Engaging in research: challenges and opportunities for health library and information professionals

This year's virtual issue (the 6th in the series) has been published to coincide with the European Association for Health Information and Libraries’ (EAHIL) 2015 workshop (10–12 June, Edinburgh): Research‐Minded: Understanding, Supporting, Conducting Research. This event is being run in collaboration with the International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists and the International Clinical Librarian Conference. Although research has always been a central part of any librarian's role, until recently health librarians and library users and funding bodies assumed that librarians were ‘midwives’ – there to assist students, clinicians, academics and managers set up and carry out their research. The notion of the librarian as a professional with a research agenda, who understands research methods, submits research grants, and publishes, is a relatively new perspective. If librarians are to take an evidence‐based approach to their profession they need to acquire research skills. This is the rationale for the 2015 EAHIL workshop. To support the workshop, this virtual issue contains six original articles published in Health Information and Libraries Journal over the last 2 years that demonstrate the range of research activities carried out by health librarians, as well as a review article and articles from each of the three feature columns. All articles included in this virtual issue are available free online.     

Celebrating the role of health information

This inaugural virtual issue of the Health Information and Libraries Journal (HILJ) celebrates the contribution of health information in informing health and social care library and information provision. It has been drawn together to reflect the 2010 biennial Health Libraries Group conference theme of Keeping Information Centre Stage Amid Changing Scenery and includes a series of eleven key papers published in the journal over the last two years. This virtual issue mirrors the usual format of a journal issue with a review article, original articles and regular features on Learning and Teaching in Action, Using Evidence in Practice and International Perspectives and Initiatives. All papers included in this virtual issue of Health Information and Libraries Journal are available free online.     

Learning from the past to inform the future

In this final issue of 2017, we are in a reflective mood at the Health Information and Libraries Journal as we say goodbye to Audrey Marshall, Regular Feature Editor of Dissertations into Practice. While Audrey departs, Dissertations into Practice is now a firm fixture of the Health Information and Libraries Journal; there remains no better place for students to see their writing, possibly for the first time, in print. This issue also provides an opportunity to review the breadth of health information writing through the editorials of past Virtual Issues of the Health Information and Libraries Journal, all still available, free of charge, via the journal's home page at http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hilj .     

Increasing impact in a time of decreasing budgets

This virtual issue (VI) has been compiled to mark the CILIP Health Libraries Group Conference 2012. In line with the conference theme: ‘Health libraries under the microscope: perfecting your formula’, the VI is a collection of 10 articles and regular features that have been published in Health Information and Libraries Journal in the last 2 years. The VI focuses specifically on the topics of impact, value and cost‐effectiveness. All the articles and regular features contained in this VI are freely available online.     

Conference season

Health library and information workers no longer find themselves restricted to presenting at purely local or national health‐related library events, a diversity evidenced by the two conferences supported by CILIP's Health Libraries Group this month, June 2019. The Health Libraries Group is an official sponsor of #EBLIP10, the 10th international Evidence Based Library and Information Practice conference, which encourages us to think about the evidence we collect and use to inform practice. The Health Libraries Group also strengthens its links with EAHIL: The European Association of Health Information and Libraries by aligning the content of this year's Virtual Issue of the Health Information and Libraries Journal with EAHIL 2019s themes of evidence‐based practice, impact & assessment, and technology uptake, available at: https://bit.ly/2 PAZw2X.     

Transforming your service: the right evidence at the right time and place

This virtual issue is published to coincide with the CILIP Health Libraries Group Conference 2016. The theme of the conference is Knowledge for Healthcare (KFH), the development framework for health care library and knowledge services (LKS), published by Health Education England. Transforming the service, and delivering the right evidence at the right time and place, is a key strategic focus of KFH. Therefore, this virtual issue draws on content published in Health Information and Libraries Journal (HILJ) in the last 2 years, which demonstrate initiatives in health care LKS in line with the transformation strands outlined in KFH. The virtual issue follows the same structure as a regular issue of HILJ, containing one review article, a series of original articles and our three regular features: Dissertations into Practice, Teaching and Learning in Action and International Perspectives and Initiatives.     

EditorialKeeping information centre stage amid changing scenery

With conference season upon us, consideration is given to the importance of subject‐specific and library association conferences. The biennial Health Libraries Group (HLG) conference meets both these criteria and takes place in Greater Manchester in July. The conference provides an opportunity for peer‐to‐peer learning, identifying new trends and professional rejuvenation. An open invitation is given to attend the Health Information and Libraries Journal‘Writing for Publication’ workshop at the HLG conference. An overview of three bursaries available from the Health Libraries Group and Library and Information Research, both groups of the UK Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) is provided. The bursaries offer opportunities to cover the costs of registration and travel expenses to national and international conference.     

Health Libraries Group Conference 2018

It's conference time again! There is an exciting programme in prospect in this year's biennial Health Libraries Group (#HLG2018) conference covering key elements of library and information workers’ daily practice. Uppermost in everyone's mind is the importance of ongoing personal and professional development with the Health Libraries Group Continuing Professional Development Panel putting this into practice as they host regional peer support sessions for presenters in the period leading up to the conference. As the official journal of the Health Libraries Group, the Health Information and Libraries Journal is similarly keen to support presenters in the practical task of translating their presentations into papers. Do get in touch if you would like advice on what to do next.     

