The Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland

Category: Headlines

  • The Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland at Antrim Area Hospital is open!

      The Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland at Antrim Area Hospital is open. Current opening hours are Monday to Thursday 9.30am – 4.30pm (Friday closed). Services available include:

      • Online requests – place your book and journal article requests as normal
      • Book loans – books can be posted to and returned from your work address via internal mail or Library staff can make arrangements for you to collect your books
      • Study space is available, and has been physically distanced
      • PCs are also available with the same physical distancing measures in place
      • E-resources available via The Healthcare Library website 24/7
      • Literature searches – these can be requested online through the library website
      • Training – online training is available. Please contact Mary Maguire by emailing mary.maguire@healthcarelibrary.qub.ac.uk

      Covid-secure measures have been put in place but please contact the Library before visiting in case opening hours have changed at short notice. You can email the Library at healthcare.library@northerntrust.hscni.net or phone 028 9442 4232 (internal 334232).

    • The Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland at Altnagelvin Area Hospital – evening and Saturday opening

        The Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland at Altnagelvin Area Hospital will now be starting evening and Saturday opening.

        • Monday to Wednesday 9am – 8pm
        • Thursday to Friday 9am – 5pm
        • Saturday 9.30am – 1pm

        The Library has introduced measures to provide a safe work and study environment. These include:

        • Protective screening at Borrower Services Desk
        • Reduced study spaces and PCs to facilitate physical distancing
        • Cleaning stations downstairs and upstairs with hand sanitiser and disinfection wipes provided
        • Disinfection wipes will enable all users to clean PC keyboards / study area before and after use
        • Books to be quarantined for 3 days on return

        Services available include:

        • Face to face training and literature search support (masks to be worn and physical distancing maintained whenever possible)
        • Books loans
        • PC access
        • Printing and photocopying
        • Study space

        Please contact The Healthcare Library at Altnagelvin Area Hospital if you have any queries before visiting. You can do this by emailing healthcare.library@westerntrust.hscni.net or by phoning 028 7129 6168.

      • The Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland at Craigavon is now OPEN

        Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland at Craigavon

        Level 1, Medical Education Centre, Craigavon Area Hospital.

        Current opening hours 9.30-4.30 Monday – Friday

        Access to the library is via the Maternity doors only. Please contact the library (3756 2108) in advance for directions. It is not necessary to book a study space at present, but this will be kept under review.

        The Library has implemented guidelines to provide a safe work and study environment. These include:

        • Reduced study spaces to facilitate social distancing
        • Cleaning stations to enable all users to clean down work station / study area before & after use
        • Hand sanitiser available
        • Masks to be worn from the point of entry into the hospital. 

        Services available include:

        Study space

        Book loans

        Access to e-resources

        Book collection service

        Support

        Although it is not possible to provide face to face training and literature search support at present, these are still provided either by phone or online using either Microsoft Teams or Zoom.  To discuss you specific needs please contact:  hazel.neale@healthcarelibrary.qub.ac.uk

      • Access to e-resources and e-books

        Many full text articles and books are available to read online.   You can search for both articles and books using the library search box, simply enter a few key words or the title of the article or book you are looking for. The results will then be displayed and you can either identify the source you want or refine the search using the “refine options” on the left hand side.   You need to Login to read the full text.

        For a more detailed article search use the advanced search or one of the many databases available – (Medline, CINAHL etc.  follow the link for databases a-z)  

        If you need help with searching for articles please contact one of the specialist librarians or your local trust based librarian as we can also provide telephone help and support.

        Don’t forget library members also have access to 100’s of e-books that are freely available to read day or night (Internet access required). E-Books are clearly identified in the library catalogue, all you need to do is logon with your library number & password you can read the book online.   

        To find what e-books are available, enter your keyword search as normal in the library search box.  You can limit or refine the search results to only display e-books by selecting resource type, and e-books, (please note you may need to click on show more to see the e-books option – this only displays if there are e-books )

        It is generally possible to copy and print sections or a chapter from an e-book (within copyright restrictions), and most e-books identify how much can be printed.   if the book you want to read isn’t available as an e-book, please contact your trust or specialist librarian and we will endeavour to order an electronic copy.

