new approaches, measure impact, and disseminate learning.
l Co-design to bring library services together with health and social care partners, third sector staff, and citizens to design and develop services that meet community needs.
l Proactively addressing inequalities by making knowledge accessible to all by: supporting people at risk of exclusion; inclusive communication; accessible information; using tools to identify and mitigate inequalities.
Collaborative service delivery by strengthening relationships and prac- tical arrangements across partners. This will support new pathways of care, centred on self-management and communities.
l Building up a body of evidence of impact on health and wellbeing through a common evaluation framework that supports measurement of outcomes over short, medium and long-term timescales.
Awareness and recognition of the unique role public libraries play in health and wellbeing has gained trac- tion. We are seeing growing instances of the health care community turning to the library sector to seek ways to work
together for mutually beneficial outcomes. Through The Alliance, third sector agencies have realised how libraries can add value to their cause. Many library services in Scotland work with the third sector and examples of this have been captured in SLIC commissioned-research, Health on the Shelf (
https://bit.ly/3BKrkKa). There is a direct correlation between what libraries deliver in partnership with health partners, and improved health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals and communities. This is underpinned by three factors: trained staff; a network of trusted, safe spaces; and strategic and local partnerships. In other words: people, place and partnership, which are the three key themes for Scotland’s public library strategy, FORWARD.
Universal services
It is no accident that implementation of A Collective Force for Health and Wellbeing sits as a strategic action in FORWARD. (
https://bit.ly/3vrdUll). As the first library, health and social care, and third sector partnership of its kind in the UK, A Col- lective Force for Health and Wellbeing embodies what the public library strategy sets out to deliver for libraries in Scotland and maximise what libraries can do for the people of Scotland.
Resources and further reading
A Collective Force for Health and Wellbeing Action Plan:
https://scottishlibraries.org/advice-guidance/frame- works/a-collective-force-for-health-wellbeing-2021/
Health on the Shelf
https://scottishlibraries.org/about-us/our-publications/spe- cial-studies/health-on-the-shelf/
FORWARD: Scotland’s public library strategy 2021-2025
https://scottishlibraries.org/advice-guidance/national-strate- gies/forward-scotlands-public-library-strategy/
As universal services, libraries are local ‘go-to’ places for access to trusted health and wellbeing information, for building skills in digital, information and health literacy, and delivering the therapeutic benefits of reading. They also provide valued physical and digital spaces for connecting people and addressing the growing challenge of social isolation. Our commitment to health and wellbeing isn’t new. But with the refreshed action plan we are building momentum to create an enriched health and wellbeing offer embedded in library services, strengthening their role as key partners in health and social care trans- formation. IP
March 2022
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 45
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