LIBRARY AND
ARCHIVE SERVICES
Annual Report 2015
CONTENTS
Foreword.......................................................................4
Facts and figures...........................................................6
Enquiries...............................................................6
Library and Heritage Service.................................6
Supporting member recruitment
and retention across RCN England.......................7
Events and exhibitions..........................................7
2015 highlights............................................................10
Growing team ....................................................10
Adding to collections..........................................10
Centenary preparations ......................................10
Making the most of technology...........................10
Events and exhibitions.................................................12
Centenary year ..................................................14
Learning and teaching.................................................16
Collection development...............................................18
Technological developments........................................20
3
FOREWORD
2015 has been an exciting year for the RCN Library and Archive
Service (LAS) with Anna Semmens, our new Library and Archive
Services Joint Manager, arriving in January. The team agreed
our mission statement, ‘The RCN Library and Archive Services
enable members to develop professionally and inspire everyone
to explore nursing and its history through its collections and
events’. This vision has been integral to create our first five year
plan (2016-2020), which was agreed by the RCN Executive
Team, and everyone in the LAS team has been working towards
its implementation.
The LAS team underwent a Management of Change, which
has resulted in increased staffing in our Customer Service,
E-systems and Archive teams, and allowed all teams to increase
their focus on their specialist areas. The LAS team worked hard
to maintain its outstanding service through these changes, and
the resulting structure has allowed us to take on new projects
and attend record numbers of RCN events and conferences.
The structure changes saw a large increase in cross LAS team
working, with one outstanding example being the new subject
guides aimed at helping members access our collections; all
LAS staff contributed to the creation of these useful resources.
Another new cross team initiative has been our increased
attendance at student recruitment events across the UK, which
saw us travel over 3,600 miles during the year.
In December, we launched our new library pages on the new RCN
website which involved the launch of our new resource discovery
tool, Summon, allowing users to search all of our collections
in one place. We’ve increased our UK-wide working through
the events and exhibitions programme, online reservations
and subject guides and are looking at ways to continue this
throughout 2016 in conjunction with our five year plan.
Anna Semmens and Teresa Doherty
Library and Archive Services Joint Managers
Visitors to the Out of the Asylum exhibition
4
5
Library and Heritage Service
16,263
216,966
visitors to the Library
and Heritage Centre
TITLE
FACTS AND FIGURES
Facts and figures
Events and exhibitions
1,005 twitter followers to @rcnlibraries with 1,136 tweets
(by end of 2015)
items borrowed
2
39
events
exhibitions
2,805
telephone enquiries
13,705 face to face
enquiries
7,254 items
renewed
tour groups
1,805 visitors
55% public
2,351 email enquires
486 web chats
6% staff
39% members
Enquiries
28,520
2,362
items added to
the collection
107,453 full text
journal articles
downloaded
396 enquiries to RCN Archives
relating to historical topics from
members, RCN staff and the public
e-books
accessed
31 researchers using the
Archive collections
196
68 1:1 and group
library training
sessions were run
literature searches were
undertaken for members
and 76 literature searches
for RCN staff
6
Supporting member recruitment
and retention across RCN England
members attended
11 events supported
by the L&A team in
England
L&A staff presented at
16 student recruitment
events across all the
RCN England Regions
A total of 3,606 rail miles were
accrued travelling to and from
these events
7
14 different members of
L&A staff participated in
student recruitment
I am very grateful
for the fantastic
resources and very
welcoming staff.
The RCN library feels
like a haven and
motivates continuing
professional
development.
Library user
Growing team
Centenary preparations
During 2015, we welcomed
Anna Semmens as our Joint
Library and Archive Services
Manager; Elizabeth Pinel
joined as Customer Service
Manager in April.
Archives and Events and
Exhibitions had a busy
time throughout 2015 with
preparations for the RCN’s
centenary year. The team
was involved in developing
many of the RCN100 activities
development including The
Voice of Nursing exhibition,
the centenary film, as well as
research for the presidents’
portrait wall.
Ellie Hunt joined as Collection
Development Specialist in
July from Kingston University.
Lauren Ghani and Kat
Baumgartner joined us in
November as our first ever
graduate trainees.
