Change ahead - hours first

Lots of changes in store for the Knowledge & Library Service at Newham.

I'll be writing a series of updates about these changes over the next fortnight or so. Watch this space.

First up is a change of staffing. I am glad to report that Jane (our Assistant Librarian) is moving on to an exciting new job in pastures lush and verdant (well - Northamptonshire) in a few weeks. Please feel free to drop in and wish her well. The less happy side of her success is that we will be left with reduced staffing till such time as a new recruit can be found.

The team at Newham is a small one so we will have to temporarily reduce the opening hours. With effect from 31st March opening hours will be 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday. The Cyber room remains available at all times for those with a swipe badge. In practice we may be open slightly longer on either Monday or Tuesday each week but if you want to be sure to find us you will need to call during the new core hours.

Please contact me with any issues arising.

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New books added to stock February 2008

The list of titles added to the library this month is now available.

Remember, this is just a selection of our full collection - to search the full catalogue visit NewhamCat, which is accessible from any Newham University Hospital NHS Trust or Newham PCT networked computer.

Books added to stock this month include:

The new edition of Campbell's operative orthopaedics. The second edition of A practical approach to transesophageal echocardiography by Perrino and Reeves. The seventh edition of Grossman's cardiac catheterization, angiography and intervention by Baim.

Several titles in education and training including Effective interprofessional education: development, delivery and evaluation by Freeth et al, the OSCE and clinical skills handbook by Hurley and Your teaching style: a practical guide to understanding, developing and improving by Mohanna, Chambers and Wall.

A new edition of the Oxford textbook of old age psychiatry by Jacoby et al, the Clinical nursing skills workbook by Nicol, and the sixth edition of Communication in nursing by Balzer Riley.

We welcome suggestions of titles to purchase, please get in touch with us: library@newhamhealth.nhs.uk

This month's library is the Rathmines Library in Dublin

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Loud and clear

Back in November we asked you to comment on our services via a quick survey. Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome but the survey provides us with a handy snapshot of opinion.

We received over a hundred responses from a range of hospital and PCT staff. Overall satisfaction levels remain high with over 80% of respondents rating the overall service as Good or Very good. Staff and the assistance they provide to find the information you need are rated particularly highly.

The usual bug bear remains around opening hours with 12% rating this as poor (versus just over 60% for good / Very good). We are open longer hours than you may realise - 8:30 am to 7 pm Monday and Tuesday and 8:30 am to 5 pm Wednesday to Friday (46.5 hours in total!). In addition the Cyber Room is available 24 hours a day seven days a week to all staff with a proximity lock ID badge. The Cyber Room is equipped with 6 PCs and a selection of core books for reference use. Current staffing levels mean that extended hours for the main library are not likely but we will continue to examine ways to open for longer.

There were relatively low ratings for our selection of paper books and journals. It is to be expected that people would like a wider range of journals. However, the sheer number of potential titles for us to hold combined with soaring costs mean that our range of paper subscriptions will doubtless continue to fall. To counter balance this - we have better access to electronic versions of journals and are working to expand this further. We are also looking at how we can simplify the process of requesting journal articles where we do not have immediate access.

The low rating for the book collection is more surprising. A quick scan of our blog will show regular postings of extensive lists of new books. Comparing us against similar libraries across London we have one of the most current collections. Hopefully NewhamCat will make it easier for people to check if we have what they need. It should also make it easier for people to reserve books that are on loan (at any given time around 15% of the collection is out and about). You can help us to help you by bringing in any reading lists you are issued, showing us interesting reviews or simply by suggesting titles.

There were lots of comments - many reinforcing the message about hours and the need for more books. We will try and act on as many as possible. They have certainly informed our plans for next year.

Finally - if you were one of the people who asked us to "tell you more" about one of our services then you should receive an email soon.

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On the Map (of Medicine)

You may have heard mutterings recently about the Map of Medicine.

The Map of Medicine is an online clinical knowledge tool that contains over 300 evidence-based clinical pathways. The Map consists of flow charts following the pathway from Primary through to Acute Care where relevant. It links out to the National Library for Health and BNF. Clicking on the accredited tick will display the strength of the evidence presented by that particular pathway.

Modified versions of some pathways are already being made available to patients via the NHS Choices website.

NHS staff in London can now access London Map of Medicine using their Athens username
and password. You can self register for this via any NHSNet computer.







Please have a look and let us know how you get on.

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New books January 2008

Here is this month's offering of books added to library stock.

This is only a selection of most recently added items - visit NewhamCat to search the full catalogue from any Newham University Hospital Trust or Newham PCT networked computer.

This month's selection includes:

Several titles from the Current Diagnosis and Treatment series, including Current Diagnosis and Treatment in Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Otolaryngology, Neurology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Orthopedics and Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment.

A series of titles to support the GPST/GPVTS training: MCQs for GPST/GPVTS shortlisting, EMQs for GPST/GPVTS shortlisting and SJTs for GPST/GPVTS shortlisting and more!.

Other titles this month include new editions of Hatch and Sumner's textbook of paediatric anaesthesia, Hurst's The Heart and Maingot's abdominal operations.

There are also new resources on clinical supervision and mentoring, such as Coaching and mentoring at work by Connor and Pokora, Practising clinical supervision by Driscoll and Transforming practice through clinical education, professional supervision and mentoring, by Rose and Best.

We welcome suggestions for any books you'd like to see in stock. You can contact us at library@newhamhealth.nhs.uk

This month's library: the Vancouver Public Library in Vancouver, British Columbia

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Oxford ebooks come to you...

Unlike the rather tired looking tomes in the accompanying photo (from Merton College at Oxford) we have shiny new electronic books from Oxford University Press.

If you do not already have one you will need an Athens username to access them (register here from any NHS computer).

All the ebooks we hold are linked in from NewhamCat or you can access them by logging into MyAthens or the MyLibrary section of the National Library for Health and selecting Ovid from the list of resources.

Alternatively - here are the direct links:

Oxford Textbook of Medicine
Oxford Textbook of Surgery
Oxford Handbook of the Foundation Programme
Oxford Handbook of Clinical and Laboratory Investigations
Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties
Oxford Handbook of General Practice
Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine (link to follow - currently incorrect edition)

Please let us know how you get on with them.

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New books added to the library in December 2007

Here is the list of new books added to the library in December 2007.

Remember, this is only a selection of the newest additions to the library, visit Newhamcat to search the full library catalogue from any Newham University Hospital NHS Trust or Newham PCT computer.

A selection of this month's titles....

New editions from the Lecture notes series on Cardiology, Elderly care medicine and Respiratory medicine. Books in paediatric specialties including Brook's pediatric endocrinology, Essential pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition and the Handbook of pediatric urology. New nursing titles include the 6th edition of the Emergency nursing core curriculum, Mosby's pediatric nursing reference and The textbook of children's and young people's nursing. A new edition of Dorsch's Understanding anesthesia equipment, Leg ulcers: diagnosis and management, and Assessment in medical education and training.

We welcome suggestions of books for purchase. Please contact us at library@newhamhealth.nhs.uk

This month's library is the new Openbare Bibliotheek in Amsterdam.

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