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“AGMB 2023: Future – now more than ever”, this was the theme of the annual conference of the German Medical Library Association (AGMB), held in Bonn from September 18 to 20, 2023. The conference was organized in cooperation by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, ZB MED – Information Center for Life Sciences and Bonn University and State Library. Presentation topics included e.g. library visibility, predatory publishing, systematic literature search, systematic review and management of research data for personal health information.

Many medicine and dentistry students aspire to continue their research or academic career after graduation, leading them to choose a doctorate. Mainz University Medical School receives around 250 to 300 doctoral thesis submissions annually, and the Departmental Library of Mainz University Medical School (BBUM) plays a crucial part in this process. During the four-year PhD programme, the BBUM provides a variety of indispensable services, courses and resources for doctoral candidates. The poster illustrates how the BBUM endeavours to assist, advise, educate and communicate with its PhD students. Additionally, it outlines the key partnerships, both formal and informal, with other stakeholders.

In Spring 2023 an online survey was realized among all medical librarian members of the working group on evidence-based medicine (AG-EBM) within the German Medical Library Association (AGMB). The focus of this survey was to characterize the services that medical librarians offer to provide library services for research. The 17-item survey also included open-ended questions, which allowed survey participants to better describe their situation. The results were complemented with case reports with illustrative examples. The survey was completed by 21 librarians. The research support services offered by the members of the AG-EBM focus on systematic literature research, literature management and open access.

The working group Evidence-Based Medicine (AG-EBM), which was established within the German Medical Library Association (AGMB) in 2019, continued its activities in 2022/2023 on a regular basis. At numerous virtual training sessions and the meeting at the AGMB 2022 annual conference in Würzburg the working group looked at the training needs of AG-EBM members and established informal training formats.

The activities of the Evidence Based Medicine Working Group within the German Medical Library Association (AGMB) continued in 2021 and 2022 with virtual journal clubs. At the AGMB meeting 2022, the group and guests will continue the discussion on continuing education. A survey on which databases are in use within in the working group is in preparation.

The activities of the recently founded Evidence Based Medicine Working Group within the German Medical Library Association (AGMB) continued in the first half of 2021 with a whole series of virtual training events and exchange of training materials. At the AGMB meeting 2021 the group and guests will explore further training opportunities and will continue the discussion on the greatest strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks medical librarians in the D-A-CH countries are confronted with when they want to implement a systematic reviews service.

Over the years, the departmental library of the University Medical Center Mainz (BBUM) has tried to provide advice to its users on systematic reviews (SR), but individual requests have failed due to a lack of human resources. Therefore, BBUM looked for an alternative to a full service and decided to develop a help for self-help offer, together with the partners of the Institute of Medical Biometrics, Epidemiology and Informatics. This approach focuses on developing scientists’ basic knowledge of SR through a practical workshop, and then offering a punctual consultancy service. In addition, a practical guideline was developed that can be used both in the workshops and as a basis for consultations.

In this interview, epidemiologists Dorle Hoffmann and Oliver Bayer give an insight into their experience with systematic reviews and related topics such as meta-analyses. They describe how the tasks have expanded step by step in recent years and the importance of local networking – especially with the medical library staff. Finally, the interview describes the role librarians can play in the preparation of systematic reviews and gives an insight into how the cooperation in Mainz is progressing with the development of a practical guide and joint training courses.

The focus of the current issue 1-2/2020 of GMS MEDIZIN – BIBLIOTHEK – INFORMATION is on evidence-based medicine and systematic review in German, Austrian and Swiss medical libraries. The authors in this issue are Helge Knüttel, Maria-Inti Metzendorf and Martina Semmler-Schmetz (Health sciences libraries in Germany as supporters of evidence-based medicine: current situation and new directions), Lorena Cascant and Stefanus Schweizer (SWOT analysis for systematic review services in German, Austrian and Swiss medical libraries), Volker Braun (Search service at the Mannheim Medical Faculty), Michelle F. Schaffer (Services for EBM – from teaching to clinical research and practice: experiences at the University of Bern), Brigitte Wildner (The role of the librarian in the Cochrane systematic review process: a case report), Gerhard Bissels and Irma Klerings (Towards the first postgraduate course in Medical & Health Librarianship), Thomas Nordhausen and Julian Hirt (Navigating in the jungle – recommendations for selecting databases for systematic literature searching), and Sabine Buroh and Stefanus Schweizer (The new working group on evidence-based medicine within AGMB). In addition to the articles listed above, the current issue of GMS MEDIZIN – BIBLIOTHEK – INFORMATION also features articles on other topics written by Iris Reimann (From the AGMB), Sergei V. Jargin (Some aspects of the Russian medical library system), Jasmin Schmitz (“Zukunft wissenschaftlicher Bibliotheken?!” [The Future of Research Libraries?!] – report on an online conference organized by ZB MED and OPEN PASSWORD) and Bruno Bauer (The Medical Librarian’s Bibliography 2019).

In Spring 2020, an online survey was realized among all medical librarians in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on behalf of the Evidence Based Medicine Working Group (AG-EBM) of the German Medical Library Association. The main focus of this survey was to characterize the biggest challenges, barriers and needs that medical librarians face in order to provide or implement a systematic review service. The 23-item survey included also SWOT analysis with open-ended questions, which allowed survey participant to better describe their situation. The survey was completed by 60 librarians. The results will allow the AG-EBM to establish a strategic plan that will help medical librarians take advantage of the opportunities of systematic review services and offer tools to minimize risks.