Submission to the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission

Health Libraries Australia, a group of the Australian Library and Information Association, welcomes this opportunity to make a submission to the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission and to comment on the Commission's Report Beyond the blame game.

Background information on Health Libraries in Australia

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) is the professional organisation for the Australian library and information services sector. It seeks to empower the profession in the development, promotion and delivery of quality library and information services to the nation, through leadership, advocacy and mutual support. ALIA represents 6000 members and over 12 million members of the public.

The Health Libraries Australia (HLA) group of ALIA is the peak body representing library and information staff and services in the health and biomedical sector; it has over 400 members, approximately 80% personal and 20% institutional.

Health is a diverse sector covering hospitals and other clinical facilities, research institutes, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government departments, regional health services, professional colleges, universities, cooperative research centres, not-for-profit and community organisations, and parts of public library services. According to the latest figures from the National Library of Australia, there are approximately 450 self-described health/medical libraries in Australia today.

Currently, there is no coordinated, national policy direction for purchasing and providing access to electronic health information and knowledge resources and services on a scale that crosses jurisdictional boundaries, though most states now have networks providing access to health knowledge resources for health professionals and other employees in the public health sector. There are also some licence or cooperative agreements in other sectors, and some which cross sectoral boundaries.