ALIA West

October 2005

Implementation of quality systems and certification in biomedical libraries

EAHIL workshop. Palermo, Sicily, June 23-25 2005.

I attended the European Association for Health Information and Libraries workshop, held at the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo, Sicily in June 2005. To quote the EAHIL President, Arne Jakobsson 'A central role for medical and health libraries is to improve the quality of lives by facilitating effective access to quality health information.'

I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to listen to developments and ideas in other health libraries, and to put faces to some names whose works I've read. Over 200 delegates attended. Summaries of papers presented, reminiscences and information about related meetings can be seen on both the EAHIL website and on the workshop website. Practical aspects of measuring quality in libraries were addressed, as well as papers on evidence-based librarianship, evaluating electronic resources and developing web-based tutorials. The bottom line could be said to be that libraries need to develop ways to show that they are indeed meeting or exceeding customer expectations. Speakers came from many countries including Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, UK, USA and Australia. There were also some excellent poster presentations and a small trade display, held in the courtyard of the historic palazzo.

Anne Brice, from the UK, won the Oral Presentation Award, presented in memory of Luigina Lazzari, for her presentation on challenges in applying critical appraisal methods to health library literature. Vittorio Ponzani and Donatella Gentili, from Italy, won the Poster Prize for their poster titled eJournals versus databases? An evaluation study on users' behaviour in a research library.

I enjoyed the wonderful opportunities to be wined and dined in the Mediterranean manner, on the terraces and courtyards of stunningly beautiful palazzo's - all an integral part of attending conferences I assure you! The next conference will be held in Cluj, Romania, September 2006, and the call for papers is out now. I highly recommend anyone participating or attending should the chance arise. I am happy to share my notes and other gems gleaned from the workshop, if you would like to contact me on ph 08 9224 2295 or by e-mail (please remove '.nospam' from address).

Jeanette Longwood, Royal Perth Hospital Library