CILIP | Expanding Roles and Opportunities for Health Librarians

Expanding Roles and Opportunities for Health Librarians

Tuesday 16 March 2004

This event was organised by the CILIP Health Libraries Group, and sponsored by NeLH. The aim was to highlight the increasing range of opportunities available to health librarians to move into wider or more specialist roles,and give delegates the opportunity to reflect on their own aspirations and options for the future. The tightly packed day was chaired by Veronica Fraser, NHS Libraries Advisor.

First up, Maggie Haines, Director of Information Services and Systems at Kings College London, and CILIP President-elect, gave an inspiring and energising presentation entitled "Future proofing your career: personal perspectives and tips for success".

Presentation by Maggie Haines (MS Powerpoint 905KB).

Following a short, snappy look at skills in demand from the recruiter's perspective, by Sue Hill, Director of Sue Hill Recruitment, there was a quick-fire selection of case studies, presented by librarians working in a variety of senior and specialist roles - from Director to Information Officer, from digital library environment to patient information setting,from commerical company to independent consultancy, all the speakers were clearly passionate about their roles. Just two of the presentations are attached as examples.

Expanding Roles (MS Powerpoint 44KB)

NHS Direct (MS Powerpoint 470KB)

Anticipating that attendees might well by this time be inspired to develop new skills, Anne Brice, Specialist Libraries Development Coordinator for the National Electronic Library for Health introduced FOLIO, NeLH's new programme of interactive online learning for health librarians. Leaving the big picture until last, Jackie Lord, Head of Library and Information Services at the Royal College of Nursing, and Chair of the CILIP Health
Libraries Group ended the day with a presentation entitled "Future proofing the profession: trends and needs from employer and professional perspectives", which drew on the findings from the CILIP Health Executive Advisory Group report.

Presentation by Jackie Lord (MS Powerpoint, 219KB)

The fast pace of the day left many delegates wanting there to have been more time for discussion, interacting and thinking about personal next steps. Many of the suggestions for future events were specifically related to career development topics - portfolios, mentoring, recruitment issues, role development, flexible and part-time working - and the CPD Panel now have a wealth of ideas for further study days.

A report from Helen Bingham, HLG CPD Panel

Updated: 10 June 2005