Library at Hillingdon Hospital

Staff Library and Knowledge Services

Library Services are based in the Education Centre at Hillingdon Hospital for staff in our Trust, Hillingdon primary care staff, local Central and NW London Foundation Trust staff, local GPs, practice staff and placement students. Other non-profit health and social care staff in the Hillingdon area are also eligible to apply for library membership.

We have approximately 3300 books, some print journals and access to items from other NHS libraries through our inter-library loans service.

Library Services Strategy

Click below for our 2023-26 strategy, approved by the Education Strategy Board.

Library strategy 2023-26.pdf [pdf] 833KB

Join the library

To join the library, staff can complete and return an  enrolment form to thh-tr.library@nhs.net, fill it in online, or ask library staff (Monday to Friday 8am-5pm).

An entry code to the library is available to registered members for out-of-hours access - enrol in person through the library for this.

Books, journals and e-resources

  • Online library catalogue  – Browse the catalogue as a 'guest’, or library members can renew online, reserve books and view a record of previously borrowed items.
  • NHS Knowledge and Library Hub - ebooks, ejournals, bibliographic databases (including Medline, Embase, CINAHL and BNI) and the clinical decision support tool BMJ Best Practice. Self-register for an NHS Open Athens account at openathens.nice.org.uk
  • Browzine.com - View ejournals by clicking on "choose my library" and select "The Hillingdon Hospitals..." as the "home library", then enter an NHS OpenAthens username and password to access full articles.
  • NHS Knowledge and Library Hub Journals A-Z - Browse print and ejournals (login with NHS OpenAthens account)
  • Trust staff can visit the Library's intranet page from devices on the Trust network, for details of services and resources.

Current awareness services

Library Services subscribe to KnowledgeShare to provide THH staff and placement students with a current awareness service. To sign up for this service, members must have an NHS OpenAthens account (see Open Athens for registration), complete this  Knowledge Share_form.pdf [pdf] 326KB, and return to thh-tr.library@nhs.net; or ask library staff for further details.

Bespoke current awareness alerts and table of contents alerts can be created on request.

Document supply

Books, journal literature, and other documents not held in the library can usually be obtained through inter-library loans. Most articles are supplied within 24 hours although some requests (including book loans) may to take up to seven days to arrive. Locations for journals held in other libraries can also be given.

Staff must be registered with the library to use the inter-library loan service; request forms will be returned to the user if we do not have their details.

Students on placement at the Trust are asked to direct any inter-library loan requests to their education provider’s library service.

Literature Searches

Library staff will also perform literature searches on behalf of library members. Please use this form to provide details of your search request:  Literature_search.pdf [pdf] 18KB. Please note that students are expected to conduct their own searches but can request assistance from the library staff.

Internet and intranet access

All Trust staff can apply directly to the Digital Services Department (or via their line manager) for log-ins to use library PCs. Registered library members not employed directly by the Trust can request an application form from the librarian for a temporary password. These applications normally take about 1 or 2 days to process and library staff are unable to provide alternative interim access. Further advice is available from the IT helpdesk on ext.4400.

Please note that only approved USB devices obtained from the IT department can be used on library PCs - all other devices will be blocked.

Wi-Fi is usually available in the Library:Select "NHS Wi-Fi", read and accept the Terms and Conditions presented and follow the instructions to complete the registration process.

Eduroam is also available for placement students.

Student information

All students are eligible to enrol with the library for the duration of their placement with the Trust. Eduroam is available for all HE students and staff.

See also:  Library_Charter_Placement_Students.pdf [pdf] 21KB 

Library contacts

Library
Education Centre
Hillingdon Hospital
Tel: 01895 279250
Mon - Fri, 8am to 5pm
thh-tr.library@nhs.net General Enquiries