LKS North Blog https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/blog/ Articulate, blogging built on Umbraco 15181 https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/blog/posts/jenny-emmel-from-acute-to-mental-new-starter/ Jenny Emmel - From Acute to Mental – New Starter <p>Hello, my name is Jenny Emmel, and I started a new role in January as Knowledge Manager at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust (BDCFT).   Before this role I worked at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) as a Corporate Support Librarian. </p> <p>After 17 years in an acute trust, I am finding it quite a change to move organisations and I think I underestimated how much of a shift it would be to change from acute to mental.  As with any new job it is necessary to understand procedures and how things are done, but the LTHT ways have become quite ingrained, so I have found it quite a challenge to re-educate myself.</p> <p>I have been involved in some interesting projects since joining BDCFT.  Next week I am delivering a session on evaluation to winners of the Trust Innovation Awards.   Developing this session has been a good way to foster new relationships as I have sought guidance from colleagues in the R&amp;D Team and liaised with the Business Development Manager. </p> <p>I have also been working to improve the discoverability and usability of policies on the intranet.  I have been pleasantly surprised about the responsiveness of IT colleagues to improve the current situation and it has been rewarding to offer insight from a librarian’s perspective.</p> <p>With the need to process so much new information I have relished being able to do something more familiar, undertaking literature searches and delivering one to one training.  It is interesting to deal with queries with a mental health /community focus and it is a great way for me to develop an understanding of the priorities of this sector and the intricacies of working in a community trust.</p> <p>My colleagues and I have also been working jointly to develop our critical appraisal skills.  It has been great to work collaboratively on this to learn from each other and gain confidence together.</p> <p>It now seems quite a while since I first met my library colleagues and the wider R&amp;D team at an Away Day before Christmas.  It was a gentle and enjoyable introduction to the service and since then, everyone has been very welcoming and supportive.</p> <p style="text-align: right;"><strong>Jenny Emmel</strong><br /><strong>Knowledge Manager</strong><br /><strong>Library &amp; Health Promotion Resources</strong><br /><strong>Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust</strong></p> Mon, 13 Mar 2023 16:12:49 Z 2023-03-13T16:12:49Z 15176 https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/blog/posts/hello-from-carly-beattie-new-starter/ Northern Lights Hello from Carly Beattie - New Starter <p>Hello everyone, my name is Carly and I have recently joined the Library and Knowledge Services team at North Cumbria Integrated Care as a Library and Learning Technology Manager. The world of health libraries is completely new to me having previously worked in libraries and online resources in senior schools and colleges for the past 15 years. My team have made me feel very welcome and are very supportive and I feel extremely fortunate at the amount of learning and upskilling that is on offer.</p> <p><img style="width: 228px; height: 304px;" src="https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/media/2798/carly.jpg?width=228&amp;height=304&amp;mode=max" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/099f8749568246e4b9221327be1295f1" /></p> <p>A key part of my role is learning technology and as part of my remit I will be assisting library users with digital literacy, ensuring the technology in the Education Centre is up to date and always working for teaching purposes, day to day management, development and maintenance of the library management system and my next big project will be the migration from our current Library Management System to join the North East LMS.</p> <p>I enjoy collaborating and learning and meeting new people and I look forward to meeting and working with you all.</p> <p style="text-align: right;">Carly Beattie<br />Library and Learning Technology Manager<br />North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust</p> Mon, 13 Mar 2023 15:50:15 Z 2023-03-13T15:50:15Z 15174 https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/blog/posts/delivering-an-ebm-package/ Northern Lights Delivering an EBM package <p>The Library and Knowledge Service at East Cheshire NHS Trust has always offered sessions in topics such as evidence search, critical appraisal etc. The majority of these sessions delivered were 1:1 in the library and on an ad hoc request basis.</p> <p>The Library team wanted to align these sessions with our stakeholders and make them more relevant to their daily practice so we looked at developing some sessions on Evidence Based Medicine/Practice which we then delivered to teams within the Trust as part of their CPD sessions. The sessions were bespoke (but using a central core slides) based on requirements and time.