Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS FT

Band 5 Librarian

This job is now closed

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity to join a successful Library Services team at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC)

The post holder will support the provision of Knowledge and Library services at BCHC, including raising the profile of the library service by supporting outreach activities as well as marketing and promoting the service. The post holder will also carry out complex literature searches to support both clinical and non-clinical services and provide library users with with information skills training. Additionally the post holder will assist with stock management, cataloguing and updating online databases with accurate information.

The post holder will work closely with other library colleagues and Trust colleagues to support and promote evidence based health care and Knowledge Management.

The post is based at Moseley Hall Hospital in Moseley in Birmingham.

The post holder will bring enthusiasm and a keen interest in helping library users achieve the best patient care possible.

Main duties of the job

The main duties of this post are to provide an effective and efficient library and knowledge service to the staff of BCHC as well as students on placement and volunteers at the Trust.

You will be instrumental in providing a literature search service to support safe and effective evidence based care using clinical and other databases and your professional judgement to select the most appropriate results.

The post holder will promote the service to all colleagues by way of outreach at events within the Trust or wider community, engaging with Library Champion to increase engagement with the service, as well as virtually via email and other promotion activities such as special events for Health Information Week and Health Literacy Month.

You will carry our information skills training for colleagues on searching the Knowledge and Library Hub, clinical databases, return to study, reflective writing and critical appraisal, as well as supporting Critically Appraised Topics group.

You will gather feedback and evaluate aspects of the library service to contribute to reports and the national statistical return.

About us

BCHC has more than 5000 staff working across Birmingham and the West Midlands in a wide range of community nursing and specialist healthcare roles. BCHC delivers over 100 clinical services, in people's homes, health centres, clinics and inpatient facilities. We deliver a wide range of services for children, young people and families as well as adults and community services, two community hospitals, services for people with learning disabilities, the internationally recognised West Midlands Rehab Centre and one of Europe's leading Dental Hospitals and School of Dentistry. We deliver all of this with a commitment to integrated, personalised care that is rooted in our local communities. We have an ambition to deliver outstanding, integrated care as one of the key NHS providers in the West Midlands.

If you want to 'Be Part of Our Team' and work with a Foundation Trust which is continuously striving for best care and healthy communities, we want to hear from you.

Date posted

07 March 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 5

Salary

£29,970 to £36,483 a year pa

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

820-6888810-COR

Job locations

Moseley Hall Hospital

Alcester Road

Birmingham

B13 8JL

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. To undertake complex literature searches as requested by library members relating to both clinical and non-clinical information. Use professional expertise in devising clinical questions and identifying appropriate search terms to provide the best results possible. Use professional knowledge and skills to identify appropriate databases and other resources to search. Ensure that searches are completed within the timeframe specified. Supplement this service by providing a summarising and synthesising service to specific staff groups.

2. To contribute to our current awareness service, using KnowledgeShare to categorise members according to their professional interests and ensure that they receive regular updates.

3. Engage in outreach activities to promote the library service within the hospital and the broader community, fostering relationships and increasing library engagement.

4. Develop and deliver training sessions to meet the specific needs of different library members on a range of topics, ensuring that all users can effectively use library resources. This includes literature searching, critical appraisal, return to study and reflective practice as part of the scheduled group training programme5. Provide expertise to support the Critically Appraised Topics (CATS) groups including developing the clinical question, searching the literature and appraising the results to develop the clinical bottom line.

6. Keep up to date with national, regional and local developments in online resource development and new resources and ensure that courses are regularly updated to reflect these changes.

7. Provide one-to-one training sessions to Trust staff on demand.

8. Provide non-clinical advice to patients who are using the library.

9. Promote and market library services to existing and new colleagues via departmental meetings and Trust-wide inductions.

10. Collect and record library statistics and supporting information used to prepare reports on library service development, contributing to the annual NHS library statistical return.

11. Use professional judgement to take part in the annual weeding of library stock to ensure the provision of up-to-date materials and assist in the annual stock check.

12. To locate and check the bibliographic details of journal articles requested by colleagues and determine the most appropriate source, maintaining accurate records and systematically following up where items cannot be supplied.

13. Maintain and develop the Trusts Policies Pages on the intranet, ensuring that policies are uploaded in a timely fashion, and comply with the Policy for Policies. Work closely with the Compliance and Assurance team in troubleshooting problems, and also with the Communications Team in arranging for new policies to be publicised. This is a complex procedure that requires accuracy and attention to detail.

14. Maintanence, operation and troubleshooting of a variety of library systems including KnowledgeShare. These systems are maintained across the entirety of the organisation and will be operated as a major job responsibility.

15. Provide support and advice to policy authors across the organisation, including updating the evidence base for policies and checking references.

16. Proposes changes to policy within the Library service and Library teams using skills developed in advising other policy holders.

17. Work as part of a professional team providing support to all colleagues and students in the Trust and wider health care community and represent the library service as a first point of contact with users.

18. Promote a culture of continuous service improvement by ensuring that appropriate audit, statistics collection and other formal and informal research activities take place, including by contributing to local and national evaluations of the impact of health library services.

19. Ensure the service complies with the appropriate legal frameworks e.g. copyright and data protection.

20. Plan and organise own workload and prioritise work based on an understanding of changing service demands and within agreed timescales and schedules.

21. Plan and organise a variety of library training packages, including the formulation and delivery of this training. Adjust training schedules and programmes in response to changes in law, policy and feedback.

22. Be responsible to providing daily support and training to the library assistants as required.

23. Assist library users with the library computers, scanner and photocopier, liaising with the IT Help Desk to resolve any technical problems or user logon problems.

24. Staff the library enquiry desk, answering various user enquiries, issuing books and other materials using the library management system (LMS), resolving problems as they occur.

25. Supply photocopy/ scanned requests to libraries participating in the self-help photocopy schemes and within the restrictions established in copyright law and meeting library standards.

26. To issue, return and reserve books and other materials using the library management system, renewing and recalling books requested with accuracy and ensuring all transactions comply with data protection legislation.

27. Answer enquiries from library users using subject specific knowledge and skills and in a professional, friendly and efficient manner.

28. Manage projects relevant to the library service as directed by the library manager or deputy and contribute to team projects offering expertise and experience as necessary.

29. Manage the book collection, including selection, ordering, cataloguing and classification, promotion and analysis of usage statistics.

30. Ensure orders are raised and processed according to Standing Financial Instructions.

31. Handle money received by the library in accordance with Standing Financial Instructions.

32. Deputise for the library manager or deputy as required.