RESOURCE CENTRE MANUAL
HEALTHLINK WORLDWIDE
encouraged to identify and share information with their group, encourage other
members of the group to use the resource centre, and help them to use the
materials. They should also gather information relevant to any team or
committee meetings that they participate in, to encourage the use of
information in decision-making.
Information gatekeepers also have the role of keeping the resource centre staff
up-to-date on information needs and topics of interest, and highlighting which
materials have been particularly useful for which types of activities, meetings or
user groups.
As well as having information gatekeepers, it is useful to set up ‘journals clubs’.
Each member of staff keeps up-to-date with the contents of specific journals,
and shares this information with their colleagues.
Trainers It is important to involve those responsible for training activities or
continuing education. Training methods that involve the use of resource centre
materials are increasingly being used for both initial training and continuing
education. These include, for example, problem-based learning (where
participants solve a problem or answer a question by seeking out information
and discussing it), and individual course members taking it in turns to make
presentations to colleagues.
Time could be allocated within official working hours for staff to visit the
resource centre, as part of staff development or in-service training programmes.
For example, they could visit the resource centre on a rota system, if other
duties permit.
Close working relationships between resource centre staff and trainers and
managers should be encouraged, to promote the use of the resource centre as a
learning strategy. Managers should encourage staff to seek solutions to
problems by looking for information in the resource centre. They should
promote the resource centre as a source of information to help staff carry out
practical tasks and answer queries arising from ward round or health visits.
Staff who are responsible for arranging training workshops can encourage
participants to continue learning afterwards, by displaying examples of relevant
materials during the workshop, and encouraging participants to visit the
resource centre to find more materials.
People in the community People who work in the community, outreach
workers, or those who work for organisations based some way from the
resource centre, should be encouraged to use the resource centre, and pass on
information to the people they work with. It is important to ask them about the
information needs of the groups that they are working with.
SECTION 8: MAKING LINKS
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