Winter 2016

Our first newsletter of the new year brings news of a change to the running of the library as we welcome our new line manager Judy Haykin. You'll also learn how we’ve made it easier to access the Royal Marsden manual, and find out how you can help colleagues by writing a book recommendation for our online catalogue. In addition, we bring you details of a project from the public library service that opens up a whole new range of resources for researchers.

The photo this month was taken by an ex-member of library staff, and photographer extraordinaire, James Allen. Thanks to James, as always, for letting us use his beautiful images for our blog.

The library newsletter is sent out four times a year to current members of the library and anyone else who would like to keep up to date with the latest developments in healthcare. We publish posts whenever we have news, so it's worth checking our blog from time to time.

(N)e(W)-books

Electronic books provide the ideal solution for those of you who work in the community, or can’t get away from the day job during library opening hours. You just need an Athens username and password (if you don’t already have one then register here) and you can read the full content on your work PC or at home on your own computer.

We already have a number of book titles in electronic format, notably the Oxford Handbooks series. Now, thanks to the regional library office we have funding to help buy some additional titles. This has already helped to pay for copies of additional orthopaedics books and Kanski’s clinical ophthalmology: a systematic approach.

We’re working on this project with colleagues at Tameside, East Cheshire and University Hospital of South Manchester, which means we’ll be able to share titles across the four Trusts, giving you access to an even wider range of material.

Keep an eye out for more details of the e-books collection as it develops. 

Paediatric Care Online

A new point of care evidence tool has gone live this month. Paediatric Care Online (PCO UK) is a decision support tool which is free for members of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH). Other healthcare professionals working with children can subscribe.

It includes Key Practice Points, decision support tools which cover common signs and symptoms and critical care situations. Guidance is derived from the AAP Textbook of Paediatric Care which has been modified for use in the UK.

You can access PCO UK here: http://www.rcpch.ac.uk/improving-child-health/quality-improvement-and-clinical-audit/paediatric-care-online/paediatric-care  RCPCH members should go to the subscription page and sign in to their RCPCH account.

The TRIP database - you now have access to the Premium version

If you are new to the TRIP database, you may be interested to know that this is a clinical search engine designed to allow healthcare professionals to find high-quality research evidence to support their practice.

The resource also allows you to search for images, videos, patient information leaflets, educational courses and news items.

If you create an account, all your searches are recorded in a timeline so you can use TRIP for your continuing professional development. You can also set up alerts so that you will be notified when new articles have been published in your search topic.

A lot of the content is free to search. However, a 'Premium' version has been developed which has more content, extra features to improve your searches, and no adverts.

Health Education England has negotiated access to the Premium version for a pilot period of one year. You can access the Premium version from any Trust computer without needing to log in.

Try the TRIP database here: www.tripdatabase.com/

Training dates for your diary

New year, new you... Have you been meaning to get to grips with literature searching to find high quality evidence for your patients or your coursework but just haven't found the time?

We have a number of training sessions coming up which will show you - or re-acquaint you - with various databases which will give you references to excellent peer-reviewed and reputable journal articles.

The training sessions we have booked until the end of March are as follows:

• Tuesday 9 February 2016: Indepth Literature Searching 2 - 5pm

• Thursday 18 February 2016: Using PubMed Effectively 2 - 4.30pm

• Friday 26 February 2016: The Cochrane Library - An Evidence Based Resource 9.30am - 12.30pm

• Tuesday 1 March 2016: Introduction to Literature Searching 2.30 - 4.30pm

• Thursday 10 March 2016: Indepth Literature Searching 9.30am-12.30pm 

(We already have provisional dates for 2016-2017 and they will be announced soon for all you forward-planners!)

However, if you can't make one of these dates, you can arrange a one-hour one-to-one session with a librarian where we will go through a search strategy with you and guide you through the process of searching.

So make 2016 the year that you give up Google for marvellous Medline and all the other health care databases!

Royal Marsden Manual now easier to access

You can now have direct access to the Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures from any Trust PC.  Just click on this link to be taken straight to this invaluable resource. This is the 9^th edition of the manual, published in 2015, and it covers all aspects of nursing.

If you’re not on a Trust PC,  you can still use the manual but you will need an Athens user name and password.  You can find the link to the Royal Marsden Manual and a wide range of additional resources at our website here.

If you don’t have an Athens account you can register online here. You will need to use an NHS computer to register, otherwise your application may be delayed. 

The link to the Royal Marsden from a Trust PC is here: www.rmmonline.co.uk/ and from outside the Trust is here: http://tinyurl.com/ndejhn9 

Broaden your research horizons

The NHS provides an excellent range of research on medical and clinical topics through the Healthcare Databases Advanced Search (HDAS) resource  - click here for access to a variety of databases such as Medline, CINAHL and PsycINFO.

However, you may sometimes require information on a subject that isn’t covered by those regular databases. And if you’re not undertaking a formal course of study, with associated university support, you will find it difficult to find high quality, peer-reviewed material from the leading journals in the field.

Now your local public library can help with the Access to Research initiative.

This project provides access to over 10 million articles on an extensive range of specialities including business, politics, and the sciences. You can search for articles here.  Although you can search from any PC, you will need to use a computer in a public library to see the full text of any article.  All Stockport’s libraries are participating in the scheme. For further details, including addresses for all Stockport branch libraries and to check on other participating libraries go to the directory here.

Material is provided for non-commercial research and private study only.


Search for research articles at www.accesstoresearch.org.uk/
Find your nearest participating library at www.accesstoresearch.org.uk/libraries