The European Association for Health Information and Libraries (EAHIL) hold an annual event with this year’s being hosted in Basel, Switzerland in June. I was asked to deliver a workshop with librarians working in the Midlands on embedding knowledge in transformation and our role in this process.

Embedding knowledge workshop


In our session we shared stories of how we have supported transformation in our roles, and the challenges it brings. I reflected on work with the North East & North Cumbria Integrated Care System Evidence and Evaluation subgroup and STEM Club. We used a Knowledge Café (similar to the one I delivered at It’s Great Up North) to generate conversations between the fourteen participating countries from across Europe and beyond. Insightful conversations were had on how health librarians can contribute to decision making at all levels of healthcare systems. Thoughts were captured and we are now incorporating these into a manifesto based on the themes of: relationships, advocacy and skills.


During the rest of the event - which was all workshop-based - I took part in discussions on:


• how graphic medicine can improve understanding of health conditions, particularly in mental health and cancer
• the hidden contribution and value of librarians in clinical and health governance
• techniques for better presentations such as Fishbowl conversations and Brain Writing 3-6-5
• a teach-meet on teaching at scale where participants shared problems and solutions from their experience, such as flipped classrooms, game-based and online learning.
Since the event we have bought some graphic novels for NTW library so we can explore ways of using them with patients, maybe through a reading group.
We were given a very warm welcome to the city with a drinks reception, conference dinner and entertainment in the Grand Hall. Basel is a lovely city on the Rhine with a rich history, beautiful architecture and public art – well worth a visit!


#EAHIL2019


Suzanne Wilson
Head of Library and Knowledge Services
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
@suzwilson / @NTWlibrary