Editorial

HLG Nursing Bulletin Vol. 38 (3/4)

Phillip Barlow
HLG Nursing Bulletin editor

Hello everyone and welcome to the summer issue of HLG Nursing Bulletin, aiming to provide you with interesting pieces that inform your practice and how you go about this profession we call information. As we often find at the end of the summer, a number of conferences have been and gone, and people are anxious to tell all about their experiences.

The LILAC Conference is always a big draw for those in our profession, given how important the concept of information literacy is both to us, to ensure we are providing the best service we can for our users, but also to them to make sure they have the skills they need to find good quality information themselves. Here we have reflections from this year’s conference from three different perspectives, with Lisa Mason going at it as a newcomer to our sector, Sinead Stringwell as a newbie to LILAC, and Suzanne Toft as a first-time conference presenter.

The Evidence-Based Library and Information Practice (EBLIP) Conference is a gathering aimed at ensuring that we as information professionals are adept at collecting and using evidence, which becomes ever more important given the era in which we are living, with fake news, complex information environments and calls for accountability. Here, Gillian Siddall picks her stand-out moments from the conference, what she has taken from it, and her plans to incorporate it.

Leadership and Management is an inevitable, even in our profession, although the two terms are not always ones that mean the same thing. However, cutting through the waffle is important whether you are engaging in leadership or managing individuals or teams. Georgina Wildman gives us a review of Barbara Allan’s The No-Nonsense Guide to Leadership, Management and Teamwork, newly released by Facet Publishing, as a resource that can be used by prospective leaders and managers to translate the theories into practical guidance and tips on how to succeed in the challenging arena of being the boss.

In case you hadn’t noticed, we are now less than a year from the Health Libraries Group Conference 2020, due to take place in the picturesque surroundings of the Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands. Not only have we put out our “save the date” call, but we’re also now calling for submissions for presentations, workshops, posters, and all of the other things without which we wouldn’t have a conference. We’ve put a little piece explaining about the venue and the conference, which includes links to registering for information about attending, as well as submitting your proposal. If you do have any questions, feel free to drop us a line.

As ever, we want articles from you. This publication wouldn’t exist without your contributions, so the more the better. Tell us if you’ve got a new service, or have obtained a new resource. 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.