ArticleThe journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association2026
When patrons "click" with the library's literature searches: using data from a novel link generation process to assess patron engagement with literature search results.
Article in The journal of the Canadian Health Libraries Association, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: One of the core services the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority Virtual Library (WRHAVL) provides is literature searching for healthcare staff. Librarians send results to patrons as a reference list with links to the items identified. To improve access to the library's collection, and to understand patrons' engagement, the library developed a novel process for generating trackable links. Link and click data were analyzed to assess patron engagement with the literature search service. Methods: Leveraging the link management tool Short.io and a Visual Basic for Applications macro, the library uses an automated process to generate trackable links for literature search results sent to patrons. Click and link data are automatically collected in Short.io. Data from 19 October 2022 to 31 October 2024 was cleaned and exported into Excel for analysis. Logistic regression analysis was conducted in R. Results: Over the two-year study period, librarians sent 344 literature searches to patrons using this method. Patrons clicked at least one link in 194, or 56%, of reference lists. The percentage of total links clicked was higher for point of care and quick reference resources. Greater numbers of digital object identifier (DOI) and PubMed identifier (PMID) links included in a literature search predicted a decrease in the odds of someone clicking at least one link. Patrons clicked more than 20 links in only 10, or just 3%, of literature searches. Discussion: The data provides valuable insights into patron engagement with the WRHAVL's literature search service. The discovery that 44% of reference lists did not have a single click warrants further investigation.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.