Gemma Siemensma | HLA Convenor

As 2021 draws to a close I am hoping health libraries can reflect on the past year and take away some positives from the rollercoaster road that many of us faced with ongoing lockdowns and restrictions. We look forward to showcasing health libraries in 2022 and demonstrating their expertise, flexibility and innovations. 

With the new year just around the corner I thought you might like to hear about some of the priorities that HLA are working on:

1. The updated Guidelines for Australian Health Libraries – 5th edition are set to be published early in 2022. When released we encourage people to read these, review their library services, make plans for service improvements and use the document as an advocacy tool.
2. A new HLA website is in the process of being constructed. This will include a site refresh and will enable content to be updated more quickly. 
3. A sub-group of HLA gathered to plan out another series of online events for 2022. Topics are vast and we encourage everyone to get involved, come along and learn from your peers. HLA are also in discussions about possible face-to-face events where we can all gather together once again!

We are also working on some other items behind the scenes so hope to share these with you in the coming months. Many of these ideas come from members external to the HLA committee so please do send through anything that you think may be of relevance. As Helen Keller says “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." 

Finally this issue of JoHILA brings a fantastic array of articles together looking at health libraries through different lenses. I’m sure you’ll agree that health libraries are resourceful, inspiring and pioneering!

Have a fabulous break, Gemma