Bolton Health Information Partnership ‘pop up’ to celebrate and showcase ‘Festival of Libraries’ 2022

Library and Knowledge Service: Bolton NHS Foundation Trust

Contact name: Dawn Grundy

Contact email: [email protected]

Date completed: September 2022

Short summary of the initiative/project

Bolton Health Information Partnership ‘pop up’ to celebrate and showcase ‘Festival of Libraries’ 2022

How did you get started?  Any tips to share?

Bolton Health Information Partnership (BHIP) arranged an event at the University of Bolton. This was co- led by Siobhan Linsey and Dawn Grundy. BHIP members discussed how they could celebrate Festival of Libraries 2022 and showcase Bolton Health Information Partnership. The outcome was a ‘pop up’ event. A blog post was produced to highlight the event and promotion took place within other forums such as social media https://t.co/t382Vbxyz5

Who did you work with?

From the BHIP partnership, Bolton Library and Museum Services, Bolton MacMillan Cancer Information & Support Service, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust Knowledge and Library Service and University of Bolton Library were all in attendance. Healthwatch Bolton also contributed by sending information to share.

What happened? 

The event was designed to share information about BHIP, its members and how they support local health information needs. It was attended by academics, students and open to all. On the day:

Bolton Libraries and Museum Service will shared information on the libraries across Bolton, current and planned activities, and resources such the Borrowbox app. It was a chance to discuss their current projects too, for example they are starting to develop a programme of activities for children with SEND. Including sensory sessions, story time with BSL, music sessions and sensory backpacks to aid engagement with museum collections.

Bolton Macmillan Cancer Information & Support Service shared information about services across Bolton and had some freebies!

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust Knowledge and Library Service shared knowledge and insight on:
Finding trustworthy health information online
Undertaking research
Information on managing specific conditions- such as heart disease and cancer. 

University of Bolton Library highlighted services and collections. This included highlighting key academic sources for Healthcare students and signposting to resources which support the student journey including Employability and Wellbeing collections. 

Organisations involved felt it was a great way to collaborate, make connections and learn more about the differing needs of the local population. Feedback from attendees stated that it was brilliant to find out more about different Health Libraries and Information services within Bolton and how they can support the development of knowledge and learning.

What next?

A review of the event will take place at the next Bolton Health Information Partnership meeting in September 2022