Hospital Libraries and the Librarian-mediated literature search service

Did you know that the Librarians in the Mid North Coast Local Health District offer a literature search service? As NSW Health employees the library is there to support you in your work and study and this is one of the many services provided.

Why might you request a search? There are many reasons, but most often searches are requested for: research or publication, teaching or training, informing a policy or standard practice, personal study, direct patient care, quality improvement projects, and personal knowledge improvement.

How can you request a literature search? You can request a search by: directly e-mailing your librarian or library generic e-mail box, using the online form through the library’s website, filling in a hard copy form at the library, via telephone or in person. Verbal communication is often the best way to be able to correctly interpret the topic and direction of the literature you are seeking, however this is not always an option. The Librarian will e-mail or call you to clarify any points after your initial contact if required so be sure to add that contact information to your inquiry. It helps the librarian to know the purpose of the search request, whether you have any known articles on the subject, preferred age groups being studied where relevant, and the time period to be searched. 

Do you expect to find a lot of results or just a few? This can determine how specific you need to be. If the main topic has a large number of results. For example, heart failure, you need to be very specific about the patient group, age, sex, or specific circumstance.

How does this service help you? Librarian-mediated literature searching is one of the key services that health sciences librarians provide. The literature shows that health service staff can save time, gain access to evidence that can influence clinical decision making, and positively impact on patient outcomes by utilising their health Librarian.

I have my search results and want some of the articles but can't get full-text. The Library offers a document delivery service to obtain articles from your own searching or from literature searches provided by the Library. Contact the library via e-mail as linked above or request using the online form.

The Library staff at Hastings Macleay Clinical Network (based at PMBH) and Coffs Clarence Clinical Network (based at CHHC) are available to help. Check out the website to discover what we can do for you.