Adding to collections
We added a number of
new and rare titles in
both print and electronic
formats throughout the
year, including books by
Lady Alicia Blackwood,
Mary Seacole and Florence
Nightingale. The creation of
a handling collection proved
really popular; this travelling
collection of historical items
has provoked a number of
discussions by members,
RCN staff and by the public.
10
TITLE
2015 HIGHLIGHTS
2015 highlights
Making the most of
technology
2015 saw a number of
technological advancements,
from launching a library
search tool and adding our
collections to the OCLC
WorldCat union catalogue,
to signing up to the Journal
Usage Statistics Portal.
Details of our archive
accessions 1994-2014 were
added the National Archive
Discovery tool and can now
be viewed by the public.
These developments and
services have been introduced
to help members access the
wide variety of resources the
Library and Archive Services
has available.
11
2015 was a big year for the
LAS team; not only was it full
of centenary preparations,
staff were busy planning and
helping colleagues on a range
of events and exhibitions.
Partnership working with
the RCN History of Nursing
Society continued on our
exhibitions and event series,
as well as developing new
collaborations. The team
worked with the RCN London
Regional Office on For
Those Who Served (April–
September), while Out of the
Asylum (October 2015–March
2016) brought together the
RCN History of Nursing
Society and RCN Mental
Health Forum.
Alison O’Donnell spoke to
a group of over 30 visitors
about the Scottish Women’s
Hospitals at our public
seminar in February, which
was followed by a display of
First World War material from
the archive.
Our vision would
not have seen
reality without
the expertise and
guidance of the LAS
team. Their support
and commitment
has contributed to
placing the history
of mental health
nursing firmly in the
foreground.
Cris Allen, RCN Mental
Health Forum member
We received a 3-year grant
from the RCN Foundation
for a public lecture series,
launched on Nurses’ Day in
May. The first lecture, What
is the Modern Nurse? set the
tone for the series, bringing
together high profile speakers
and an audience of 85
Delegates at Congress looking at archive materials
12
TITLE
EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
Events and exhibitions
Time Travelling Operating Theatre
people consisting of nursing
professionals and the general
public. Discussion at all five
public lectures during 2015
continued well after the event,
with receptions proving popular
as networking opportunities for
RCN members, other health
and medical professionals,
patients, policy makers and
campaigners.
In addition, the LAS team has
collaborated on a number of
external projects. The Time
Travelling Operating Theatre
was a collaboration with
Imperial College London
on an interactive event in
September (funded by the
Wellcome Trust) that brought
patients and operating
theatre staff together to
debate the past, present and
future of surgery.
The RCN Defence Nursing
Forum was assisted in
building an oral history
collection, a member-led
project in which members
shared their stories of nursing
in conflict zones such as
Afghanistan, Iraq, and the
Falklands. As part of this work
we shared these histories
in our exhibitions, to make
members and the public
aware of this special and
unique collection
The reach of the LAS Service
was expanded through wider
campaigns and activities,
with over 400 visitors for
Open House London, three
events at RCN Congress
and activities for National
Libraries’ Day, the Edith
Cavell Centenary and various
health awareness campaigns.
13
One of our new initiatives was
the introduction of afternoon
teas, which take place in a
library on a variety of themes
and have provided an informal
opportunity to discuss topics
with a cup of tea in hand.
Events and exhibitions
Centenary year
In preparation for the RCN’s
Centenary year in 2016 we
worked to create, design and
install the new permanent
exhibition The Voice of
Nursing which was a huge
undertaking and the results
have been fantastic; with
thanks to the Archives team
Green Hat, our exhibition
designers, for all their help.
The Collection Development
team was pivotal in
developing the centenary
exhibition, providing research,
seeking copyright permissions
and compiling visuals.
Events and exhibitions
We supported the creation of
many RCN100 activities and
products throughout 2015,
including the centenary film
and the president’s portrait
wall in Cavendish Square.
The Customer Services Team
took the lead on the 100 page
turners’ project. Members,
nurse leaders, professors and
authors were approached and
asked to recommend a book
for the nursing profession that
has inspired them. This formed
an online exhibition and twitter
campaign to raise awareness
of the library and encourage
members and the public to
explore our collections.
14
What a really thought
provoking seminar.
Makes me think how
far we have come
but also what we
can still learn.
Event attendee
15
LEARNING AND TEACHING
Learning and teaching
2015 also saw the Customer
Services Team support
librarians of the future by
introducing a graduate trainee
programme. The new trainees
are learning practical skills
and gaining experience of
working in a library setting.
