IN DEPTH ‘‘
Alan Fricker is a Health Librarian and past Chair of HLG.
Access to evidence in the form of journal articles is a key enabler for NHS organisations working to meet their Health and Care Act (2022) duty to use evidence obtained in research.
NHS INCDocs – building on shared infrastructure to better meet user needs
What would you do if you knew who had access to every ejournal holding across the NHS in England? This was the opportunity identified by the Resource Discovery Team at NHS England (NHSE) as they considered data held within the systems being procured and steered nationally. Here Alan Fricker looks at how the project has delivered unique insights.
THE desire for a national union list of journals is one that has surfaced regularly in the medi- cal library community for many years (typical was a lively discussion on LIS-MEDICAL in 2013 (Woodley, 2013)). The challenge was an information environment where journal hold- ings data was widely scattered and siloed. Data flows were inconsistent and duplicative, and delivery of document supply made more time consuming.
The INCDocs tool represents a significant step forwards in improving a key service for the NHS and demonstrates the transformation that can result by leveraging shared data.
Access to journal articles
Access to evidence in the form of journal articles is a key enabler for NHS organisations working to meet their Health and Care Act (2022) duty to use evidence obtained in research. Knowledge and Library Services (KLS) in the NHS in England pro- vide journal access through a combination of paid subscriptions and document supply for articles not immediately available.
Patterns of expenditure have resulted in a collec- tion of subscriptions that is highly heterogeneous. The content procured centrally by NHSE represents around a third of overall investment in journal sub- scriptions by the NHS and provides a common core collection accessible to all. The network of 174 KLS are then responsible for local purchasing decisions
16 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
making up the two thirds of subscription expendi- ture that takes place within the wider network. Local journal collections vary considerably based on factors including levels of funding, the outcome of previous procurement processes and collection development decisions. The result is a significant degree of variation with some common titles but many journals less widely held. The inconsistency in collections can be a source of frustration for library users but strengthens the overall breadth of titles for document supply.
The benefit of maximising use of journal subscrip- tions across the NHS network was reflected in the existence of reciprocal document supply networks organised regionally and around subject special- isms. Electronic journals increased the complexity and time required to maintain details of growing collections subject to more frequent changes with an often partial picture the result.
With KLS frequently members of one or more regional networks and one or more subject based networks they might need to check, and would have to maintain holdings in, multiple places. The resulting arrangements were fragmented, unhelpfully complex and costly in staff time.
Spring 2025
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