</p> <p>Dietetics wanted to start a series of CPD sessions and asked the library what we had to offer, we saw this as an opportunity to combine our existing offering into a series of ‘taught’ sessions on Evidence Based Medicine. Terminology like EBM/EBP and the prospect of journal club made the sessions more appealing and immediate to colleagues and they were able to see where good literature searching skills fit into their roles.</p> <p>Paediatrics were interested in starting a journal club and felt that an introduction to the cycle of EBM, critical appraisal, statistical tools and literature searching would be useful. These were delivered in three 30 minute lunchtime sessions in the hospital, sessions were face to face but we also delivered over Teams and recorded the sessions for those who were off shift or couldn’t leave the ward. We were concerned about the level of delivery as participants ranged from F1 to Consultant, but it turned out that literature search and critical appraisal can never be explained too simply!</p> <p>We are now confident in delivering an EBM package that we can offer to all teams at East Cheshire NHS Trust.</p> <p>If you’d like a look at the slides please contact: <a href="mailto:Holly.Cook3@nhs.net">Holly.Cook3@nhs.net</a></p> <p style="text-align: right;"><strong>Holly Cook</strong><br /><strong>East Cheshire NHS Trust</strong></p> Mon, 13 Mar 2023 15:40:52 Z 2023-03-13T15:40:52Z 15173 https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/blog/posts/multi-site-delivery/ Northern Lights Multi-site Delivery <p>Once every two years Keyll Darree Library run a user needs analysis survey. We pride ourselves on how responsive we are to feedback, and this year due to user comments we created a multi-site delivery system.</p> <p>Keyll Darree Library is the only health and social care library on the Isle of Man, however our users work across the island. We cater to those who work in the community, prison, social care, and in regional practices. It can be difficult for users to access the library during staffed hours. This was highlighted in the survey and we wanted to find a solution with minimal cost implication.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Contacting the post room</strong></p> <p>Our first port of call was to contact the post room – using internal post would avoid postage cost and would also add layer of security as the books would be transported between sites by our porters. However, we had to check with the team and see if they would be willing to take part and, if so, which sites they would deliver to. Thankfully they were happy to be involved and suggested some options which covered the East and North of the Island.</p> <p><strong>Volunteers</strong></p> <p>We circulated the results of and actions from our user needs analysis survey and this email spurred the manager of one of the wellbeing hubs to contact us and offer to be another point for multi-site delivery in the West. The hubs were set up to allow staff to hot desk, providing fast internet connections and a space to work. They mentioned the possibility of involving the Northern and Southern ones too, and both of these sites confirmed they were willing to take part.</p> <p><strong>Logistics</strong></p> <p>We had to consider a few different aspects when looking at the logistics of this plan.</p> <ul> <li>Ease for library staff – setting up as much as possible in advance meant the process would require less effort in the long run</li> <li>Ease for users – sending returns labels and asking them to reuse the envelope means they have minimal worry about how to get the book back</li> <li>Liability – we decided the user would be responsible for the book once it was on their account, and they have to agree to this before requesting items</li> <li>Ordering – we made a web form which links to the library catalogue and asked users to provide the link to the item they want to borrow, ensuring staff can see the class mark and availability quickly</li> <li>Location – one of the locations did not have a post room and therefore items can only be sent there if there is a specific office for them to go to, they could not be collected by external staff</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>Testing</strong></p> <p>Before launching the new offsite delivery option, we wanted to ensure that it worked. We sent books to each of the site and included return labels and instructions sets for the testers. Each book was received within a day and returned promptly. The testers gave positive feedback and did not suggest any modifications and therefore we launched the service.</p> <p><strong>Rollout</strong></p> <p>We advertised the service in multiple ways – emails to all staff in Manx Care, a spot in staff signatures, posters in every location we delivered to, pop up libraries held in locations we delivered to, and it has a full page spread in every quarterly library newsletter.