What is your role on the committee?
I'm an Ordinary Member on the committee so my main role is to attend meetings, support events and act as a link between north east CILIP and health libraries in the north. I joined the committee about 6 years ago after another librarian from the health sector retired and I felt that this was a gap that needed to be filled. As well as being able to make that connection and share what is going on, I personally get a lot out of meeting with people working in different sectors and the CPD offered.
What is your day job?
I'm the Library & Knowledge Services Lead for Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust where I have worked for over 20 years. There are 4 libraries at the main hospital sites in North Shields, Cramlington, Ashington and Hexham with a fifth opening in 2023. We provide educational and health/medical resources to all Trust staff and students on placement and services such as training, current awareness and literature searching. We also manage the Trust clinical guidelines service and work closely with education and health and well-being teams, encouraging everyone to read and have developed extensive collections of fiction and non-fiction books to support this and are definitely far more than the “Drs library” that we were when I first started working here.
What are your other interests?
I used to like to travel but have become a bit more of a home bird, partly as I get older and I think also because of the last few years. I love watching sporting events and I like to swim and walk (although having a dog with very short legs limits the distance at times). I recently bought a “holiday home” (actually a static caravan but never referred to in those terms by park staff!) in Northumberland. Despite also living in Northumberland, this is the excuse to go somewhere that is next to the beach away from everything and take the time to read, knit and crochet without normal interreferences of daily life!
