Membership of the HSLG is open to all LAI members. It entitles you to attend CPD events and the annual conference at a reduced rate. Members can also apply for funds to cover travel expenses to CPD events.
The HSLG conference 2021 has been postponed due to high Covid-19 rates. We hope to hold the event on 17 February 2022, so keep that date free.
The theme of our conference is Open to change and is aimed at people working or interested in library or information services in Ireland.
Our keynote is physicist, cancer researcher, and author Doctor David Robert Grimes. David’s presentation is called ‘Situation critical’. He tells us how we can be lured into making critical mistakes or drawing false conclusions, and how to avoid such errors. Given the power of modern science and the way that movements can unite to protest a cause via social media, we are in dangerous times. But fortunately, we can learn from our mistakes, and by critical thinking and scientific method we can discover how to apply these techniques to everything from deciding what insurance to buy to averting global disaster.
Our invited speaker is Library Association of Ireland president Cathal McCauley. Cathal will speak to us about current and future initiatives of the LAI.
Nikita Burke, Evidence Synthesis Ireland and Richard Hollis, Cochrane, will present the pilot findings of an evaluation of using Cochrane Interactive Learning modules in blended online learning for Evidence Synthesis Ireland in a presentation entitled: How to integrate Cochrane Interactive Learning to deliver systematic review training for early-career stage healthcare researchers.
Of course, we are delighted to showcase the knowledge and work of health librarians and information specialists in Ireland. We have the following presentations from members:
• Aoife Lawton, Health Service Executive – A national eHealth Library for Ireland: the story so far.
• Caitriona Lee, Health Research Board – Showing our workings: The new PRISMA 2020 and the use of search summary tables.
• Trish Patton, Irish College of General Practitioners – An action research study on the design and development of an e-learning module on information skills to empower general practitioners.
• Louise Farragher, Health Research Board – Citation tracking: tools and approaches.
• Liis Cotter, Health Service Executive – Nursing journal club for mental health nurses – it will never work, will it?
• Niamh O’Sullivan, Irish Blood Transfusion Service – Connections that count: credit to the crew.
Join us and meet members from a range of health and academic settings including hospital (HSE and voluntary) libraries, academic health libraries, state agencies, and NGOs. Register on Eventbrite here.
Please note: HSLG members have a specially reduced registration rate of €10. Members can also apply for the Bernard Barrett bursary which is a special award specifically to enable members from across Ireland to attend the HSLG annual conference or other relevant HSLG events. Members may apply for funds to cover the registration fee and/or travel expenses (if travelling some distance by public transport). Details are available on: https://hslg.ie/about/hslg-bursary/
Also note that due to Covid-19 restrictions, the hotel has informed us that an EU Digital COVID Certificate (COVID-19 pass) (vaccine or recovery certificate) will be required to attend our event.
Infodemic in a pandemic – critical thinking needed By Trish Patton, Assistant Librarian/Information Office, Irish College of General Practitioners
Feature article in Forum Journal for GPs, December 2020, ICGP.
Additional reading (not for discussion): An exploration of how fake news is taking over social media and putting public health at risk Salman Bin Naeem, Rubina Bhatti, Aqsa Khan (2020) Health Information and Libraries Journal https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12320
At the journal club, Niamh plans to discuss the following topics:
• infodemics, types of mis/dis information and the consequences of all three.
• The role health sciences librarians can play to stem the flow.
• The best tools and resources to combat fake news and mis/dis information.
And ask the following questions:
• How much impact can health sciences librarians realistically have on the spread of fake news?
• What resources and tools do you currently use to help users find authoritative information?
• How can we, in the HSL community, better prepare ourselves for the next infodemic?
HSLG Virtual Journal Club, 24 June 2021, 11am – 11.45am
Main article: Miller JM, Ford SF, Yang A. Elevation through reflection: closing the circle to improve librarianship. J Med Libr Assoc. 2020;108(3):353-363. doi:10.5195/jmla.2020.938 http://jmla.pitt.edu/ojs/jmla/article/view/938/
Secondary article: Miller JM. Reflective practice and health sciences librarians: engagement, benefits, and barriers. J Med Libr Assoc. 2020;108(1):17-28. doi:10.5195/jmla.2020.777 http://jmla.pitt.edu/ojs/jmla/article/view/777
Breeda Herlihy’s suggested questions:
Reflective practice is practiced by many medical and health services professionals. Have you applied reflective practice in your work or if not, do you think there is value in applying reflective practice to health librarianship?
Is reflective practice something best applied to a project e.g. collaboration on a systematic review rather than repetitive tasks e.g. sourcing journal articles?
Three models are outlined in the article as useful frameworks for those new to reflective practice. Does anyone have experience with these or any others suggested in the supplemental appendix?
The authors suggest that “talking with a colleague or mentor” or “talking with a group of people” are possible formats for reflective practice. Are these formats feasible in health libraries where librarians are often working on their own or leading up a unit unlike any others in the organisation? Could we explore establishing a reflective practice group or is the HSLG the manifestation of talking your practice through with a ‘group of people’?
The article outlines four ways in which reflective practice can be used in health libraries. Can you envisage other scenarios where it might be useful?
Does this Wikipedia entry feel like it was written by a librarian? See also the “Talk” tab – any comments? Does it feel neutral or do pro or con librarian views come across? If you were considering librarianship as a career, would this piece encourage or deter you?
Are librarians still “custodians” or keepers of knowledge or has this role now passed to publishers? If so, where does that leave librarians?
Looking at the ownership or sponsorship of the earliest libraries, how much credence should we give any surviving texts from this era? What may have been the driving force for creating these libraries?
In the 1870’s, librarian tasks were considered to be “”Eminently Suited to Girls and Women.” Do you think this was based on convenience or related to the position of women in society at the time? Or for some other reason?
“The CDC had earlier named librarians as key public health staff to support COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing.” What librarian skills would have led them to that conclusion? What image does it seem to portray of librarians? Is it an image we should promote?
Copyright isn’t mentioned either. In fact, in the 17th Century, a librarian was seen as a “scribe, one who copies books”. Do librarians need more legal skills to address copyright and publisher licencing issues, and should they be the first port of call for these issues?
If you were to add a section on Health Librarians, what additional roles or skills would you include? What non-typical skills are you called on to provide in your service?
Looking at the list of “additional responsibilities”, are the core roles of librarians still intact? What does this list suggest about assumptions on librarian values?
When it comes to librarian education, there is very little consensus across the globe. Steve McKinzie argues that an academic qualification is required for e.g. reference interview and doesn’t rate “special training”. In our own experience, what has been the role of any academic qualification and of CPD/special training?
Technology: “librarians must continually adapt to new formats”. Instead of adapting, should we be leading or collaborating in developments in this field?
Librarian stereotypes – help! Is this seriously still true? Anyone have any personal experiences of any of this? Do we inspire fear – timidly??
Nominations for new committee members takes place at every AGM (but may also be approved during the year). Download our nomination form here: HSLG_committee_membership_nomination_form
