1. Caroline Rowan, B.A., M.A., L.L.B, M.L.I.S
St. Michael’s Hospital, Dun Laoghaire
@librarianintown
Good afternoon,
My name is Caroline Rowan and I’m here to talk to you aboutHEAR: Health Evidence Awareness Report

2. HEAR: Health Evidence Awareness Report
is a national health newsletter developed by a collaboration of health librarians across Ireland. Established in 2015, it is designed for healthcare professionals and for patients, with material appropriate to both groups available in each issue.
Hopefully most of you are familiar with HEAR, as it has been a year since it was established, but for those of you who aren’t, HEAR is a national health newsletter which was developed by a collaboration of health librarians in early 2015.
It is the first national health newsletter established by a collaboration of librarians .

3. February 2015 - HEAR is set up
to HSLG list
Bulletin name agreed
11 volunteers commit to project
Template designed
Ovarian Cancer determined as first topic
First issue published
02 Feb 18
25 Feb 03 06 20
It started when Anne Madden ed the Health Sciences Library Group list and proposed that a national health newsletter could be generated by a group of librarians, with a view to raising our profile and eliminating duplication of workload by librarians in individual organisations. That was on 02 February. Within minutes responses came in from those interested in volunteering on the project.
On 03 February, the title HEAR was proposed by Caroline Rowan and approved.
By 06 February, 11 librarians had committed to making HEAR happen.
On 18 February, Aoife Lawton circulated a template for the bulletin.
On 20 February, it was agreed that the bulletin would focus on Ovarian Cancer in order to align with a March launch, March being Ovarian Cancer awareness month.
On 25 February, following content collation and review, the first issue was published.

4. Health Awareness Useful Websites Health Bytes Mental Health Books
Support Groups
Rapid rounds
Systematic reviews
Guidelines
Patient information
Upcoming events
Irish research
HEAR is unusual in that it is both patient and Healthcare Provider (HCP) focused.
The content therefore covers a variety of topics, some suitable for patients, some for HCPs and much that is useful to both.

5. A number of tools are used to manage the HEAR project.
Trello allows proposed content to be pinned up, much as one might use a post-it note and whiteboard. Content and links are posted so that all team members can review and then the editor can select the material they wish to include.
Towards the end of the year, Freedcamp was proposed as an alternative project management tool, but firewall restrictions caused some issues.
was used to initiate the project and continues to be necessary due to firewalls and for ease of engagement.

6. Topic agreed Content researched & collated Issue edited
Issue published
As HEAR is a collaborative effort, editorial duties are rotated between team members, so each team member or a pair of team members will have responsibility for each issue.
In terms of content contribution, each team member is invited to contribue to each issue. Given the variety of organisations within which members work, there are librarians with different areas of speciality and interest. This helps ensure diversity of content.
To maximise impact, HEAR is aligned with national health awareness days/months.
The content is researched and collated with proposed content being uploaded to Trello. This allows the content to be reviewed by all team members prior to inclusion. It also helps avoid duplication of content, as members can easily see what content has already been identified by other members.
The content is then reviewed and collated by the editor.
Once the issue has been developed, it is circulated to the team for review prior to publication.

7. Circulated to HEAR team members
Distribution
Circulated to HEAR team members
Distributed via HSLG mailing list and internal lists
Published on HSLG website
Published on organisational websites & intranets
As this is a voluntary programme, there is no single distribution channel. Instead, the bulletin is circulated to team members who circulate it within their organisations via internal mailing lists and publication on intranets and organisational websites.
Additionally, it is published on the HSLG website hslgblog.wordpress.com and via networks such as LinkedIn on members’ organisational pages.
It is also available

8. Cost-effective means of providing a current awareness service.
Furnishes healthcare professionals and patients with librarian-verified, clinically-relevant, evidence-based information
Utilises the expertise of a variety of different library experts ensuring a holistic overview of any topic.
Provides an opportunity to showcase the value of library services to health organisations.
Allows team members to enhance their research, desktop-publishing and editorial skills.
Cost-effective means of providing a current awareness service.
So, how does participating on a project like HEAR help advance our skillsets? (see slide for details and also…)
It allows participants to develop a series of editorial and communication skills, which might not otherwise be possible in their existing roles.
It provides a network within which solo librarians can engage with other LIS professionals.
It showcases the skills of the librarian within their organisation by providing a current and easy-to-access information resource for staff and patients.
It facilitates access by team members to information and resources which might not otherwise be available.

9. HEAR Team members Anne Madden, St. Vincent’s University Hospital;
Aoife Lawton, Dr. Steeven’s Hospital;
Bernadette Colley, Temple Street University Hospital;
Caroline Rowan, St. Michael’s Hospital.
Catherine Dillon, HSE;
Grace Hillis, Daughters of Charity Disability Support Services;
Isabelle Delaunois, University Hospital Limerick,
Joanne Callinan, Milford Care Centre;
Margaret Morgan, Midland Regional Hospital Mullingar,
Marie Carrigan, St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network;
Niamh O’Sullivan, Irish Blood Transfusion Service,