</p> <p><img style="width: 259px; height: 367px;" src="https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/media/2793/multi-site-delivery.png?width=259&amp;height=367&amp;mode=max" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/a06131aff21f406d901e4febf9cd3046" /></p> <p><strong>Reception</strong></p> <p>Although we created the service due to demand, asked user groups what worked for them and tested the system, so far it has barely been used. We found this a little disheartening, however after promoting the service at library roadshow we have seen a slight increase in usage. Four books were loaned between February and October 2022, after the roadshow in November 2022 four books were loaned, and the service has been used twice in January 2023. We believe that direct promotion to prospective users has been beneficial to usage.</p> <p>In the most recent user needs analysis we added a question to ask our users if they had ever used our offsite book delivery service. 57 respondents replied, 4 had, 20 didn't need it, but 33 wanted to! So we’re taking this as an encouraging statistic. Even if it isn’t being used heavily, users like to know they have the opportunity to do so.</p> <p><strong>Future plans</strong></p> <p>So what will we do in the future? The scheme is clearly appreciated, even if it is underused. We’ll continue to advertising it and promote it to those that we think would benefit. We will also continue to add any extra locations which seem appropriate.</p> <p>Overall, we will keep acting on suggestions from our users. Even though this one hasn’t been as popular as we hoped, it has been used. Lots of people see the value in it even if they aren’t actively using it.</p> <p style="text-align: right;"><strong>Stacey Astill <br /></strong><strong>Senior Library Assistant<br />Keyll Darree Library</strong></p> Mon, 13 Mar 2023 15:32:26 Z 2023-03-13T15:32:26Z 15172 https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/blog/posts/finding-out-what-our-users-need-from-library-and-knowledge-services-post-pandemic/ Northern Lights Finding out what our users need from library and knowledge services post-pandemic <p>In March 2020 when the impact of the pandemic was starting to become clear, the Library and Knowledge Services at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust closed the physical library space and the team began to work from home.  Many of the services we were running were carrying on as before; with the Trust being spread over a large geographical area we’d been delivering some services virtually or remotely for a long time.</p> <p>During this time the library space was unavailable to library staff and users and we were very happy to regain access to the space in 2022. We wanted to know if the pandemic had changed the way library users had accessed the library services, and how they would like to access the library now. Would library users want to visit the library in person in the post-covid world? Would users want anything to change with the space?</p> <p>In November 2022 we launched a survey to investigate this, and it ran for 4 weeks. The survey was sent to library champions, library users, to our colleagues on the library site, and also advertised in Trustwide communications. A reminder was sent 2 weeks after the launch.</p> <p>49 people responded to the survey and the main findings were:</p> <ul> <li>The pandemic did affect how some used library and knowledge services but most of those who used to access the library in person adapted to using virtual services</li> <li>Many new staff weren’t aware there was a library, despite library and knowledge services presence in the virtual inductions</li> <li>Respondents would like the library to have quiet working space and space for them to attend virtual meetings</li> <li>Respondents want the library to be a comfortable environment with access to beverages and refreshments</li> </ul> <p>The findings highlight the need to continuously market the service, particularly to any staff who started working in the Trust since the start of the pandemic. We were curious if library users would want to use the physical library space as they did before the pandemic. The findings of the survey suggest that some library users would like to use the physical library space as before and use hot desks, and need access to space that allows them to attend virtual meetings</p> <p>These findings will be used to do some targeted marketing and inform how we change the library space now we have access again. We are looking forward to reopening the library space very soon, as we have had to spruce it up and become ship-shape, and we hope to be able to accommodate the requirements of library users.</p> <p style="text-align: right;"><strong>Heather Steele</strong><br /><strong><a href="mailto:h.steele@nhs.net">h.steele@nhs.net</a></strong><br /><strong>Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust</strong></p> Mon, 13 Mar 2023 15:26:35 Z 2023-03-13T15:26:35Z 15170 https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/blog/posts/care-club-volunteer/ Northern Lights Care Club Volunteer <p>Care Club is a scheme in our Trust where colleagues volunteer to work in clinical areas that are short staffed or need additional help and I have been a member for a couple of years. Like most of the hospitals within the NHS our Trust has been extremely busy and the increase in respiratory infections, and the sudden raise in Strep A cases meant that the paediatric ward was particularly stretched, and I was contacted to ask if I would