Library Membership and Access Eligibility
Health Library Ireland – Library Membership and Access
This access policy specifies access rights to designated library services from Health Library Ireland (full list here)
The aim of the access policy is to:
- clarify access arrangements for authorised service users
- clarify procedures for library staff
- ensure equity of access to local library services across the HSE and Department of Health
- Provide details of eligibility for Section 38 and partner organisations.
Library Membership and Access to Online resources
Authorised service users (a list of ‘Authorised Service Users’ is below) can register online to be able to borrow items and access online resources.
REGISTER ONLINE HERE (HSE STAFF)
You can view the complete list of libraries for contact details and for any queries you may have.
Your Contact Information and communication from the library – Data Protection and Privacy
In order to set up your library account and to allow us to communicate with you about the items you have on loan, to send overdue reminders and notifications (for example to let you know an item you reserved is now available) we need the following minimum information from all registered library members:
- A valid email address (this should be a HSE email address)
- A current contact number
- Current work address
- The professional area you work in (Health & Social Care, Medical, Administrative)
The information you provide to us for membership is accessible to staff in your home library service only, it is never made available to third parties. We will only use your contact details to contact you in relation to your library account. Library members can access and view the details the library stores on them in the library management system by logging in to their personal library account. Library users may request details of the information the library holds on them and may withdraw consent for access to this information (bearing in mind this may limit their library borrowing and access).
More on the information we collect and your data protection HERE
Authorised Library Service Users
Authorised service users are defined as follows:
Category | Description | Access Entitlements |
HSE or Department of Health Staff | Permanent, temporary or retired members of staff of the HSE or Department of Health staff | entitled to loan rights as defined by the local library service and to 24/7 access to purchased electronic resources via online sign-in |
Agency Staff | Staff employed via an agency for the duration of their employment with the HSE or Department of Health. This category does not include all staff registered with any specific agency | Agency staff employed for a continuous period of 4 weeks or more are entitled to loan rights as defined by the local library service and to 24/7 access to purchased electronic resources via online sign-in. Agency staff employed for a period less than 4 weeks are entitled to reference access to library collections and to onsite access to purchased electronic resources via onsite sign-in. |
Seconded Staff | Staff on secondment to the HSE or Department of Health from another institution or organisation for the period of their secondment. | Seconded staff employed for a continuous period of 4 weeks or more are entitled to loan rights as defined by the local library service and to 24/7 access to purchased electronic resources via online sign-in. Seconded staff employed for a period less than 4 weeks are entitled to reference access to library collections and to on-site access to purchased electronic resources via generic online sign-in. |
Contract Staff | Staff contracted to the HSE or Department of Health for the duration of their contract. | Contract staff employed for a continuous period of 4 weeks or more are entitled to loan rights as defined by the local library service and to 24/7 access to purchased electronic resources via personal online sign-in. |
Students on Clinical Placement | Undergraduate or postgraduate students on clinical placement at a HSE or Department of Health location for the duration of their clinical placement | Where appropriate service level agreements are in place, students on clinical placement for a continuous period of 4 weeks or more are entitled to loan rights as defined by the local library service. They are also entitled to 24/7 access to purchased electronic resources via personal online sign-in. Students on clinical placement for a period less than 4 weeks are entitled to reference access to library collections and to on-site access to purchased electronic resources via generic online sign-in. |
Tutors | Tutors providing training at a HSE or Department of Health location for the duration of the educational programme. | Subject to authorisation by the Area Manager or Library Site Manager, tutors are entitled to reference access to library collections. |
Walk-In Users | Subject to authorisation by the site Area Manager or Site Library Manager, walk-in users are entitled to reference access to library collections. |
Authorised service users wishing to join a library should be aware that confirmation of their eligibility is required and may mean that a decision cannot be made instantly. However, all decisions as to the eligibility of a given applicant will normally be communicated to the applicant within 3 working days.
Section 38 / 39 and Partner Organisation Access Rights
S38 organisations (organisations in reciept of HSE funding) and Section 39 agencies (charities in receipt of HSE funding) are not automatically eligible for access to HSE Library resources.
The HSE Library does currently have several online resources we are licenced to be able to extend to current Section 38 organisations*. Access is via IP access (onsite) only. These are BMJ Best practice (this has been made openly available on the national IP so you can access now without username or password), Proquest Health Research Premium database, Web of Science and Wiley’s medical & nursing collection. Resource access to Section 39 agencies is on a case by case basis.
If you are a section 38 organisation and would like these resources to be available onsite in your location(s) please forward the IP range(s) for your site(s) to hli@hse.ie and we can arrange to activate onsite IP access.
Access to any addtional resources or facility to access resources offsite via our open Athens system are available under negotiated collaborative agreement between your organisation and HSE Library (including annual fees for licence costs per resource).
A number of Section 38 organisations have agreements in already place.
*Organisations with Section 38 designation as of February 2024
Section 38 and Partners : Agreements
If your Section 38 organisation has an agreement in place with HSE Library it will be listed in the location list on the registration form.
If you would like to discuss an agreement with HSE libraries for access to a specific set of our resources (a list of all our resources is available HERE) please contact hli@hse.ie
More information for Section 38 and partner organisations is available HERE
Loan Services
HSE service users with loan rights as specified in “Authorised Service Users” above are eligible to take items on loan from library collections. Loan entitlements and the loan periods of library materials are determined by local library service. In the event of overdue items remaining on a library account, no additional items may be taken on loan. In the event of permanent departure from the HSE or Department of Health, library users must should ensure all loaned items are returned to the library. In the event of repeated breaches of library circulation policies, Health Library Ireland reserves the right to suspend loan privileges indefinitely. Each library user is responsible for the replacement costs of items lost or damaged while on loan to them.
Library Electronic resources
Authorised service users are entitled to access purchased electronic resources via personal or generic online sign-in. Access to and reproduction of electronic resources and online content made available through Health Library Ireland is governed by license agreements with vendors. In accessing licensed electronic resources, all library users should:
- limit usage to non-commercial or personal research purposes
- respect institutional access by not sharing their online sign-in with others
In general, library users may not systematically download, distribute to non-authorised users or retain large amounts of licensed information: eg download all articles in a journal issue or engage in large-scale archiving of online content to create a separate repository.
Photocopying and printing services
The supply of photocopies of extracts from documents in library collections is regulated by and provided subject to the provisions of the law of copyright. The supply of photocopies of extracts from documents in library collections is provided subject to such charges as may be imposed by the local library service. The supply of extracts from documents held in electronic resources is regulated by agreements in force with commercial and other suppliers concerning the copyright in those documents. The supply of extracts from documents held in electronic resources is provided subject to such charges as may be imposed by the local library service.
Evidence Search Services
All HSE staff regardless of geographic location can avail of the evidence service. Full details on the evidence services are available HERE