Standards for health libraries revised

Citation

(2003), "Standards for health libraries revised", Performance Measurement and Metrics, Vol. 4 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/pmm.2003.27904aab.002

Standards for health libraries revised

Standards for health libraries revised

The accreditation scheme for libraries in the health sector, originally produced by the LinC Health Panel, is published in a second revised edition.

Accreditation of Library and Information Services in the Health Sector: A Checklist to Support Assessment, 2nd ed., compiled by Chris Fowler and Val Trinder, published by the Health Libraries and Information Confederation (Helicon) October 2002, is now available for downloading as a PDF document from the Librarians Portal of the National Electronic Library for Health at: http://www.nelh.nhs.uk/librarian/accreditation.asp It will also be posted on the Confederation Librarians' Group site at http://uk.geocities.com/confederation_librarians/ The checklist is comprised of a set of assessment criteria with explanatory notes along with guidelines for assessment teams. It is accompanied by a workbook customised for use by assessment teams and by library managers preparing for assessment.

The accreditation scheme takes a more holistic approach than the first edition, with assessment criteria grouped together so that areas of activity are assessed as a whole. It also places emphasis on the need for library services to be integrated into the life of the organisations that they serve. There is a change in the way accreditation is awarded too. Four stages of development are recognised, and replace the levels of accreditation awarded under the previous edition of the scheme.