The visits so far have covered a great range of sectors and
specialisms, and this one added the field of healthcare libraries to the list.
We ventured east to Woolwich’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where the library is housed
within an ‘Education Centre’ on the edge of the site. On arrival we were
greeted by a very friendly team of four library staff, and given a tour and
overview of the library’s holdings by Stephen, Electronic Resources Librarian.
As we learned, the library is part of a consortium of five
libraries within what is now known as the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust,
with a shared catalogue and an effective intra-library loan system, meaning
they can divide their acquisitions and club together to subscribe to electronic
resources. Although electronic journals have become popular, when it comes to
books the majority of users still prefer to use the printed version, and for
the most popular textbooks the library holds several copies. I was initially
surprised by the relatively small size of the physical holdings in the library
(around 6200 books), and the fact that they were in the process of disposing of
a large amount of print journals to allow for more seating space. Stephen
explained that not only have electronic journals become increasingly popular, but
also that the older printed journals had become obsolete as medical knowledge
has advanced – so much so that they couldn't even give them away!
By freeing up space, and some tactical positioning of
shelving, the library staff are hoping to create a partially blocked off quiet
study area towards the rear, and more space for general seating. The library is
frequented by a mixture of users, including nurses, doctors, and medical
students on placement, and Stephen explained that as well as those who need to
carry out serious research for exams or actual medical cases, a lot of staff
like to come to the library as a place to get away from the stress of the main
hospital.
After our tour we were handed over to Sian, the Deputy
Library Services Manager and Nora, Library Assistant, for a useful and
informative presentation on how they found themselves working in health librarianship,
their roles in the library, and on the field in general. Sian’s role consists
of a range of responsibilities, including running training courses, marketing
and promotion, attending meetings and committees (such as the Clinical
Librarians Group) and the day-to-day supervision of the library’s two
Library Assistants. Nora’s role as one of the Library Assistants is also varied, including spending time on the front desk dealing with general
enquiries, processing a large amount of inter-library loans, stock checking and
other on-going projects, and she was just starting the certification
process with CILIP, which offers a route into professional librarianship.
Sian outlined the skills she thought were essential in
health librarianship, including adaptability, flexibility, IT skills, and
communication skills, but reassuringly advised that prior medical expertise was
not an essential prerequisite for the job – as with most specialist library roles
this is something you can pick up as you go along. Despite continuing uncertainty
in terms of funding and restructuring within the NHS, and the function of
libraries within it, I got the impression that working in a hospital library is
a highly rewarding and varied career choice. It was clear that you are given genuine opportunities to make a positive impact in the treatment and care of hospital patients, as
well as more broadly assisting with medical professionals’ research and career
development. As a practical demonstration of this Sian gave us the chance to
test out some of the electronic resources used by the hospital staff, which she
runs regular training sessions on to help users search more effectively and
ensure they find the most up-to-date and valid research.
We had a go on several approved databases, including NICE Evidence Search and Trip, attempting to find answers to
questions such as: “is cranberry juice an effective treatment for bladder
infections?” It was interesting, and actually quite fun, to put ourselves in
the position of a healthcare library user, and Sian really highlighted the
important role librarians in all fields can play as educators in a world where
people are increasingly using a range of online resources for their research. Hospital
library staff may not be directly saving lives like the medical professionals they
work with, but it’s as close as a librarian can get - and that sounds pretty
good to me!
Thank you very much to Sian, Stephen, Nora, and Keith.