My experience Lynsey Hawker – When I began my graduate trainee placement at a trade union library, I knew I wanted to be a librarian but I had no idea what type of library I might want to work in. Nor did I realise quite the range of sectors that this job would open up to me. In that first year I attended a Labour Party conference, went to a meeting in the Houses of Parliament and learnt essential library skills that I am still using today.
At the end of this placement, I temped for a few months in public libraries – a completely different sector again – learning valuable reference librarian skills, alongside how to decorate the children’s library for Halloween. Pretty soon, I was lucky enough to gain a permanent position at St George’s Uni- versity of London as a library assistant. Before this post I had no experience of medicine or health, but I immediately loved it and from there haven’t looked back!
After eight years working in this academic library, I moved to the NHS, becoming a librarian in a mental health trust before finally moving to work for The King’s Fund, an independent
health charity specialising in health and care policy and management. While all health-related, these posts have all been in completely different sectors and com- pletely different settings. I have worked in large teams and as a solo librarian. I have delivered training programmes for students and for health professionals. I have implemented a library management system and moved a library to a new lo- cation almost single-handed. I have com- pleted literature searches for projects that have improved patient care and informed health policy. I have also run book groups, hosted bingo nights and taken people on guided walking tours all under the label of ‘health librarian’. It is such an inter- esting, fun and varied role that even after 20 years, I still find myself learning and developing new skills and interests (AI, green libraries) and working with amazing people every single day.
And my examples are only one person’s experience of what a ‘health librarian’ might be. You might be a clinical librarian or outreach librarian working at the front- line on ward rounds and clinics delivering evidence-based answers to clinicians as they need it. You might be interested in improv- ing care and getting involved in designing and creating patient information. You could
become a specialist librarian focusing on public health or primary care. Maybe you are involved in designing systematic reviews or in carrying out your own research or maybe you teach these skills to others. There are so many ways to be a health librarian across the NHS, government organisations, higher education, research institutions and the charity sector. All making a difference to how health and care is delivered at every level. My route is only one example of how
to become a health librarian. Many people come to the profession from having worked in other types of libraries, or from having worked in health or care elsewhere. Increasingly apprenticeships and other trainee roles are an opportunity for people to learn skills needed to work in this diverse sector. This feature and the following case studies seek to demon- strate the breadth and depth of the health library sector and also to highlight how CILIP Health Libraries Group (HLG) can help support you as you develop your own career. IP
*Any CILIP member can join HLG for free, whichever area of the profession you are currently working in – just visit
www.cilip.org.uk/hlg to find out how.
March 2024
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 21
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