New Report: Irish Health Libraries: New Directions

The Health Science Libraries Group (HSLG) launched a new report entitled 'Irish Health Libraries: New Directions: Report of the status of health librarianship and libraries in Ireland' on Thursday 26th January 2012. See the attachment below for a summary of the report.

The full report is available online: http://www.hslg.ie/shelli/

KEY POINTS OF THE REPORT:

1. Librarians play an invaluable role in making relevant information available to practitioners when and where it is needed which in turn enhances staff effectiveness, optimizes patient care and improves patient outcomes.

2. There is an inequality of access to information specifically online resources. The research found considerable disparity in the level of information which is readily available to practitioners, for example between doctors and nurses, and between those in academic institutions and in hospitals. This is a growing concern as libraries are closed and amalgamated. User access to electronic resources is seen as a key issue by health librarians in all sectors. The issue is particularly marked where members of academic institutions work alongside colleagues employed directly by hospitals or the HSE, with different licensing arrangements.

3. Greater emphasis in the future will be on user training and induction, literature searching and analysis, and involvement in clinical meetings.

4. In order to develop our roles in support of the Irish health sector, investment in resources and staff is essential.

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE REPORT:

1. Identify champions and promote visibility: All health librarians should identify a clinical and a corporate champion in their workplace and engage with them, building partnerships to raise the profile of the library services and promote their value more widely.

2. Establish a body of evidence: Individual libraries should pro-actively use evidence to demonstrate the value and impact of library services to clinical managers and chief executives.

3. Staff and Service development: Health librarians should aim to unify as a single nationwide purchasing consortium and enter into a new dialogue with all suppliers.