About our service
Both of our libraries provide print resources, computers, study space and enquiry and support services to all staff, including those working in the community and students on placement.
Our aim is to enable the delivery of evidence based practice patient care, through the provision of a high quality and responsive library and information service that supports all staff. Our libraries support you in the work that you do, in your learning and development and any research activities that you may undertake. Our collection of e-Resources can be accessed at any time and at any location. These include: UpToDate, BMJ Best Practice, BMJ Case Reports, Cochrane and more.
We promise to:
- Acknowledge email enquiries within one working day
- Approve your request for an Athens login within one working day
- Complete your request for a mediated literature search within five working days
- Provide you with the journal article you requested within two working days
Supporting studies, research and professional practice
In addition to the resources and facilities that CDDFT libraries provide, we also have a range of services to help you with your studies, research or professional practice:
Our Librarians can undertake a detailed literature search on your behalf and then send you resources relevant to your studies, research or professional specialism. To request a literature search, fill in our online form, provide as much detail as possible and then submit it. Our librarians will do the rest. Literature Search Request Form
If you prefer to do your own research, you can use our print e-Resources. Take a look at our Resources page to see what is available.
If you need further help to get the best from our resources, you can get further information about the support we can provide by contacting our library staff.
Our current awareness services can keep you and your colleagues in touch with the latest developments and innovations in specialist area and we now have two options available:
- Knowledgeshare is a current awareness service that is tailored to your individual interests and needs. Sign up for KnowledgeShare and you will receive regular email bulletins with details of the latest high-level evidence in your particular field, including journal articles; guidelines; policy documents and summarised evidence. You can amend your profile at any time to make it as broad or as focused as you want. You can even set the frequency of your email bulletins! And if there are any articles or items you would like to see in full, you can request them through the library.
- Current Awareness bulletins are broader in scope and more of a “one size fits all” solution than Knowledgeshare. The bulletins are great for sharing with your colleagues or team, to help you all keep in touch with those important new developments that you may otherwise miss out on.
The Library subscribes to JournalTOCs, a service which provides access to the Table of Contents of over 28,000 journals. The journals cover a wide range of medical topics, including medicine, nursing and pharmacology.
At JournalTOCs, you can set up your own account and create lists of followed journals. You will then receive alerts for new articles and current awareness information.
Use this service - click on the sign-in option and then register as a new user.
Many organisations produce regular alerts to highlight news and developments. These include:-
- Care Quality Commission Newsletter
- Health Management Bulletin
- HPR Weekly - a weekly report for the Health Protection Agency
- Information Commissioner's Office Newsletter
- Kings Fund Newsletter
- NICE Newsletter
To receive alerts, fill in our Alerts & Updates from Organisations form, tell us which alerts you would like to receive and you will be added to our email lists.
If you or your team need help or support to use our resources or services effectively, we can arrange a training session at a time convenient to you. This could be a one to one or a group session, in your department, in one of the libraries or over Teams.
A support session could take just 10 minutes or last an hour, we will tailor the session to suit you. The session could cover anything from search techniques to using individual e-Resources.
For more information or to arrange a support session, use this form: Support Request Form
If you come across details of an article you need and cannot access the full article, request it through our Inter Library Loans service. Use the link below to open the Inter Library Loan request form, enter as much detail as possible and the Library Team get it for you from another NHS library service or from the British Library.
Similarly, if you want to get hold of a particular book and cannot find it on the Library Catalogue, use the link below to open the Book Request form and we will borrow it from another NHS library service or buy it for you to use.
OpenAthens is a gateway to a range of e-Resources (healthcare databases and e-Journal articles) which are exclusively available to NHS staff and students to access over the internet. You need to create an OpenAthens account which you can then use to login to these e-Resources.
With OpenAthens you can find evidence and information to support patient care and your own studies or personal development whenever you need to. The e-Resources are available for you whenever you want to use them, at work or at home.
Creating your OpenAthens account
- To create your own OpenAthens account you must be logged onto an NHS computer.
- You can then create your account at OpenAthens registration.
- It is important that you select the correct information from the drop down boxes, to identify the organisation that employs you.
- Once you submit your registration, you will receive an automated email from OpenAthens. This will contain an activation link.
- Click on the link to activate your OpenAthens account and set your password.
- Your new OpenAthens account will be ready to use within a few minutes.
If you experience any problems or need assistance with registering, please go to Our Libraries webpage for our contact details.
e-Resources available through OpenAthens
Go to our Resources page to see what's available under e-Resources (databases, specialist resources, e-Journals and e-Books).
You will also find information on how to search for journals through our Journal Listing (Full Text Finder).
OpenAthens login problems
If you have an NHS OpenAthens account but have forgotten your log-in details:
- Go to the MyAthens home page.
- Click on the login icon and select the Forgotten your Password option.
- Enter your email address and select next.
- You will be sent an email message containing a link to reset your password.
If you need further assistance with your OpenAthens account, please contact us Our Libraries and Contact Details
Supporting research, training, staff development and health and wellbeing
We provide both print and online information resources to support treatment and decision making, research, staff development and training as well as resources to support health and wellbeing and leisure reading. We also provide support and training to help all staff and students to use our resources effectively. If you feel you would benefit from our support, please get in touch. We're always adding new books and resources to our collection - see our new resources and recently added to stock. If you would like to borrow or learn more about any of the books or resources listed, please get in touch.
