92 HEALTH MATTERS HealtH online
KEY PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE TO ALL
The Lenus health repository was launched in February 2009 by the Regional Library in Dr Steevens’ Hospital to address two related problems: how to preserve and make accessible online the published output of the Irish health services, and how to publish, promote and share the latest Irish health research in an easily accessible way writes Padraig Manning, HSE Librarian.
A
s part of the Open Access movement,
www.lenus.ie is dedicated to making
Irish health research and literature widely and freely available for the benefit of all. So what will you find in Lenus? Broadly speaking, the vast mountain of information that comprises Lenus breaks down into two categories. Firstly there are the HSE publications – for example, corporate publications, reports and board minutes. These include a large amount of material from the old health boards (going back in some cases to the early 1970s) and form a huge archive of health-related data, much of it available nowhere else. Additionally, Lenus stores the publications of the Department of Health and Children, along with reports, clinical guidelines and statistics from other regulatory and statutory organisations in the field of Irish healthcare. The oldest of these publications date back to the mid-1960s, while new ones are being added daily. But Lenus is more than just a home for
official publications. It also has a sizeable – and rapidly growing – body of original, up-to- date Irish health research, much of it carried out by HSE employees themselves. Theses, dissertations and published journal articles by Irish authors are all available to read and download. And there’s also a section dedicated to ongoing research projects being carried out within the HSE. Staff engaged in research can set up their own web pages outlining their field of study, and can collaborate with colleagues anywhere in the service.
An important feature of Lenus is its interactivity. Users can not only download information, they can upload it too. Anyone can submit Irish health-related publications or research to the repository from the comfort of their own PC. Of course, all this information is only useful if it can be easily navigated, and here Lenus really comes into its own. Its powerful search engine is both highly accurate and simple to use, while the user interface is clean, straightforward and intuitive. Lenus is fully Web 2.0 enabled, meaning users can keep abreast of the latest updates through Facebook, LinkedIn, Delicious or Stumble it! Crucially, Lenus can be used with equal ease, whether you’re looking for the latest Irish research into cancer treatments, or searching for a copy of a HIQA nursing home inspection report. Since its launch, Lenus has had a significant impact online as a showcase for Irish health research and literature. Thousands of users visit the site every month, and their searches range from the Mental Health Assessment Tools (published by the HSE Dublin Mid- Leinster Mental Health Services), to the 1970 Kennedy report into the industrial schools system. Site visitors come from
places as diverse as India, the
Philippines, Spain, the UK, USA and Hong Kong. And Lenus has now been included in the WorldWideScience Alliance’s online science portal (the only Irish site to be included), further boosting the profile of Irish health research on the global stage. For further information, contact the
Regional Library at
regionallibrary@hse.ie, or at (01) 635 2555.
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