PurposeThis study aims to develop a systematic approach for assessing local training needs in order to reskill liaison librarians for new roles in scholarly communication and research data management.Design/methodology/approachThis study followed a training needs assessment approach to develop a survey instrument that was administered electronically to liaison librarians. Survey data were analysed to create an overall prioritization score used to rank local training topics in terms of need. Additional data will inform the design, including formats, of a training agenda to meet these needs.FindingsSurvey results indicated that training for research data topics should be prioritized and addressed using hands‐on methods that would allow liaison librarians to develop tangible skills directly applicable to individual outreach activities.Research limitations/implicationsTraining priorities often involve factors beyond the scope of this training needs assessment methodology. This methodology also presupposes a list of potential training topics. All training efforts resulting from this study will be assessed in order to determine the effectiveness of the initial interventions and inform the next steps in this iterative training agenda.Practical implicationsInvolving potential trainees in the prioritization and development of a training agenda provides valuable information and may lead to increased receptivity to training.Originality/valueThis study provides a model for academic libraries to use to assess training needs in order to reskill current staff to adapt to a rapidly changing research and scholarly communication landscape.

BackgroundInjection drug users and female sex workers are two of the populations most at risk for becoming infected with HIV in countries with concentrated epidemics. Many of the adults who fall into these categories are also parents, but little is known about the vulnerabilities faced by their children, their children's sources of resilience, or programmes providing services to these often fragile families. This review synthesizes evidence from disparate sources describing the vulnerabilities and resilience of the children of female sex workers and drug users, and documents some models of care that have been put in place to assist them.ReviewA large literature assessing the vulnerability and resilience of children of drug users and alcoholics in developed countries was found. Research on the situation of the children of sex workers is extremely limited. Children of drug users and sex workers can face unique risks, stigma and discrimination, but both child vulnerability and resilience are associated in the drug use literature with the physical and mental health of parents and family context. Family-centred interventions have been implemented in low- and middle-income contexts, but they tend to be small, piecemeal and struggling to meet demand; they are poorly documented, and most have not been formally evaluated. We present preliminary descriptive data from an organization working with pregnant and new mothers who are drug users in Ukraine and from an organization providing services to sex workers and their families in Zambia.ConclusionsBecause parents' drug use or sex work is often illegal and hidden, identifying their children can be difficult and may increase children's vulnerability and marginalization. Researchers and service providers, therefore, need to proceed with caution when attempting to reach these populations, but documentation and evaluation of current programmes should be prioritized.

In exploring new ways of teaching students how to use Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), librarians at Boston University's Alumni Medical Library (AML) integrated social tagging into their instruction. These activities were incorporated into the two-credit graduate course, "GMS MS 640: Introduction to Biomedical Information," required for all students in the graduate medical science program. Hands-on assignments and in-class exercises enabled librarians to present MeSH and the concept of a controlled vocabulary in a familiar and relevant context for the course's Generation Y student population and provided students the opportunity to actively participate in creating their education. At the conclusion of these activities, students were surveyed regarding the clarity of the presentation of the MeSH vocabulary. Analysis of survey responses indicated that 46% found the concept of MeSH to be the clearest concept presented in the in-class intervention.