Launch of the HILJ Strategic Plan 2010–2014

The 2010‐2014 strategic plan builds on the reputation of Health Information and Libraries Journal (HILJ) as a dynamic internationally inclusive journal and will ensure that the journal remains relevant to the day‐to‐day practices of its readership. The plan seeks to maintain the high quality of the journal, build on the already strong relationship with the Health Libraries Group (HLG), and find new ways to engage with the HILJ readers and writers.     

Meeting the challenges of clinical information provision

This virtual issue of the Health Information and Libraries Journal (HILJ) has been compiled to mark the 5th International Clinical Librarian Conference 2011. In considering the challenges of clinical information provision, the content selected for the virtual issue offers an international flavour of clinical information provision and covers a variety of different facets of clinical librarianship. The issue broadly covers the areas of information needs and preferences, clinical librarian roles and services, and education and training, and reflects the way in which a normal issue of the HILJ would be presented. This includes a review article, a collection of original articles, and the three regular features which comprise International Perspectives and Initiatives, Learning and Teaching in Action, and Using Evidence in Practice. All papers included in this virtual issue are available free online.     

The role of the health information professional

This virtual issue has been published to mark the CILIP Health Libraries Group 2014 Conference, taking place in Oxford on 24th and 25th July 2014. The issue's theme is to highlight the key role of the health information professional and it shines a spotlight on professional expertise, demonstrating what we can share and learn from each other. It comprises a collection of articles published in the Health Information and Libraries Journal during the last 2 years but is very much about looking forward. The articles selected embrace three main themes: new ways of working; acquiring new skills and competencies; and fine‐tuning existing skills and practices. The virtual issue mirrors the format of the regular journal, namely a review article, six original articles and the three regular features, covering Dissertations into Practice, International Perspectives and Initiatives and Learning and Teaching in Action. All articles included in this virtual issue are available free online.     

HSCL LibQUAL+ 2004: from numbers and graphs to practical application

The University of Florida Health Science Center Libraries created a task force representing various departments to review data from its 2004 LibQUAL+ survey. This review compared results from the 2002 and 2004 LibQUAL+ surveys, and the data from the Association of Academic Health Science Libraries 2004 cohort. The task force analyzed the key components of the LibQUAL+ survey: Affect of Service, Information Control, Library as Place, and user comments. At the conclusion of this review, the task force made recommendations and suggestions along departmental lines to meet the patrons' needs and expectations. In addition to following the task force recommendations, the Libraries independently implemented several new services and hired additional personnel after the completion of the 2004 survey. Combined, these changes should improve overall library service and increase customer satisfaction. Looking towards the 2006 LibQUAL+ survey, the task force will be convened in advance and will guide the entire process.     

Writing within an international context

For Health Information and Libraries Journal, 2015 has had a distinctly international feel to it, something we have consciously been fostering for the past eight years. This issue is no exception in mirroring the journal’s Regular Feature International Perspectives and Initiatives, edited by Jeannette Murphy, in shining a light on the best international practice the health information and libraries sector has to offer.     

Health information practice: integrating,inspiring and innovating

The 2017 virtual issue of the Health Information and Libraries Journal (HILJ) is published to link to the 12th International Congress on Medical Librarianship and the 2017 EAHIL Workshop taking place in Dublin, Ireland on 12–16 June 2017. The conference title is Diversity in Practice: integrating, inspiring and innovative and it is exploring how health science librarianship, in all its diversity, is integrating, inspiring and innovating practice. These themes have been used to compile this virtual issue, which contains published articles selected from HILJ from the June 2014 issue through to September 2016. The virtual issue mirrors the format of a regular issue of HILJ, namely a review article, six original articles and our three regular features: ‘Dissertations into Practice’, ‘International Perspectives and Initiatives’ and ‘Teaching and Learning in Action’. All articles included in this virtual issue are available free online.     

10 year anniversary

Maria Grant reflects on her ten years as Editor‐in‐Chief of the Health Information and Libraries Journal, her vision to enhance the quality and reach of the journal, and working with prospective authors in the health library sector to increase confidence in recognising and communicating the value of the work being undertaken.     

Are you a budding academic writer?

Academic writing can seem a daunting prospect although with the right support and information it can be more achievable than you think. In this first set of editorial comments of 2016, editors from all sections of the Health Information and Libraries Journal outline the origins of the individual section of the journal which they oversee and highlight some of the things you might want to consider when thinking of submitting your writing for publication.     

Using and writing reviews to inform your practice

Reviews are seen as a way of exploiting existing data or research findings more fully and can offer a summarised insight into the current understanding of the evidence. Library and information science (LIS) workers can use reviews to inform their decision-making and service planning. Although the LIS evidence base continues to grow there will frequently be times when no published reviews are available. In these instances, you may consider undertaking your own review. Different types of review require different approaches and, by deciding from the outset what kind of review yours will be, will inform your methodology. Guidelines on writing reviews for the Health Information and Libraries Journal are presented.     

A Delphi survey of research priorities and identified areas for collaborative research in health sector library and information services UK

The survey aims were to determine research priorities in the Health Library and Information Services sector in the United Kingdom as to their perceived value for the professional and impact on user needs and to identify areas suitable for collaborative research. A 34-member panel consisting of the Chairs of professional groups, journal editors, educationalists, key organizations and representatives from the Health Libraries Group, Libraries for Nursing and University Health Science Libraries professional groups, participated in a three-round postal questionnaire survey using the Delphi Technique. Consensus was achieved for a final set of 20 research priorities. The priorities and their category groups are discussed in the context of (i) the current R&D scene, and (ii) the health information environment. Six developmental recommendations are provided.