From locked cupboard to University Library: libraries for nurses in the UK after 1955

This paper presents an outline of the history of library provision for nurses in the second half of the twentieth century. The few libraries for nurses that existed in the fifties were usually attached to Schools of Nursing and often run by volunteers, clerical assistants or nurse tutors. In an organisation where the emphasis was on training and skills development rather than education and reflection and the prime aim was maintaining a health service with limited resources, provision of books and journals for theoretical learning had a low priority. In turn nurses gained a reputation as people who did not read. In order to respond to problems of staff morale, recruitment and retention, in the last decade of the century attempts were made to make nursing more attractive by giving pre-registration learners student status, encouraging a research-based approach to learning and absorbing it into higher education. However many of the problems facing libraries would not be quickly resolved. An attempt will be made to explain library provision for nurses with reference to the generation of knowledge in nursing and its relationship to library based knowledge. This will touch on the role and status of the nurse, the nature of her work and training, the ideological foundations of the nursing profession and the impact that these have on the provision of library services

Health sciences librarians in academic libraries: a brief review of their developing role

Information relating to health has been gathered since ancient times. Physicians often gathered their own books which were sometimes donated to create early medical libraries. The explosion of information, the demands of qualification accrediting bodies and technological developments have also helped to promote the work of health libraries. The professionalisation of health occupations has tended to move their library support from hospitals into academic settings. Librarians are increasingly concerned with promoting their services and teaching patrons to use library resources. While some health sciences librarians see the availability of health information on the internet as a threat, to those that can see ways to exploit it, it may serve to enhance their role

Library subject guides: A case study of evidence-informed library development

This paper describes the process whereby a university library investigated the value of its subject guides to its users. A literature review and surveys of library staff, library users and other libraries were carried out. Existing library subject guides and those of other higher education libraries were evaluated. The project team reported regularly to the wider library team throughout the year long investigation and made recommendations. The project served to develop the professional skills of the project team, to expand the knowledge of the wider library team and encouraged new ways of thinking about guide provision to users

Supporting both learning and research in a UK post-1992 university library: a case study

Nationally, there has been debate on the role of research within higher education and increased interest in the teaching/research nexus. A team of Academic Liaison Librarians at Anglia Polytechnic University was awarded funding to investigate the extent to which learning resources overlap with research resources, whether researcher/teachers encourage their students to use the resources they use themselves and how far electronic resources have affected the relationship between learning and research materials. Semistructured interviews were carried out with 21 academics who are both teachers and researchers. They proved to be committed to using research in their teaching. Students were encouraged to engage with research through the recommendation of resources, seminar discussion, and researchers’ own work for reading and illustrating methodologies. Respondents claimed to be making significant use of the APU library website, online databases and journals. The majority of them were also recommending the same resources to their students. Convenience, speed and variety of information sources were quoted as some of the advantages of the new e-environment. A loss of a relationship with librarians and with the physical library was cited as an example of negative effects of the electronic resource environment