Royal Free Medical Library recognised for organisational innovations.
The Royal Free Medical Library has been named as the winner of the 2012 Sally Hernando Award for Organisational Innovation in NHS library and knowledge services. The awards recognise libraries across England that have developed innovative practices that contribute to improved patient care and lifelong learning for NHS staff.
The Royal Free Medical Library received the award for the introduction of an online training and development programme, intended to enable library staff to develop Web 2.0 and social media skills. The focus of the innovation was on understanding how these tools are utilised by our library users (clinicians, researchers and academic staff) to support their work, giving library staff an insight into ways that library services can be developed that match user preferences.
The ground floor of the library is fully wheelchair accessible. The mezzanine
floor is accessible via the fire exit, please ask a member of staff for assistance.
The Library is accessible to all UCL photocard holders and all
Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust personnel. If you are not a registered member,
please ask for a membership form at the issue desk. More detailed information
is available on our local Membership webpage.
Books and borrowing
The main book collection is available on the ground floor,
all books can be found on eUCLid, the library catalogue. For details on borrowing renewing and reserving
books, please see our local Borrowing webpage.
Journals
Print journals are available for reference only. Search eUCLid,
the library catalogue, for details of our journal holdings. A complete list
of journal holdings and a list of journals currently received in the Medical
Library are available from our Print
collections webpage.
All issues from the current year are found on the ground floor of the library
and are arranged alphabetically by title. The latest issue is kept on display on the front of the shelves. Lift the shelves to access previous issues from the current year. Older issues are kept in store and can be requested from the Issue Desk.
The library also subscribes to a large number of titles in electronic
format. Please see our electronic
journals webpage for more information.
Theses
Theses are all kept in the UCL Library Services Stores and can be found on eUCLid, by either
searching for either the author or the subject. If you wish to consult a thesis you need to place a request using the Stores Service. Theses are for reference only and cannot be borrowed.
Electronic resources
Computers in the library provide access to all UCL electronic
databases, books and journals to all UCL staff and students. Royal Free Hampstead
NHS Trust staff can obtain access to all NHS electronic databases, books and
journals.
All registered users can access a variety of medical databases such as Medline,
Embase, PsycINFO
and the Cochrane Library. All users also have access to a wide range of electronic
journals. Ask at the issue desk if you would like help accessing these resources.
Four PCs dedicated to accessing library resources are available on the ground floor,
giving registered library users access to electronic journals, databases and elearning resources.. and one colour pho
Photocopying
There is one photocopier
available on the ground floor of the Library, which copies in black and white or colour and uses UCL's photocopy cards.
Machines for buying and recharging cards are
available
next to the photocopiers. See our local photocopying webpage for more details.
IT & Audiovisual Provision
All of the Library’s computers are accessible by both NHS and UCL users. A few PCs are available on the ground floor, but most are situated in the Training & Electronic Study Area (TESA) on the first floor and the E-learning Zone in the basement. The TESA contains 40 PCs connected to black and white laser printers. The E-learning Zone (ELZ) contains 20 PCs, with priority for users of e-learning packages. If you wish to use computers in a quiet area, the Quiet Electronic Study Area (QESA) is available through the Quiet Study Area on the 1st floor. The QESA has 4 UCL Medical School PCs and 4 NHS PCs.
Please note that the TESA can be closed for training purposes, a
weekly diary
showing training times is posted on the door to the room. A separate IT cluster
room is available to Royal Free Campus and UCL staff and students on the Lower
Ground floor of the hospital, next to the CCS Helpdesk. Please see our local Computing facilities webpage for more information.
The Medical Library holds a variety of videos, CDs and DVDs which can be viewed in the library or checked out on your library card..
We have a public scanner that can used be used by registered members of the library. This is situated near the photocopier.
Video playback facilities and a microfiche reader are also available.
Inter Library Loans
Members of the library may apply for items to be borrowed or
for copies of articles from other libraries via the Inter
Library Loans service. UCL and Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust staff and students
will be charged £3 per article or per book requested. Urgent items, theses
or patent costs vary, please ask at the issue desk for information.
