right time, in the right place, to achieve excellent healthcare and health im- provement. Knowledge for Healthcare was published in January 2015 and has since guided the work of the national NHS knowledge and Library Services team, now part of NHS England. A second exceptional opportunity arose up through that time. Speaking at a CILIP conference in Brighton in 2015, I asked “Will a robot take our jobs?”. Three years later I was asked to join the Board and become Programme Manager for the Topol Review, an independent report on preparing the healthcare workforce for the digital future. It was an extraordinary experience – and I’m proud to have taken a leading role in the pro- duction of this seminal report on which so much NHS planning is now based. That experience prompted me to propose that CILIP undertake research into the impact of AI, machine learn- ing, automation and robotics on the information profession. The findings of this review, conducted by Dr Andrew Cox from Sheffield, led to the expan- sion of the Professional Knowledge and Skills Base, our sector skills standard. It also informed the second iteration of the Knowledge for Healthcare strategy
which spans 2021-2026.
Knowledge management and mobi- lisation is all about putting knowledge to work, and it is core business for our knowledge-intensive NHS. This is the work of health librarians everywhere and so I am especially honoured to receive the prestigious Walford Award from the CILIP Knowledge & Information Manage- ment Group in 2018, and the Cyril Bar- nard Memorial Prize from CILIP Health Libraries Group in 2024. Recognition by one’s peers is very special.
It is a rare privilege to have the opportu- nity to lead the development of a strategy for knowledge and library services and then lead its implementation for over a decade. It was equally a rare privilege, working with a talented and experienced senior management team, to lead such expert and committed staff, all with the support of a fully engaged Director. This is a magic combo, and together we worked some magic.
Earlier this year a colleague commented on “the huge difference to the quality and perception of NHS Knowledge & Library Services” achieved over that period. He noted: “It has been a challenging tenure in terms of austerity and successive govern- ments who have not adequately funded
public services, but we have made great strides at national level, and I think that is reflected in better equity to all NHS staff with a core offer of key databases, journals, textbooks and most importantly access to professional librarians who are well trained and capable.”
My enduring thanks go to all my former colleagues in the NHS at every level of the healthcare system, to whom our success is a testimony. As the proverb goes: “If you want to go far, go together”. And of course, that journey continues.
From Chartership to President I became a Chartered Librarian in March 1980. The certificate is signed by W. L. Saunders, then President of The LA. He was an eminent academic librarian with an international reputation for his work to raise standards within our profession. Wilf chaired the advisory group for the British Library funded research project I worked on through 1979. Forty-five years later, I am in awe to be taking up the post of President of CILIP. As Isaac Newton might say, we stand on the shoulders of giants.
You can read more about Sue’s presi- dential role for CILIP in the first issue of 2025, out on 6 February. IP
December 2024
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL 17
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