Editorial

Libraries for Nursing Bulletin Vol. 39 (2)

Welcome to the latest issue of HLG Nursing Bulletin, and my hasn’t it been a strange few months. Back when the last issue came out, we were all anticipating the European Championships (both in football and athletics), the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo and, most of all, the HLG Conference in Aviemore. Then COVID-19 took hold, everything changed, and we all had to get a bit more used to videoconferencing. Some of us have remained in situ at our workplaces, while others have been running their services remotely using the now ubiquitous acronym WFH. But we’ve continued throughout, and this issue will look at some of the things that libraries have been doing to maintain their services through the period of lockdown. 

The RCN has been at the forefront, in its role supporting the nurses who are in the frontline of COVID, and the library service is no exception. Maintaining the service it provides to its members while in lockdown and WFH has been a difficult situation for the staff at the RCN Library, and it has been essential to maintain the connections as a team, to make sure that they are all as supported as possible. Here, Sarah Cull, Frances Reed and Kaitlene Koranteng describe what the RCN Library team have been doing to keep connected as a team and with their users during the period when they aren’t able to work in the same physical space. 

The COVID-19 lockdown has resulted in changes in plans for many individuals and organisations, and the King’s Fund has been no exception. In 2019, as part of a new usage policy of their library space, the Library Service planned a number of exhibitions for 2020 to promote their digital archives, including one to coincide with the WHO Year of the Nurse and Midwife, intended to launch on International Nurses Day. Lockdown put paid to that, but rather than dropping the idea, the team took the decision to transition from a physical to an online exhibition. Lynsey Hawker, Kathy Johnson, Rejoice Molaodi and Nikki Smiton describe the work that was done to make this possible. 

During a situation such as the one that we are in right now, it is more important than ever that clinicians and researchers get the most up-to-date evidence to aid their decision making. This is where services such as the Clinical Evidence Based Information Service (CEBIS) at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) are vital. From March 2020, the team at UHCW had a significant number of referrals related to COVID-19, and wanted to see how the service provided had impacted on clinicians and the work they were doing. Helen Wesson, Amber Dunlop, Bridget O’Connell and Imrana Ghumra present the results of their survey into CEBIS’s impact during the COVID-19 period. 

Although many conferences planned for 2020 went ahead in online versions, HLG made a conscious decision that our conference should remain in its original format. And so, #hlg2020 has become #hlg2021, and will be going ahead in April next year in Aviemore. The programme remains the same, and if you’ve already booked your place then nothing should have changed for you. However, if you do have any questions, you can go to the conference webpage. 

We’re always after articles. If you’ve got a new service, or have obtained a new resource, tell us about it. Tell us if you’ve been to a study day or event. Tell us if you have some burning opinion about the profession that you really, really want to get off your chest. Tell us if you’re a first-time writer and would like to dip your toe into the water. We’d love to hear from you. Details on how you can contribute are at the end of the issue, and can be found on our website. 

Phillip Barlow 
HLG Nursing Bulletin editor