Health Libraries

Available in full below or as a PDF (121K)

Influence, inform, and involve

• Introduction
• What is HLG?
• Mission of HLG
• The HLG Committee
• What has HLG done in the past?
• Recent achievements
• Key points from Membership Survey 2002
• HLG Manifesto 2005/6
• 1. Influencing, shaping and creating health information policy
• 2. Modernising professional development activities for HLG members
• Help us to develop the Manifesto 
  
  
  

Introduction

What is HLG?

Mission of HLG

• Continuing professional development
• Influencing government, employers and organisations

The HLG Committee

• Membership focus 
• Implementation
• Communication 
• Advocacy 
• Facilitation 
• Promoting diversity 
• Collaboration

What has HLG done in the past?

• Professional development including a large, well attended conference every two years, and in between we provide the health information strand of the CILIP conference. We hold a wide variety of health information continuing professional development events each year, either on our own, or in collaboration with other groups. We have a health information event at the Online Exhibition held each December in London. 
• Communication tools include a regular newsletter, a website (www.cilip.org.uk/hlg), the hlg-members mailing list and a range of publicity materials.
• Promoting research including producing a well respected, research based journal, the Health Information and Libraries Journal (HILJ.)
• Collaboration with a wide variety of groups including the National Library for Health (NLH) and the Irish Health Sciences Librarians Group (HSLG.)
• Supporting better access to health information in developing countries by working closely with Partnerships in Health Information (PHI) and granting aid.
• Influencing, and played a major role in CILIP’s Health Executive Advisory Group (HEAG), a task and finish group whose remit was to make recommendations regarding future proofing the profession, using health as an example.
• Partnership with Libraries for Nursing (LfN) and Information for the Management of Health Care (IFMH), which specialise in supporting librarians working in the nursing and allied health fields and in health service management and hold a wide variety of CPD events and produce regular newsletters.

Back to top

Recent achievements

• Conference held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Variety is the Spice of Life, with key note speech by the Northern Ireland Permanent Secretary for Health, Clive Gowdy.
• Strategy to promote the impact factor for the Health Information and Libraries Journal (HILJ) and HLG funded a special issue on Evidence based Librarianship and a special memorial issue for Mona Going on community care.
• LFN produced a core collection for nurses , midwives and health visitors.
• MIWP became part of HLG, and renamed itself Health Information Working Party (HIWP), and is currently working on a new core book collection for health professionals.
• Leslie Morton Memorial activities in partnership with the Leslie Morton Memorial Committee including a conference and fundraising for a bursary.
• HLG volunteered to be one of the early participators in revamping its web pages on the CILIP website.
• Participated in the development of the CILIP Health Executive Advisory Group (HEAG) which produced the report Future proofing the profession.
• Produced a guide to Guide to working in health information for those new to or interested in the field
  
  

Back to top

Key points from Membership Survey 2002

• Over 2000 HLG members received a copy of the survey and over 400 responded
• Most members joined HLG for professional awareness and networking
• Overall opinion of activities good but low awareness
• Members requested an email discussion list and new membership pack
• Members felt that HLG should have more of an influencing role
  
  

What do we want to do in the future?

Influence, inform and involve

Back to top

HLG Manifesto 2005/6

HLG wants to move forward in 2 priority areas: 

• Influencing, shaping and creating health information policy
• Modernising professional development activities for members

1. Influencing, shaping and creating health information policy

HLG wants to influence health information policy by:

• Promoting the value of health information professionals
  
  How?
  By working with CILIP over the representation of health information professionals to the media
  By promoting the work of health information professionals in universities
  By encouraging CILIP to develop strategic relationships with employers
  
  
• Developing and implementing a framework for influencing external policy in partnership with CILIP
  
  How?
  By setting up a policy panel as part of the HLG Committee
  By working with CILIP to act as an advocate to government, to politicians, government departments, quasi- and non-governmemtal departmental organisations and to link health LIS into the wider political arena
  By acting as an umbrella for other health information groups and coordinating political messages
  By using existing communications, newsletter, website etc to enter into a dialogue with members
  
  
• Developing and implementing a framework for influencing CILIP internal policy
  
  How?
  By appointing an internal policy officer as part of the new policy panel
  By influencing CILIP Council through the HLG Group Councillor
  By exploring whether CILIP structures are currently being utilised to their maximum potential for the benefit of HLG members, including the CILIP regional branch structure
  
  
• Raising awareness of international health information issues
  
  How?
  By alerting members to international issues via the HLG international officer
  By developing Health Information and Libraries Journal (HILJ) as an international journal
  By supporting Partnerships in Health Information’s (PHI’s) work in improving access to health information in developing countries
  
  
• Influencing the health information content of education for information work 
  
  How?
  By actively promoting the work of HLG via presentations, roadshows, proactive dissemination and a careers section on the HLG website
  
  
• Promoting evidence based librarianship
  
  How?
  By developing and promoting the work of the HLG Research Panel by CPD events, publicity and dissemination through the journal, HILJ. 
• Horizon scanning so that health librarianship remains leading edge
  
  How?
  By harnessing the skills of the researchers in health librarianship and organising regular horizon scanning events
  
  
• Collaborating with other health information organisations in order to maximise resources and share expertise
  
  How?
  By mapping existing health information networks, both sectoral and geographic, and updating annually
  By producing joint policy statements where appropriate
  By working collaboratively over activities
  
  

What do we want CILIP to do?

• Use HLG as a model for working with special interest groups in policy development and influencing

Summary of influencing recommendations:

To influence health information policy by:

• Promoting the value of health information professionals
• Developing and implementing a framework for influencing external policy in partnership with CILIP
• Developing and implementing a framework for influencing CILIP internal policy
• Raising awareness of international health information issues including those in developing countries
• Influencing the health information content of education for information work 
• Promoting evidence based librarianship
• Horizon scanning
• Collaborating with other health information organisations
• CILIP using HLG as a model for working with special interest groups in policy development and influencing

Back to top

2. Modernising professional development activities for HLG members

HLG wants to support the professional development of the membership by:

• Promoting inclusivity regarding specialisms, sectors and geography
  
  How?
  By working in partnership with Libraries for Nursing (LfN) and Information for the Management of Health Care (IFMH)
  By working in collaboration with other health information groups, the National Library for Health and professional development providers throughout the sector 
  By increasing the number of affiliate members including Library assistants, Library and Information students, information professionals interested in health
  By increasing membership from the community and social sectors, and from public libraries
  By developing a range of professional development activities to cover all relevant sectors including social and community care
  By enabling members to become active in HLG through creating the means for dialogue
  By developing an online directory of health information services in collaboration with other organisations
  
  
• Delivering and evaluating professional development activities for members according to best practice and covering a variety of learning styles:
  
  How?
  By the HLG professional development action plan covering a variety of learning styles and including performance indicators
  By working with and advising CILIP over the new framework for qualifications
  By developing a network of mentors for health information professionals
  By ensuring HLG professional development activities complement skills frameworks within the health service
  
  
• Improving HLG Committee business processes
  
  How?
  By improving communication processes and consultation with members
  By improving handover processes between HLG Committees
  By further developing devolved nations’ representation on the Committee
  By developing a business planning cycle of membership feedback, business planning, resource planning and performance indicators
  
  

Summary of professional development recommendations:

To support the professional development of the membership by:

• Promoting inclusivity regarding specialisms, sectors and geography
• Delivering and evaluating professional development according to best practice and covering a variety of learning styles
• Improving HLG Committee business processes

Back to top