mind lending a hand. So armed with my bright yellow volunteer polo shirt, which co-ordinates particularly well with the library décor, I offered my services. I only work a couple of hours a day I usually start just before 8.00am which is a busy time on the ward with shift change over. I am lucky in that the housekeeper is lovely and we work together as a kind of tag team. I normally give out breakfasts, clean ward areas and chat to patients and their carers which is probably the nicest part of volunteering. It has been great for raising awareness of the library as most clinical staff I talk to have no idea that our service exists. It is also gives a greater insight into the work of clinical colleagues and I am sure I am much fitter too as I never sit down and I am constantly on the go. I feel sad that my services are needed and wish that staff weren’t so stretched but for me the experience has been really rewarding and I am glad I can make a difference however small.</p> <p><img style="width: 271px; height: 361px;" src="https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/media/2791/chft-library.jpg?width=271&amp;height=361&amp;mode=max" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/0668bd4c272843d0a855c5949fdd1170" /></p> <p style="text-align: right;"><strong>Helen Curtis</strong><br /><strong>Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust</strong></p> Mon, 13 Mar 2023 15:09:26 Z 2023-03-13T15:09:26Z 15163 https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/blog/posts/lihnn-christmas-study-day-6th-december-2022-manchester/ Northern Lights LIHNN Christmas Study Day, 6th December 2022, Manchester <p>I attended the LIHNN Christmas study last December, which was the first face-to-face LIHNN study day that’s taken place since COVID. It was so nice to be back seeing fellow library colleagues in person! It was refreshing to interact with the network again, share ideas and have informal chats about our work. The day started with an ‘unboxing’ of the agenda by Susan Smith who came to us via video link. This was an entertaining start to the day and got everyone excited for the day’s events.</p> <p>The first session of the day was about the LIHNN Award Finalists, and they all gave a presentation about their work:</p> <p><strong>1. Manchester Cancer Research Publication Project – Daniel Livesey</strong></p> <p>This was presented by Daniel Livesey, Library and Knowledge Services Manager at The Christie Hospital. He explained that the Christie maintains an institutional repository for affiliated research. They start by searching for research affiliated to the Christie, the data is then ‘cleaned’ and uploaded to the repository, and they report this data to the Research and Innovation department. However, the accuracy of the data has always been contentious so they were asked to form a project group to look at how they could improve data. The project aimed to ensure consistency in gathering and analysing publications; to promote the impact of publications and improvements to research; provide evidence to back up claims in external communications; and to provide recognition and celebration of research at The Christie. The project group had members from the University of Manchester, Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, Manchester Cancer Research Centre, and The Christie. The data gathered will be used to connect researchers together; monitor trends in publications; internal/external reporting; and communication of high impact publications. The main reason behind the project is summed up here: “Curating data and converting it into information that is useful is very challenging – especially if it is to be robust enough to influence decision making and strategic planning. The analysis by the team resulted in a fantastic resource, and more of this kind of work will be essential to maximise Manchester’s potential to drive cancer discoveries and impact patient care” (Professor Stephen Taylor).</p> <p><strong>2. Library in a box project – Stephanie Burns, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust</strong></p> <p>Stephanie started by explaining she was new to the NHS, and was impressed by what we can offer, but felt we needed to sing louder! The Library-in-a-Box project began as a way to deliver a ‘taster’ of the library services to those Trust staff who were unable to visit the Library in person due to time commitments. It was also a way of promoting what they do to a wider audience. The project started with a 1 year trial where 2 departments received a box every 2 months on a total of 6 different themes: Wellbeing; Coaching + Mentoring; The Money Box; Communication Skills; Healthy Eating; Teamworking. Each box contained: a selection of relevant books; informative journal articles; membership forms; handouts; posters; and bookmarks. In addition, each box contains a selection of ‘goodies’ e.g. face creams, biscuits, etc. These proved to be very popular! The boxes were promoted on the local trust news page; library social media accounts; displays; and by word of mouth. As a result of the project they learnt that everyone loves a freebie! Also that many Trust staff didn’t know the range of material held in the Library, and some Trust staff thought the Library was just for student use. Although there are some financial risks to projects like this, e.g. books going missing, staff time required to prepare the boxes, etc., they felt it was worth it for increased visibility among Trust staff, relationships built in new areas, and increased library membership.