Collaboration Between Academic Librarians and Nursing Faculty: An Integrative Review.

BACKGROUND

Librarian expertise is an integral component of teaching, learning, and scholarship in nursing education; however, these collaborative partnerships remain underutilized.

PURPOSE: To identify student and faculty learning opportunities that emerge through collaboration, this integrative review examined literature describing partnerships between nursing faculty and academic librarians.

METHODS

An integrative review was conducted using Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, MEDLINE, Library and Information Science Source, Google Scholar, and Primo. Data were synthesized using a thematic analysis approach.

RESULTS

Included articles highlight diverse collaborative efforts that support nursing education and promote faculty development. We identified 3 themes: student-focused learning; faculty-focused learning and development; and varied and creative collaborations between librarians and nursing faculty.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings demonstrate that academic librarians make important contributions to nursing education through curriculum development, information literacy instruction, faculty scholarship, and innovative educational partnerships. Leveraging librarian expertise can enrich nursing curricula and strengthen faculty development initiatives.