Guide to the Clinical Resource Centre and Library

The Clinical Resource Centre and Library provides services to all staff of:

The Library can be found in the Education Centre

• the West Suffolk Hospital
• the Suffolk Mental Health Partnerships NHS Trust
• the Primary Care Trusts in Suffolk
• St Nicholas Hospice

and to:

• students of nursing and medicine
• outside (private) subscribers.

Any of the above may join the library and use its facilities. Anyone interested in health care may use the library on a subscription basis; please contact the library staff for more details.

The Library contains over 16,000 books and pamphlets on all aspects of healthcare and its management. We subscribe to over 200 journals and users can access the full text of some of these through this website (see TOC Addresses).

You can contact the library by telephone, fax, e-mail and post:

Education Centre and Library
West Suffolk Hospital
Hardwick Lane
Bury St Edmunds
Suffolk IP33 2QZ

Enquiries, loans and renewals: 01284 713112
Inter-library loans and fax: 01284 713113
e-mail:

 

The Clinical Resource Centre and Library is available for reference 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

It is staffed:

Any member of NHS staff in West Suffolk is entitled to use the facilities of the Clinical Resource Centre and Library. A membership form should be completed. Non-NHS staff can join on payment of an annual fee of £20.00.

An outline of the shelving scheme used by the Library is contained in the Subject Index, copies of which are available at the Issue desk. The catalogue is available from this website (go to Library Catalogue) - please ask the Librarian for help.

Up to six books may be borrowed for up to four weeks after which they must be returned or renewed, for a maximum of 3 times. A renewal slip may be filled in if library staff are not available to restamp the books. A fine of 20p per book per week or part of week overdue is charged. The borrower is responsible for books borrowed and any losses must be reported to the librarian who will arrange for an invoice for the replacement cost to be issued. Books must not be transferred from one borrower to another.

A number of heavily used books are available for a loan period of one week at a time. They are arranged in alphabetical author order and may only be borrowed when library staff are around. A fine of 20p per book per day overdue is charged.

Books already on loan may be reserved. They will normally be held for the reader for two weeks after which they will be returned to the shelf.

When books are returned they should either be put in the red book return box or given to library staff to be discharged. If the book is overdue the fine will be shown on the reader record.

The Library subscribes to over 200 healthcare journals, a list of which is available on-line.

You can also view a list of journals which provide tables of contents online (see TOC Addresses). For full text access, you will need an 'Athens' password (see Training for more details.)

Journals from 1989 to 1992 are available on microfilm; please ask a member of staff to obtain articles from these years.

We also regularly publish an online general Current Awareness List and a Mental Health Bulletin for Psychiatry, Psychology and Social Care.

A photocopier is available for the reproduction of articles and material available in the library. Anyone wishing to use the photocopier can purchase a card to the value of £1.00, £2.00, £5.00 or £10.00. Departmental cards are available on request. CLA copyright laws must be followed (see poster next to photocopier).

The library is a member of the British Library BMA and the Eastern Document Exchange Network (EDEN). In order to obtain copies from other libraries an administrative charge of £1.00 per request is made. If the item can only be obtained from the British Library a charge of £5.00 is made to cover the cost. Request forms are available on the issue desk: please fill one in for items not available in the library.

26 Computers with 24 hour access to the Internet, Medline, Cochrane Library as well as word processing and spreadsheet facilities are available in the computer rooms in the library. Users should ask at the Library desk to be logged on to the system. Weekly sessions in effective searching are run by Library staff. Please ask at the issue desk if you would like to be included in one of these sessions which are free of charge.

If you wish to buy a book, the library has links with Waterstones in Cambridge. No postage is charged and the service is very quick and efficient. Please fill in a book purchase form with as many details as possible. Anyone wishing to sell second hand books should contact Mrs Last on extension 3112. A small charge is made for this service.

Laptop computers which have the latest version of Powerpoint on them are available for loan if users wish to illustrate presentations. A portable Proxima projector is also available and users must sign the loan book if any of this equipment is borrowed. Damage, loss or breakage must be paid for.

If you have any difficulties using the library or in tracing information please ask the Library staff for help. Telephone enquiries are welcome at 01284 713112 or 01284 713113. The Library's fax number is 01284 713113. Email enquiries and requests should be addressed to the appropriate member of staff.

Any suggestions for improvement of the service or additions to stock are welcome. We look forward to helping you find information whether it be for education, patient care or research.