</p> <p><strong>3. Reflective practice workshops – Bethan Morgan, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust</strong></p> <p>Bethan identified a need for reflective practice training at her Trust because it’s an important part of nurse revalidation and CPD, but they were not offered any training as part of their course. The Library thought they could fill this gap. Reflection can be a good way of looking back on challenging events at work, but it’s also good for the well-being of staff, as well as for their career development. The workshops were aimed at all professions at the Trust, not just nurses, because reflection is useful to everyone. They wanted the workshops to be practical and useful to staff, not just because reflective practice is a formal requirement. As a result of the workshops, they expanded their training output, and built a stronger relationship with the nursing education team which would be useful for future projects. They faced some challenges though, such as audience participation, low feedback, and keeping the momentum going after the initial interest. In future they plan to grow attendance through promotional activities and word of mouth, and tailor content to specific audiences.</p> <p><strong>Minutes of Mayhem!</strong></p> <p>After a short break, it was then time for the Minutes of Mayhem! The following had 3 minutes to talk about something they have worked on:</p> <ul> <li>Recording and sharing Quality Improvement work (Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS FT, Tracy Dixon)</li> <li>Creating profiles of our users in paramedic medicine (LKS Ambulance Service, Matt Holland)</li> <li>Working with Health and Wellbeing (St Helens &amp; Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Yvonne Stubbington)</li> <li>Creating two library training videos (Wirral University Teaching Hospital FT, Jacqueline Pearce)</li> <li>Offsite Library Service (Keyll Darree, Isle of Man, Stacey Astill)</li> <li>Search Club (HEE KM Team, Katie Nicholas)</li> </ul> <p><strong>4. The impact of AI, machine learning, automation and robotics on the information professions  - <span>Andrew Cox, University of Sheffield.</span></strong></p> <p>After a delicious lunch, and some fun with the Christmas quiz, we had some more speakers for the afternoon session. The first was Andrew Cox, a senior lecturer from the Information School at the University of Sheffield. He has written a research report for CILIP called “The impact of AI, machine learning, automation and robotics on the information professions” and he spoke to us about his findings. Can we trust machines? There are lots of reasons to be excited about the use of AI in libraries - it’s built on data so our information skills become highly relevant. Examples of AI in libraries include: administrative tasks, knowledge discovery, automation of systematic reviews, chatbots to answer queries, data literacy training, and analysing user behaviour. There are many drivers for using AI in libraries, such as improved access to knowledge, potential gains in equity, improved services, and cost savings. However, there are also barriers, such as ethical/legal issues, data issues, skills/image of profession, over promising, and implementation challenges. His report answers the following questions: 1) How do we ensure the workforce has the skills required to support users?, 2) What are the ethical implications to using these technologies?, 3) What will the future workforce look like and what curriculum will ensure the next generation has the technological skills required. His “research has highlighted a set of skills and competencies that information professionals will need to develop in order to support their users and organisations through this 4th Industrial Revolution” (CILIP).  This was a very interesting and thought provoking talk from Dr Andrew Cox.</p> <p>Read Andrew’s report in full here: <a href="https://www.cilip.org.uk/page/researchreport">https://www.cilip.org.uk/page/researchreport</a>.</p> <p><strong>5.</strong> <strong>Can poetry help combat misinformation? - James Ryan and Geoff Walton</strong></p> <p>The final speakers of the day were James Ryan and Geoff Walton who spoke to us about using poetry as a means of combatting health misinformation. Their project looked at how health information expressed in poetry might help express health information in a better way. Information literacy is good for your well-being, and poetry is good for your well-being, and they have a common base – the written word. So to what extent can these subject areas be brought together to solve the hard problem of health misinformation? Results from a workshop indicated that “there may be inherent qualities in poetry which can successfully convey health information and enhance information literacy more successfully than current forms”. Health information could be re-purposed in poetic form, using the emotional aspects of storytelling embodied in poetry as a mechanism for successfully conveying of health information, as opposed to the dry and sober standard text. Poetry can represent marginalised groups with local voices, regional dialects, and lived experiences, and can be more relatable than standard health information.