

3 The place of the Library in the vet cursus and in the practitioners’ life BachelorsMasters Professional level Time + Library action Basics in IT literacy ▪ IT literacy advanced courses ▪ Scientific writing Targeted and advanced courses

4 At the professional level How does the Life Sciences Library help them ? Practitioners Researchers Complementary Master PhD students + Library action Continuing education (conferences,…) Bibliographic management (EndNote) Support in publishing (AMV) Trainings in scientific writing IT literacy advanced courses

5 In practice for the PhD students 1.Specific targeted courses and training sessions (a) Advanced skills in information literacy (b) How to write and publish a scientific paper (c) Bibliographic management 2.Support in scientific writing (a) Opportunities to publish a review article (b) Open access publication of PhD thesis

6 a) Advanced skills in information literacy 10 h theorical + 5 h workshop by a librarian + Library With a scientific vet librarian, DVM Exclusively centered on the students’ own scientific interests and needs 1. Courses and trainings

7 b) How to write and publish a scientific paper Discussion based on the different aspects of scientific writing ▪ Structure of the article ▪ Citations ▪ Ethics + Library With a librarian, PhD in veterinary medicine 1. Courses and trainings

8 EndNote trainings since 2007 Workshop with maximum 12 PhD students ▪ EndNoteweb (free for institutional members) - 5 h ▪ EndNote desktop version: advanced trainings - 3 x 2 h + Library Technical support Continuing assistance: ▪ technical helpdesk ▪ customized help c) Bibliographic management 1. Courses and trainings

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10 2. Support in publishing Local requirements for the PhD students: → 3 publications minimum in peer-reviewed journals 2 research articles + 1 «state of the Art» article

11 a) Opportunities to publish in a ‘State of the Art’ review Les Annales de Médecine Vétérinaire (AMV) → Advantages for the young researchers: ▪ First publication ▪ In a peer-reviewed journal ▪ Extended dissemination of their first scientific publication ▪ Formal procedures simplified ▪ In mother tongue (French) + Library Easy access to the editor-in-chief (scientific librarian of the university) Familiar context for publication 2. Support in publishing

12 b) Online publication of the PhD thesis Electronic deposit of theses in Bictel: Advantages for the young researchers: ▪ Valorization of the PhD research ▪ Increased visibility and notoriety + Library Technical assistance 2. Support in publishing

13 In the future… ▪ Developing objective evaluations of the different trainings ▪ Improving the librarians’ teaching skills and expertise ▪ Reinforcing the Library’s position and the variety of its roles in the Vet Faculty ▪ Strengthening the Cooperation between Library and Faculty In october 2008, a scientific will be hired by the VMF to develop pedagogic tools in collaboration with the Library

14 FACULTY AND LIBRARY PARTNERSHIP For a good FOR A GOOD…TEAM WORK ! Thank you for your attentive listening