      • Letting us know if you can’t access articles

        If you find a link that doesn’t work please let us know by using the ‘Report a Problem’ link at the bottom of the screen. Article details are autocompleted and can easily be sent to us. We will investigate and resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

      • Support & advice to make the most of the Healthcare Library’s online resources

          Support and advice is available to help you access resources and subject specialist librarians. Each specialist librarian produces a Library Subject Guide (Libguide). Libguides will help you to find information relevant to your specialty and connect you with your Specialist Librarian. Short online tutorials are also available. You can request a literature search online.  Links to these services are detailed below.

          Libguides can be accessed at https://healthcarelibrary.qub.ac.uk/#ResourcesByProfession. Click on the grey box relevant to your profession and follow the tabs for further information.

          You can email your specialist librarian from the Libguide and we would advise making contact via email in the first instance during this period.  Contact details for specialist librarians is also available at https://healthcarelibrary.qub.ac.uk/TrainingandSupport/SpecialistLibrarians/

          Short online tutorials are available at https://healthcarelibrary.qub.ac.uk/TrainingandSupport/OnlineTutorials/.

          You can request a literature search online at https://response.questback.com/isa/qbv.dll/ShowQuest?QuestID=5202486&sid=Ir3pzvvUUC. Please complete the form and it will be forwarded to your specialist librarian who will reply to your request.

        • Coronavirus Resources

          The Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland has collated some useful links and resources on Coronavirus (COVID-19) including advice and guidance from National and local Government, NHS and scientific resources and links.  

          Most of this information is freely available online, however, some articles may be only accessible to library members, register online today to have fulltext access to books, journals and databases.

          Coronavirus Resources document

        • Relaunched Respiratory Medicine Current Awareness Bulletin

            In response to user requests, the Healthcare Library’s respiratory medicine current awareness bulletin has been relaunched. It will be published every 2 months.

            The first issue of the relaunched bulletin can be downloaded as a PDF by going to:
            https://libguides.qub.ac.uk/healthcarelibrary/medicinebulletins/respiratorymedicine

            The bulletin is also available as a followable Read by QxMD collection: https://read.qxmd.com/collection/16259

            To be emailed the PDF version of the bulletin every 2 months, please subscribe using the on-line or Word form at:
            https://libguides.qub.ac.uk/healthcarelibrary/medicinebulletins

          • Medicine Current Awareness Bulletins via Read by QxMD

              Current awareness bulletins prepared by Richard Fallis, Specialist Librarian for Medicine, Dentistry and Healthcare Sciences, are now available as followable Read by QxMD collections. This makes it easier for you to download the full text of articles listed in bulletins on your mobile device.

              The full list of available Read collections can be found at:
              https://libguides.qub.ac.uk/healthcarelibrary/medicinebulletins/readbyqxmd

              For details of how to get started with using Read, please go to:
              https://blogs.qub.ac.uk/healthcarelibrary/2019/04/24/read-by-qxmd-journal-app/

              Any questions? Please contact Richard Fallis – his details are listed at:
              https://healthcarelibrary.qub.ac.uk/TrainingandSupport/SpecialistLibrarians/

            • The Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland Impact Survey 2019

              The Healthcare Library of Northern Ireland ran an impact survey from 11th February 2019 to 22nd February 2019 to gather examples of how our role in providing Health and Social Care professionals with free library and information services, and expert advice and training supports patient care, evidence-based practice and continuing professional development. Invitations to participate in the survey were sent to a random sample of Healthcare Library members.

              A total of three questions were asked:

              • Give an example of something you have asked The Healthcare Library to help you with
              • In what way did the Library help?
              • What was the impact on your professional practice, patient outcome, safety or cost?

              From the survey, it can be seen that members ask the Library to help with four main categories: literature searching, access to resources, training and requesting material.

              Figure 1: Pie Chart displaying what members ask for help with

              The impact of this help falls into the categories of continuing professional development (CPD), patient care and safety, policy strategy and guidelines, evidence-based practice (EBP), and research.

              Figure 2: Pie Chart displaying the impact of help provided by The Healthcare Library

              The results of the survey will be invaluable to us in reporting to the Department of Health and to support future business cases for enhanced funding or specific projects. In the current financial climate, it is extremely important to be able to prove the value of our services and your input is crucial to this. Thank you to all who took the time to respond to the survey, and although the survey has now closed, we are always grateful for feedback especially case studies highlighting the impact of our service. If you have any such example, please contact info@healthcarelibrary.qub.ac.uk or use the online feedback form.