Library and Information Research Group
Systematic assessment of the training needs of health library staff
Christine Urquhart, Siân Spink, Rhian Thomas, Jane Durbin
Library and Information Research Volume 30, Number 93, Winter 2005, pp35-42
Article
Abstract
The aim of research conducted for the National Library for Health was to identify what type of training was required, and how the training should be delivered. The article describes the systematic approach used to collate and synthesise the findings of published and unpublished studies (1999-2004) on the training needs of health library staff. The research included two workshops with health library staff to discuss the interim findings (in late 2004). The results showed that health librarians required specialist skills in information retrieval and knowledge management, as well as more advanced research related skills. The conclusions note the need for an agreed competency framework, but also some vision of the capabilities of librarians in the future. For librarians working outside the health sector, the findings indicate that the profession needs to offer career advancement through specialist routes as well as through the managerial route.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank all the participants who contributed to the survey work or the focus groups for this research. We thank the South Yorkshire Workforce Development Confederation, and the National Library for Health for their financial support. Valerie Monaghan provided invaluable support to the research team for the South Yorkshire training needs analysis, as did Alison Turner for the CPD study for the National Library for Health.
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Updated: 11 September 2006