© EACH 2007/08 East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) Library & Information Service Delivering an online library service to long distance users: 6 month pilot

© EACH 2007/08 Background on children’s hospices 42 Children’s hospices in UK – vary in size & services Majority of children have severe and complex health problems and disabilities Care provided over a long period of time - length of care can vary from days to 15 years or more 3 main elements: Short Break Care; End of Life Care, 3 year post bereavement support Variety of services & professions - nursing, music therapists, counselling, social workers, OT's/physiotherapists, play specialists

© EACH 2007/08 EACH Library Background 3 site hospice – East Anglia Large catchment area and service - Education Centre & Library Service from 2004 onwards. Only 2 known library services amongst 42 children’s hospices Small but specialist collection – approx 3,000 books and reports, + 20 journals. Access to NHS collections Staffing – 1 full time librarian + 6 hours of volunteer time a week Membership – EACH staff, NHS professionals, other voluntary sectors

© EACH 2007/08 EACH library developments 2009 Potential to provide long distance library service to all children’s hospices in UK 2 obstacles – web site and library catalogue New EACH web site launched – developed library web pages for long distance users 2009 Catalogue supplier offered web OPAC at no additional costs Very enthusiastic boss!

© EACH 2007/ Pilot 2 hospices invited to use the library - 6 month period to gauge uptake and impact on EACH library Hospice One – 2 site hospice South East London/Kent, Hospice Two – 3 site hospice in West Midlands Presentation + demonstration given at each hospice Hospices paid £ to cover promotional materials + postage & photocopying costs – to top up as needed Services – loans, ILL’s, work related literature searches, monthly Current Awareness Bulletin; advice on NHS electronic resources Limited service – no copyright licence

© EACH 2007/08 Use of library services – Jan – June ‘10 Hospice 1Hospice 2Total Number of staff registered Enquiries ie. Athens Book loans Literature searches Journal articles supplied Use of other libraries – BMA/BL 0 1 1

© EACH 2007/08 Exploration of low usage Many long term staff – never have had access to library services – unfamiliar with concept “keeping professionally up to date” Hospices predominantly nurse led services –numerous studies show nurses prefer information from colleagues rather than print or online Competencies – form majority of learning process for nurses in both hospices Voluntary Sector - no awareness of Athens/NHS electronic resources

© EACH 2007/08 Exploration of low usage Limited number of relevant courses in children’s palliative care nationally – experience of using library services low. Staff easily put off by IT issues and legal requirement Problems with proving eligibility to athens administrators in one area of the country Participating hospices reflect EACH statistics in terms of usage by staff group

© EACH 2007/08 Pilot Hospice usage by staff group

© EACH 2007/08 EACH staff usage Jan – June 2010

© EACH 2007/08 What the pilot did demonstrate.. Mediated Literature searches particularly valued Staff in specialist/more autonomous roles use library resources to support their work Importance of presenting to all staff groups when visiting participating hospices Organisational culture takes time to filter down Online surveys not the best method to gain qualitative feedback Importance of regularly keeping in touch with long distance uses

© EACH 2007/08 Current situation 2 nd phase of pilot. - 3 additional hospices using services Literature searches remain most requested service My role - raising profile of library service March 2013 – aim to roll out service to more hospices – establish membership scheme

© EACH 2007/08 References Bertulis, R. & Cheeseborough The Royal College of Nursing’s information needs survey of nurses and health professionals. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 25 p Billings, J. & Jenkins, L A learning and development strategy for children’s hospices across London. Available at: Callinan, J. et al Analysis of library associated information needs of staff in a special palliative and gerontological care centre in Mid-West Ireland. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 27 p Loy, J Why don’t mental health staff use library services? A qualitative and quantitative investigation. Available at: [Accessed 25/06/12] Mills, J. et al Rural and remote Australian general practice nurses’ sources of evidence for knowledge transmission: a cross sectional survey. International Journal of Evidence-based healthcare, 9 (3) p 246 – 251.

© EACH 2007/08 Usage by hospices in pilot Hospice 1Hospice 2Total Number of staff registered with library Enquiries re: Athens134 Book loans61016 Literature Searches7512 Journal article requests7512 Usage of additional libraries (BL/BMA) -1