They have a structured
programme to ensure that
they experience all aspects of
library and information work,
which includes working with
our members in the library
space and shadowing other
LAS teams, and assisting
with hosting public talks and
other events. The programme
also includes a trip to the
RCN archives in Edinburgh
and visits to other libraries to
gain a broader understanding
of the sector. All of this will
support the trainees in future
work and post-graduate
studies within the library and
information sector.
Last year also saw the launch
of the new bi-monthly LAS
newsletter, which is sent to
RCN staff, members and
our mailing list. We also
commissioned an external
consultant to work with us
on market research to ensure
we continue to develop our
service in line with member
needs.
The Information Team led
on developing new online
subject guides with Caroline
Lynch project managing,
(www.rcn.org.uk/library/
subject-guides) the guides
are suggested resources
to assist members with
16
finding quality introductory
resources on a variety of
topics. An important aspect
of this work was to draw on
the expertise of the RCN
professional leads and forum
committee members. The
team developed processes
and trained, advised and
guided other LAS staff on
developing further guides.
Staff undertook training to
create the subject guides
on the website and four
were available to members
when the new RCN website
launched in December. The
remaining 48 guides are all in
development at this time and
are being made available as
they are completed.
“The one-hour
session was very
helpful, it will help
me with refining my
database search.
The staff are
excellent in what
they do to help
students.”
Library user
One of the many training sessions run during the year
“I owe my degree to
this library and the
staff in it!”
Library user
Collaborative working
continued with RCN Research
and Innovation colleagues
on an evidence review
around the RCN’s infusion
standards. Literature search
specialists led the library’s
input into this work, which
involved new ways of working
including different searching
techniques. The project
required very careful planning
and detailed reporting of the
searches undertaken, with
initial sifting of search results
being undertaken by literature
search specialists, and results
and references passed to
research analysts for further
sifting and selection of items
for detailed analysis.
The LAS team worked with
regional and marketing
colleagues to highlight LAS
resources to potential student
members, culminating in
a significantly increased
LAS attendance at student
recruitment events. We
liaised with the Marketing
team over the recruitment
events and presented directly
to students the offer and
benefits of the Library and
Archive Service. The regional
teams were unanimous in
their appreciation of our
17
contribution to their events and
felt it made a real difference to
numbers recruited.
“Very efficient
literature search
service... will
definitely use
again.”
Library user
COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT
Collection development
The Collection Development
Team purchased a large
number of new and rare titles
in print and electronic formats
during the last year. The
team increased its work on
preservation and environmental
monitoring for the exhibitions
and special collections.
A handling collection was
created which contains rare
and special pieces which can
be taken offsite for users to
interact with. This collection
provides an extra dimension
for users to learn about our
collections and acts as an
advertisement for our Events
and Exhibition programme.
The collection was developed
through donations, duplicate
items and some items were
specifically purchased for
the collection, such as our
Chatelaines.
appeared in the Archives
and Records Association
publication ARC. The
Archive team also presented
a paper at the International
Association of Labour
History Organisations annual
conference in Edinburgh
about workforce migration
and the oral archives, and an
article about this collection
that was published in the
Scottish records Association
journal Retour.
A particular success of
2015 was the improvement
of access and use of the
Queen’s Nursing Institute
Scotland collection. A new
catalogue for the collection
was produced with QNIS
funding, whilst two volunteers
worked with the service
record cards.
A SELECTION OF THE MAJOR ADDITIONS TO THE
COLLECTION IN 2015
Lady Alicia Blackwood: Narrative of personal experiences
and impressions during a residence on the Bosphorus
throughout the Crimean war (1881) Rare first edition, Lady
Blackwood assisted with the work of Florence Nightingale,
and dedicated this volume to her
Mary Seacole: Wonderful adventures of Mrs Seacole in
many lands (1857) Rare first edition in excellent condition of
Mrs Seacole’s autobiography
Florence Nightingale: Report on the site of the Royal
Victoria Hospital, near Netley Abbey. Presented to the
House of Commons (1858) Rare original copy of Florence
Nightingale’s report on, and suggested improvements to,
the proposed new military hospital in Hampshire.
