The status of health librarianship and libraries in the Republic of Ireland (SHELLI): an account of a mixed methods review to inform future strategy and sustainability

In 2010 the Health Sciences Libraries Group (HSLG), a special interest group of the Library Association of Ireland (LAI), commissioned a review of the status of health librarianship and libraries in Ireland (SHELLI) (Harrison, Creaser & Greenwood 2011). The aims of the review were to gain a broad understanding of what was happening in practice in the Republic of Ireland, to acquire knowledge about international best practice, and to inform strategic plans to develop and sustain health libraries and librarianship in Ireland. The review was timely, given the socioeconomic situation prevailing in Ireland, the wider changes in the Irish health and public sector, and the six year gap since the publication of the government report Health information: a national strategy. This paper highlights the main findings of the review which was undertaken by the Department of Information Science and the Library and Information Statistics Unit (LISU), Loughborough University, during 2010-2011.