Megane Quelvennec – Trainee Library Assistant, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
Hello! My name is Megane Quelvennec, I’m a trainee library assistant working at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust and currently working towards my MA in Information and Library Studies at Aberystwyth University as a distance learner!
I was grateful to be able to attend the HGL conference thanks to FEDIP who were kind enough to offer me a bursary for an in-person place this year. I had an absolutely wonderful time, I got to meet two other trainee library assistants who are also in the process of gaining an MA (obviously as you do when you are in an unfamiliar environment, and you make new friends – you stick together!). Everyone who I spoke to was incredibly friendly and welcoming so thank you all for allowing a young trainee to pick at your experienced brains!
It was a difficult decision choosing which presentations to attend (luckily, they were filmed so I will be watching the others in due course), but I decided to start with Session 1B in the Seligman room (I become quite fond of this room as all but 1 session I attend was held here!). “Research talent spotting at the Curiosity Café” a lightening talk delivered by Sarah Garnder from Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who talked about how as librarians we are perfectly placed for spotting talent and the curious café was used as a way to not only help build relationships and foster engagement, but to move people along the research chain from “research curious” to “research interest” and finally onto “research active”. All with the grand slogan “cake, coffee and curious conversations” which I think is something that we can all appreciate.
Along the same line of sharing knowledge and fostering a sense of shared learning – Preeti Puligari from Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust presented a lightening talk titled “Summarising evidence to support Trust wide learning on safety incidents” which focused on their WeLearn platform, a Trust-wide learning programme that was implemented in 2018/2019. The main highlights of this platform are:
- To learn about the discoveries happening within the Trust
- To share the wins, the fails – all the results of any learning taking place
- To encourage staff to submit their learnings
- To help create different learning packs
- To support team training
This Trust-wide initiative has led to a WeLearn newsletter that showcases the learning happening at an organisational level. Preeti went on to discuss how the Knowledge and Library Service has been involved in the Safety Action Group, helping to implement the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) which was a national framework launched in April of 2024, helping to highlight what a valuable resource health libraries and library staff can be!
As someone relatively new the field of health librarianship (I started my role in December 2024) it has been both eye-opening and exciting to hear and see about the changes currently happening in our field. When I was first researching what a health librarian was, I was floored by the number of job roles that fit within such a wide title. I think what truly surprised me is that even two librarians with the same job title will have vastly different projects based on their Trust and skillset. On day 2 of the conference, the speaker, Jo Cornish, talked about how as a profession we are “developing and sustaining younger professionals as they are the future” which I think resonates with us all. I, as someone who is one of the young professionals new the field and others who are more experienced and wanting to share that learned experience. CILIP offers a range of professional development opportunities for joining the library field, from accredited academic degrees to professional registration in order to help take the next step in this career.
Leorita Joseph Henry from Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Trust did a lightening talk on “Targeted Marketing – get the users, enjoy the results!” which I think is something that every librarian has struggled with at some point. How do we get our resources to the right people? I know most librarians have met someone in the NHS who didn’t even know there was a library to begin with! Leorita made the memorable point that marketing needs to be “catchy, relevant and clear”, in order to be effective. Pointing out that we have a wide range of tools at our disposal: emails, newsletters, the intranet, events etc, Leorita showcased the outcomes of her work in marketing library resources, indicating just how powerful targeted marketing can be.
Overall, the conference was incredibly informative, and I have learned a lot from attending (including being able to update my CPD record). I definitely look forward to seeing everyone in 2026! And if anyone would like to reach out to connect, please don’t hesitate to do so!
Contact: Megane.quelvennec@nhs.net
Health Libraries Group 