The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7185 p223-229
16 February 2002

Society summary

Refocus for information services

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Information Centre, which includes the library, the technical information service and the museum, is to engage in a process of change to help address the needs of members in the future. The improvements are being made in recognition that information will be crucial to future pharmacy practice, particularly in light of the continuing professional development (CPD) agenda.

The improvements were agreed by the Council at its meeting on 6 February as the result of a review commissioned from David Haynes Associates, consultants who specialise in helping organisations with the strategic and effective management of library and information resources. The review sought to take into account user needs and match them against existing provision.

The Council agreed the following strategy, as recommended in the report:

• Continued development of a hybrid library approach, combining easy access to printed and electronic information sources. The library will look to develop e-mail alerts, electronic bulletins and current awareness newsletters, and to put its catalogue onto the internet to reflect the increased emphasis on electronic delivery of services.
• Empowerment of members to develop their own information retrieval skills. This will allow the information centre to meet the increasing information needs of members, without calling on additional resources. For example, the Information Centre will create additional reading lists (bibliographies), databases and website links in support of continuing professional development activities as well as providing guidance on information searching and retrieval techniques.
• Development of partnerships with other organisations to expand the scope of the service. This will allow for the co-operative acquisition of journals and the sharing of new journal titles with organisations with overlapping interests
• Exploration of opportunities for pharmacy history information and images from the Society museum's collection to be viewed electronically
• Promotion of the full range of services provided by the Information Centre

The recommendations follow consultation with a sample of members selected to represent the full range of professional activity in Britain. A review group, representing the Council's Science Committee and Practice Committee, guided the consultation project.

Council member Alison Ewing, who chairs the Science Committee, said: "It is a core function of the Society to inform; information is the lifeblood of any organisation. The recommendations for developing the services provided by the information centre will help to ensure that information to support members is easily accessible, timely and accurate."