How to create successful partnerships-a review of the literature

This literature review covers a wide range of publications (articles, books, reports and government publications) that provide an overview of the wider topic of partnership working. It is not a systematic review, but the authors' personal review, drawing largely on the resources available in the King's Fund Library. Partnership working is a key component of the UK government's modernization agenda, particularly in the health field. However, the principles of achieving successful partnership are generally applicable. The review therefore concentrates on literature that can provide guidance for people planning to set up a partnership, or re-evaluating an existing partnership. The sections of this review comprise: definition of partnership working; types of partnership; partnership initiatives; drivers; critical success factors; barriers; benefits; the process of partnership working; evaluation and assessment tools; demolishing the Berlin Wall: government policy on partnership working; exemplars of library information service partnerships.     

Medical academic libraries in Romania – breaking with the past and turning towards the future

This article is part of a series in this regular feature which looks at new directions in health science libraries. This article provides an updated overview of medical libraries in Romania, with a focus on the academic libraries which function under the patronage of medical schools. Information was collected through a survey questionnaire sent out to Romanian academic medical libraries in March 2017. The responses provide an overall picture of the state of Romanian medical libraries, highlighting the main trends and areas in which progress is evident, as well as the problems confronting these libraries. J.M.     

Elizabeth Blackwell—the forgotten herbalist?

This article looks at the work of Elizabeth Blackwell (1707–1758), by all accounts the first British female herbalist. To raise funds to free her husband from debtors prison, she produced her hand drawn, engraved and coloured ‘Curious Herbal’ in 1735. Using the copies of the herbal in the British Library, the article will look at the circumstances surrounding production of the herbal, her influences and sources used, including the people who recommended production of the book to the Society of Apothecaries and some of the current projects to put her name back on the map.