Dame Sheila held many roles
during her years as an active
College and Council member
and we have several albums
of photographs from this
time. She became one of
the earliest fellows in 1978;
was Chair of Council, Deputy
President and then President,
1982-1986. She has received
both the DBE 1987 (CBE
1978) and the Christiane
Reimann Prize (1993) for her
work on behalf of the nursing
profession and we are proud
to have her papers in the
RCN collection.
We have had a number of
publications and conference
opportunities arise from
our centenary work,
including an article which
Chatelaines from
the RCN’s collection
18
The Archives team received
personal papers from pastpresident Dame Sheila Quinn
in 2015. Dame Sheila’s
association with the RCN
dates back to 1944 when
she was elected Chair of the
student nurses' section of
the newly formed Lancaster
branch. Her papers reflect
her career in clinical nursing,
teaching and management
both in Britain and
internationally. Dame Sheila’s
longest standing role was
with the International Council
of Nurses requiring her to
live and work abroad for ten
years. The collection includes
research papers on many
European countries.
Mary Seacole: Wonderful adventures of
Mrs Seacole in many lands (1857)
19
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Technological developments
Get involved on the RCN libraries twitter feed
The online and social media
activity was hugely expanded
during 2015, reaching
members across the UK with
new exhibition content and
timelines, and event videos
on YouTube. The launch of
@RCNLibraries on Twitter
in January was a particular
“Social media is a
creative way to
have conversations
and interact,
strengthening our
links with members
and the wider
community who
can keep in touch
with our latest
events, news and
tips.”
Sian Kiely, Knowledge
and Research Manager,
RCN
20
success - the team easily
achieved its target of 1,000
followers and has partnered
with @RCNstudents on Twitter
chats, helping to increase
student awareness of the
library resources. Twitter has
also been a fantastic example
of UK-wide working; all four
RCN library services provided
content, making staff more
aware of each other’s
activities as well as increasing
member engagement across
the UK.
Extensive work was also
undertaken with the WorldCat
union catalogue, which
increases the collection’s
visibility and allow RCN
catalogues to be searched by
a large number of researchers
and academics. Part of this
work involved learning how to
use the new BlueCloud tool,
which allows greater flexibility
in cataloguing. Other library
and archives services teams
have also received training to
allow more of the collections
to be accessed.
In late 2015, the RCN signed
up to the Journal Usage
Statistics Portal (JUSP) which
provides valuable data on
the usage of the e-journals
collection. This data will
enable better understanding
of how the e-journal collection
is used by members and
inform the service’s ongoing
commitment to providing
value for money.
The Customer Services and
E-Systems teams worked
together to implement an
online hold system which was
launched in December. This
service enables members
from all four libraries to place
a hold on any book from any
of the RCN libraries and is
another way we are working
to make our collections
available to members.
The RCN Thesaurus of
Nursing Terms was reviewed
during 2015 which continued
to be an important tool used
to provide subject headings
for indexing library resources
and web metadata. The
nursing professional leads
were consulted through
workshops to ensure the
quality and currency of the
terms used.
The development of video
tutorials has been key in
the RCN’s work to support
members using RCN’s
resources wherever and
whenever they need it. Using
Camtasia, we developed three
video tutorials: Renewing your
loans online, Placing holds on
RCN library books and Using
the RCN Library Journals A-Z
list. Planning has also been
underway for video tutorials
to assist members using the
new library search, Summon,
which was available to
members in December.
The E-Systems team scoped
and implemented a resource
discovery product (Summon)
as part of the wider RCN
website development. The
resource discovery single
search interface enables
users to discover the range of
information provided by the
LAS, searching seamlessly
across the library catalogue,
the archive catalogue and
the databases the RCN
subscribes to.
21
“I’m so glad to have
had the opportunity
to visit. My
compliments to the
whole service. Such
an interesting place
for foreign nurses
as well.”
Overseas nurse
“An impressive and
moving visit to the
exhibition and other
facilities the RCN
has to offer. To be
recommended to all
who are interested
in the care of
bodies and souls.”
Retired nurse
September 2016
Published by the Royal College of Nursing
20 Cavendish Square
London
W1G 0RN
020 7409 3333
www.rcn.org.uk
@rcnlibraries
The RCN represents nurses and nursing, promotes
excellence in practice and shapes health policies
Publication code: 005 687