</p> <p><strong>The slides for the above presentations and minutes of mayhem can be found here: <a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lksnorth.nhs.uk%2Fevents%2Flihnn-christmas-study-day-2022%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7CAndrew.Craig%40lthtr.nhs.uk%7C9dd85d7f13514d44a05b08db31cba92f%7C90a86382fc9f459cb91a9852fb08b2cd%7C0%7C0%7C638158522997977959%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=jEtOaESkFVgxen13w6Ds8TrBcx5VWu134GFownQwJLs%3D&amp;reserved=0">https://www.lksnorth.nhs.uk/events/lihnn-christmas-study-day-2022/</a></strong></p> <p><strong>Awards</strong></p> <p>The day ended with David Stewart awarding the LIHNN award winners with their prizes. The Gold Award went to Dan Livesey from The Christie, the Silver Award went to Bethan Morgan from Manchester University, and the Bronze Award went to Stephanie Burns from Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust. The Minutes of Mayhem winner was Liam Kay from Wirral University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust who talked about training videos they had created. And finally, there were also awards for Cheryl Dagnal, who won the David Stewart Award, and for Ramona Naicker for her services to the Network.</p> <p> </p> <p><img style="width: 134px; height: 145px;" src="https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/media/2787/lihhncsdawards4.png?width=134&amp;height=145" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/1c76ba6937264623bd401a90a9569e9d" /><img style="width: 142px; height: 145px;" src="https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/media/2788/lihhncsdawards3.png?width=142&amp;height=145" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/2afbf818aba74ecc987f98ef1d5f53bd" /><img style="width: 156px; height: 145px;" src="https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/media/2789/lihhncsdawards2.png?width=156&amp;height=145" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/fa001e2a21f34759b0f0f1181cf3957d" /><img style="width: 145px; height: 146px;" src="https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/media/2790/lihhncsdawards1.png?width=145&amp;height=146" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/068d83a524c54999b2edebc478964ed4" /></p> <p> </p> <p><img style="width: 127px; height: 204px;" src="https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/media/2785/lihhncsdawards6.png?width=127&amp;height=204" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/eb7e15f0a6b14335b10c8c23891787d6" /><img style="width: 132px; height: 204px;" src="https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/media/2786/lihhncsdawards5.png?width=132&amp;height=204" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f29db7744b894993ae09669831f7ec2c" /></p> <p style="text-align: right;"> </p> <p style="text-align: right;"> </p> <p style="text-align: right;"><strong>​Amy Belch </strong><br /><strong>Assistant Electronic Resources Officer</strong><br /><strong>Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust</strong></p> Mon, 13 Mar 2023 13:09:29 Z 2023-03-13T13:09:29Z 15162 https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/blog/posts/hlg-75-october-2022-january-reflections/ Northern Lights HLG 75, October 2022: January Reflections <p><strong>HLG 75, October 2022: January Reflections</strong><br /><strong>Event: HLG 75th Anniversary</strong><br /><strong>The Light Auditorium, Friends House, 173-177 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ</strong><br /><strong>Health Libraries Group (HLG), Special Interest Group of CILIP</strong></p> <p>October last year might feel like ages ago, even though it’s really only a few weeks – Bolton is one of those Trusts where a lot happens in a week. Since the week of January when I’m writing this is known to be one of the toughest in the work calendar, I thought I’d cheer myself up by reflecting on HLG75, which I was able to attend in October courtesy of a LIHNN travel grant.</p> <p><br />I can’t pretend I wasn’t a little bit nervous at the thought of attending an event in London in person, after working exclusively from home for over two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once there though, I was so glad I’d made the effort.</p> <p><br />The day was very enjoyable, extremely well-organised, and a great chance to see just how much HLG has managed to achieve in the 75 years since that very first meeting. The presentations were streamed at the same time as the live sessions. What was very apparent in the conference room was the warmth and sense of collaborative project management that is one of the reasons I enjoy working in health libraries so much.</p> <p><br />After a typically engaging kick-off from David Stewart and Imrana Ghumra, there were presentations from Lynsey Hawker, Ruth Carlyle, and Sue Lacey-Bryant, looking in turn at the past, present, and future of HLG. Nick Poole also called in, bringing his usual charm and joie de vivre.