Since the first lockdown, the one that seems like it happened in another age but in fact was just a little over 12 months ago, we have almost normalised a working environment influenced by the idea that you are and others will be subject to the possibility of infection, that people going about their daily business are a danger to one another. This environment is set to continue.…
When organising events, things often fall into a pattern. We have the tick list of venue checks, timelines for communication and constructing the programme. In 2020, everything was prepped for the UK Knowledge Mobilisation Forum in March, and only weeks before Covid-19 forced the organisers to cancel the event. Like so many committees, we had no idea what the future would hold. By summer 2020, we knew we wanted to hold the Forum and that online was our safest option.…
Like most health libraries, and in line with government advice to work from home where possible, my service adopted some remote working during the first COVID-19 lockdown in April 2020. On the whole, we adapted well to working from home – we took issues with technology, pets or children in our stride, and remained very productive. However, following some recent staff changes we felt it was right to review our working patterns and explore what might work better in the future. At the end of February, we conducted a very basic email survey of library colleagues to gauge some views on what was happening elsewhere to help inform our working from home patterns moving forward.…
As Knowledge and Evidence Specialists in the Surveillance team, our remit is to support Local Authority Public Health (LAPH) teams primarily with evidence relating to COVID-19 response and recovery. We will also be on-hand to provide a library service to LAPH teams who do not have access to library support via an existing agreement with another library, or who do not employ an information specialist ‘in house’. Carly will be looking after the North East, Yorkshire & Humber regions, and Tanya will focus on the North West, working together where there is any crossover.…
Last year was one of ‘reimagining’ and adapting when circumstances are not ideal, and of course the CILIP Conference was no exception. Having only begun my role in health libraries in late March 2020, I was absolutely delighted to receive a YOHHLNet Bursary for November’s CILIP conference, an event that I have always been keen to participate in but never previously managed to attend. Unlike previous years (but maybe setting the precedent for several years to come), instead of getting to head off merrily on a train to some far flung destination (or Manchester), and spend break times chatting over complimentary coffee with librarians from near and far, I attended the CILIP Conference from the PC in my bedroom.…
I began my apprenticeship in customer service not long after starting a new role as a library assistant in March 2019. The library assistant job is completely different to my previous roles so I had to learn it pretty much from the very beginning. In my previous role my job was to assist patients. Switching to the library meant that now was to help staff. Around two months after starting my new role, I was offered the opportunity to do an apprenticeship. The objective of the apprenticeship was to get me to a point where I could perform my role with confidence and accuracy.…
I have recently completed a Libraries, Archives and Information Services Level 3 Apprenticeship. As I started my apprenticeship in late 2019, it was delivered as a Framework; however the course has recently been replaced by a Library, Information and Archive Services Assistant apprenticeship standard. Due to the change this post will focus on my experience of completing an apprenticeship, rather than the content of the course itself.…
In March this year, a long established senior library assistant in my team is due to retire. We are a Trust in financial special measures, the site libraries in our Trust only have the capacity to hold one staff member behind the counter areas and ensure social distancing. The question is, how am I going to induct and train a new staff member if there can only be one person on site at any one time?…
During 2020 many LKS staff across the North rapidly mobilised into a variety of roles across their organisations to support the response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. In the second of 2 articles, 9 of these staff reflect upon their experiences and share their advice for anyone considering redeployment.…
The article below is the first of two in which LKS staff from across the north reflect upon their redeployment experiences. “I went in as ops manager and have never done that before and [it] wasn’t library related. We looked after the whole patient journey from an admin point of view from admission, discharge, and the patient flow.” Steve Glover: redeployed as Duty Ops Manager, NHS Nightingale North West…
