In Autumn 2010 the Library of the Adelaide & Meath Hospital, a publicly funded teaching hospital in Dublin, Ireland, faced a probable budget reduction for the following year. In anticipation, the Library ran a journal review project that adopted an evidence-based approach to evaluate journals for retention or cancellation, and which aimed to engage and inform hospital staff by seeking their input. In early 2011 the reduction in budget was advised at 25%, a greater cut than anticipated. Armed with journal metrics and user evaluations, the librarians were equipped for some tough decision making. This talk describes the approach they took in identifying the most valued and used journals, and how they sought to enhance the affable relationship with hospital staff.
ANNE MURPHY is Head Librarian in the Adelaide & Meath Hospital, where she set up the library in 1995. She is responsible for managing the service to a highly professionalised workforce to support them in delivering safe effective patient care, pursuing evidence-based practice and undertaking clinical research. Anne read English and Italian in Trinity College Dublin, qualified as a librarian from University College Dublin, and holds an MSc in Creative Leadership and Organisational Learning from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. She is joint editor, with Niamh Lucey, of the 2nd edition of Standards for Irish Health Care Libraries and Information Services (2005). Anne has recently joined a Cochrane Review Group and is a member of the hospital’s Research Ethics Committee.