</p> <p><br />The topics through the day were both eclectic and engaging. We found out, for instance, how NICE had made Microsoft Teams work for them against the backdrop of the pandemic. We learned about how Coventry University had increased engagement with its library users – yes, it did involve animals, and the “Awwwww!” factor was very high. Gizmo the dog from Gloucester also got a mention in his role as a library health champion. Locally, we have now made the acquaintance of Tandal, our own Trust’s designated, dedicated staff well-being canine colleague, who belongs to one of our human chaplains (who happens to be an ex-neonatal nurse). So watch this space…!</p> <p><br />There were plenty of practically-focused KLS stories too. Colleagues from the East Midlands shared their experience of implementing their new shared library management system Koha (very pertinent to the North West!). The working groups have made pragmatic use of the NHS Futures platform. <br />There was mention of the current cohort of library staff around the country who have embarked on their HEE-funded formal university library and information management courses, from Aberystwyth to Robert Gordon.</p> <p><br />In the breaks we were able to check out the wide range of posters on display and catch up with the sponsoring suppliers about developments in healthcare resources. And just in case that wasn’t enough, attendees could also follow a live scribing of the day from the amazing Analees Lim.</p> <p><br />One theme that threaded through the day was health literacy, the importance of which was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. We heard about the Making It Easy health literacy strategy for Scotland which was of particular interest personally. One of the posters on display covered the Health Literacy project which I had worked on in my previous Trust in Somerset, with Outreach Librarian Veronica Price. We also worked with very supportive colleagues at the public library service and NHS Health Coaches employed by the CCG (as was).</p> <p><br />We’ll shortly be looking at how we can localise what we learned for use in Bolton. Keep an eye out for “coming soon!” developments from our very Dawn Grundy.</p> <p><br />Other highlights of the day included cake, mocktails, and the other wellness initiatives laid on for us – seriously, a neck and shoulder massage from a professional therapist can make a world of difference to someone who sits in front of a screen and keyboard pretty much all day.</p> <p><br />The past and the present of HLG and KLS in a healthcare context were counterbalanced with a peek into the possible, probable, and certain future. This included partnerships and memberships of organisations including FEDIP (the Federation for Informatics Professionals).</p> <p><br />Future overarching themes for the profession are likely to include the impact of technology and climate change; health learning systems; help with navigating the digital environment; and the ongoing need for adaptability. Even in the NHS, eLearning is moving on – one of the Hampshire Trusts, for instance, is building green-screen rooms and getting very involved with VR.</p> <p><br />We also need to be realistic about what can be achieved. The originator of the quote remains uncertain, according to Thought Leader Extraordinaire Bill Gates who mentions it on his blog, but we (mostly) overestimate what we can achieve in a year. We underestimate, on the other hand, what can be achieved in the next ten.</p> <p><br />Thinking back to 2012, the world was a very different place (even without allowing for the little matter of a certain coronavirus pandemic). Whatever lies ahead, we can probably guarantee it’s still going to come under the “interesting times” heading…It’s also worth pointing out that this celebration was the start of a year of HLG festivities, not the end.<br />What was most valuable? The whole day was useful, from networking to the updates.<br />What will I do differently? I will definitely incorporate some of the Health Literacy resources from the national Community of Practice into any sessions I deliver. <br />Like to Know More?</p> <p><br />• Federation for Informatics Professionals, <a href="https://www.fedip.org/">https://www.fedip.org/</a><br /><br />• HLG 75th Anniversary, CILIP Health Libraries Group, 14 October 2022, content available from: <a href="https://ciliphlg.com/hlg75-content-from-the-day/">https://ciliphlg.com/hlg75-content-from-the-day/</a> including recordings of live sessions available on the YouTube Channel<br /><br />• Making it easier: a health literacy action plan 2017-2025, Scottish Government, 27 November 2017, available from: <a href="https://ciliphlg.com/hlg75-content-from-the-day/">https://www.gov.scot/publications/making-easier-health-literacy-action-plan-scotland-2017-2025/</a></p> <p><br />• National Health Literacy Community of Practice, available from: <a href="https://southlks.libguides.com/healthliteracy/home">https://southlks.libguides.com/healthliteracy/home</a></p> <p><br />• New therapy dog at Royal Bolton Hospital to improve staff wellbeing, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, 