Evidence Syntheses Services Essentials: Building the Service

Evidence synthesis requests are growing fast—and without clear service boundaries, staffing models, and intake workflows, even experienced librarians can end up overwhelmed or under-credited. In this interactive 3‑hour workshop, librarians will learn how to design an evidence synthesis service from the ground up: defining scope, building intake forms and service agreements, assigning team roles, and creating sustainable workflows. Participants will practice real-world scenarios for setting expectations and advocating for appropriate recognition, including co-authorship aligned with established authorship criteria. Designed for solo librarians, and teams alike, you’ll leave with reusable templates, draft language, and a launch checklist you can adapt at your institution.

This course is an approved elective for the Systematic Review Services Specialization.

Course URL: Pending

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Describe core components of an evidence synthesis service (entry points, scope boundaries, policies, workflow staging, and assessment touchpoints).
• Draft a service scope statement that clearly distinguishes consultation vs. collaboration levels and defines what the service will/won’t provide.
• Create a team role and responsibility model (e.g., coordinator/lead, search specialist, intake/admin coordination)
• Build or adapt an intake form that captures the information needed to triage projects (protocol status, review question, eligibility criteria, timeline, deliverables, prior searching).
• Write service policy that sets expectations for timelines, deliverables, communication norms, and attribution/recognition.
• Use negotiation strategies and documentation practices to advocate for appropriate recognition of librarian intellectual contributions (aligned with professional competency expectations).

Agenda

• Welcome (5 min)
• Part 1: Blueprint for starting service (80 min total)
• Mini lecture: Factors to determine your scope and roles to be covered (20 min)
• Paired exercise with case study (20 min)
• Demonstrate options for workflows of intake/ stats to track (20 min)
• Paired exercise with case study (20 min)
• –Break 10 min–
• Part 2: Workflows and assessments (80 min total)
• Mini lecture: Documentation needs in running a service (20 min)
• Paired exercise, try different tools (20 min)
• Mini lecture: Assessment of the service (20 min)
• Exercise, review stat form (20 min)
• Close (5 min)

MLA CE Credits: 3