7 September 2022, available from:<br /><a href="https://www.boltonft.nhs.uk/news/2022/09/new-therapy-dog-at-royal-bolton-hospital-to-improve-staff-wellbeing/">https://www.boltonft.nhs.uk/news/2022/09/new-therapy-dog-at-royal-bolton-hospital-to-improve-staff-wellbeing/</a></p> <p><br />• Regional library management systems: June 2022 roundup, Health Education England, 17 June 2022, available from: <a href="https://library.hee.nhs.uk/about/blogs/regional-library-management-systems-june-2022-roundup">https://library.hee.nhs.uk/about/blogs/regional-library-management-systems-june-2022-roundup</a></p> <p style="text-align: right;"><br /><strong>Paula Younger</strong><br /><strong>Clinical Librarian/Evidence and Knowledge Specialist</strong><br /><strong>Bolton NHS Foundation Trust</strong></p> Mon, 13 Mar 2023 12:46:07 Z 2023-03-13T12:46:07Z 15101 https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/blog/posts/returning-home-to-greater-manchester-new-starter/ Northern Lights Returning home to Greater Manchester - New Starter <p><span>Hello, I'm Lindsay Wallace, the new Library and Knowledge Services Manager at Northern Care Alliance.  I was asked to introduce myself to colleagues, so here goes. </span></p> <p><span>My background, way back when, was Chartered Psychologist (occupational).  While working at Hopwood Hall College, </span><span>I moved into Libraries when they </span><span>needed a project manager to look after moving one of their libraries to a different building. I was asked to take over and become Learning Resources Manager where the team taught me how to be a librarian. I followed up the practical training with a PG Cert in Information Science from City University.  I've worked in several college roles since then, had a short spell as a prison librarian with HMP Forest Bank in Salford, before becoming head of service at The Manchester College &amp; UCEN Manchester.  </span>The timing of my redundancy from there was interesting coming a couple of months before Covid 19 and lockdown, but fortunately I was able to move sectors and become Health Library Manager at Keele University based at Royal Stoke University Hospital.  Again, I was reliant on the team to teach me the Health aspects of the job - an ongoing project as I work towards my second Chartership this time as a librarian. Commuting from Bolton to Stoke became increasingly challenging (mainly because of our beloved M61/M60/M62 combination) so I’m delighted to join NCA and work with Sue Steele as co-managers of the Service not least because I now travel 6 miles from home in south Bolton rather than over 50 to Stoke. </p> <p style="text-align: right;"><strong>Lindsay Wallace</strong><br /><strong>Library &amp; Knowledge Services Manager</strong><br /><strong>Library &amp; Knowledge Services</strong><br /><strong>Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust</strong></p> Tue, 07 Feb 2023 16:38:35 Z 2023-02-07T16:38:35Z 15096 https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/blog/posts/hello-from-jodie-reeve-new-starter/ Northern Lights Hello from Jodie Reeve - New Starter <p>Hello, my name is Jodie and I have recently joined the team at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as a Trainee Knowledge and Resource Librarian. So far I have had a terrific start and I am looking forward to learning more about the role and all it entails.</p> <p>I graduated from Lancaster University in 2021 with a History degree and a restlessness to find a career that I loved. I worked within the charity sector for a year, but I knew working in a role which involved a combination of books, research and education was more for me. I was delighted when this position was advertised, and since starting I have had no regrets! As someone who has been an avid user of libraries all my life, and whose favourite part of university was the collecting of information before starting the essay, this is the perfect role for me. My new team have been so lovely and supportive, and I am looking forward to studying for the Master’s degree in Library and Information Services Management which will give me chance to learn and develop new skills.</p> <p><img style="width: 221px; height: 295px;" src="https://lksnorth.nhs.uk/media/2782/jodie.jpg?width=221&amp;height=295&amp;mode=max" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/4651482d270846edb7c51e082431b12e" /></p> <p>The variety and challenge each day brings within this role has been great and I have enjoyed setting my mind to such a range of interesting tasks. I have very much enjoyed jazzing up the small fiction section in our library, and it has been intriguing googling obscure medical terms I come across (and learning they even exist!) before delving into a literature search and having the satisfaction of finding the perfect article for someone. I can’t wait to get stuck in further and hope to meet some of you from other libraries at some point</p> <p style="text-align: right;"><strong>Jodie Reeve</strong><br /><strong>Trainee Knowledge and Resource Librarian</strong><br /><strong>Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust</strong></p> Tue, 07 Feb 2023 11:35:08 Z 2023-02-07T11:35:08Z
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