Library service

Our services are available to all staff, students on placement, carers and partner organisations who support our patients and service users.

Join the library

• You can join the library and access our services via this link and complete the online form.
• You can also register in person at one of our library sites.
• Once registered, you will receive a SWIMS (South and West Information Management System) library card to use in person and for other services online where you need to register.

Request an evidence or literature search

If you are looking for healthcare evidence or other literature to support your work, research or studies, complete this online form and we can source material for you.

Find or request books or articles

SWIMS (South and West Information Management System) is a network of libraries, including those in the AWP area, who share information and a database of all their available catalogue of books and articles.

• You can search the SWIMS catalogue here. 
• If you need something that is not available in any of our libraries already, you can request it through the SWIMS inter-library network. Complete our online forms for a book request or article request. You can also email awp.ejournals@nhs.net with your request or contact us by phone on 0117 472 8625 (Bristol) or 01380 712162 (Wiltshire). We can post the item to your home address or place of work, or you can collect it from one of our library sites.
• You can borrow an item for up to 28 days, and we will send you an email reminder when it is due back. You can renew up to five times which allows you to borrow it for up to six months continuously.

Sign up for KnowledgeShare 

KnowledgeShare is a useful time-saving service for health and social care professionals who want to receive the latest high-level evidence in their chosen field via a fortnightly direct email.

KnowledgeShare alerts cover both clinical and non-clinical areas of health and social care from informing patient care, service improvement, leadership and management skills to clinical teaching and research.

You can sign up for KnowledgeShare here.

Find training information

We provide free specialist information skills training for all AWP staff and students. We have adapted all our training sessions to be run via Microsoft Teams, to individuals as well as small and large groups. Sessions include:

• Introduction to the Library Service: A guide to all the services and material we can offer to support your practice, training, personal and professional development.
• Finding the Evidence Workshops: An in-depth guide on how to search like an expert. Useful for anybody who wants to find the best and quickest way to source articles and find relevant evidence.
• Developing Critical Appraisal Skills: How to assess the strengths and weaknesses of published articles. We look at different research designs, bias and validity, and frameworks that can be used to support critical appraisal. 
• Essay Writing and Harvard Referencing: Learn indispensable skills for academic writing, including clarity of style, grammar, composition, and how to add clear and effective references and bibliographies in the widely used style known as Harvard Referencing.
• We also have a Library Introduction PowerPoint for individual or group use, which is perfect for use with inductions.

Library services and information for carers

We welcome all carers to use AWP’s Library and Knowledge Services. We have a wide selection of books on all aspects of mental health care and recovery. You can:

• borrow up to five books at a time.
• request up to two articles per month.
• get help with finding quality health information.

This service is available at our Woodside Library at Callington Road Hospital.

Reliable websites to find information

In addition to our own library services, there are some excellent mental health resources available on the internet. Please remember that anyone can post information online, so it is important to know whether the information you find is reliable and up-to-date. When looking for information online, always ask yourself:

• who has written this? Is it from a reliable source?
• is it factual information or is it someone's personal experience or opinion?
• how long ago was it written?

To be sure you are getting accurate information, we highly recommend the following websites:

• NHS website – The NHS site is committed to providing trustworthy information and guidance on all aspects of health and healthcare. Use the A–Z tool to find out about mental health conditions.
• Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines in Psychiatry, 14th edition 2021 – To access outside the AWP network, login with your OpenAthens username and password.
• Royal College of Psychiatry – This is the website of the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the UK. The ‘mental health’ area contains excellent, easy-to-use resources for the public and carers, written by psychiatrists with help from patients and carers.

• The Royal Marsden Manual of Cancer and Clinical Nursing Procedures, 10th edition – To access outside the AWP network, login with your OpenAthens username and password.

• Patient – A comprehensive directory of clinically accurate and up-to-date, evidence-based information about mental health.

Find other online resources

You can access many of our subscribed resources easily over the AWP network without needing a login.

If you are accessing resources from home or outside the network, you need an AWP OpenAthens username and password. You can register for OpenAthens via the NICE website. Make sure to register using your current nhs.net email address and list the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust as your employer. If you were previously registered with OpenAthens at a different trust, please log in and update your details.

• AWP ProQuest E-book Central Website: This database contains over 300 e-books on many aspects of health and mental health care, leadership and development, available to AWP staff. You’ll need to log in with OpenAthens outside the AWP network.
• Oxford University Press Medical and Healthcare Books Online: This collection has been made available by Health Education England. NHS staff and students on placement have access to over 130 Oxford University Press health and medical books online. You’ll need an OpenAthens login to access the collection.
• British National Formulary (BNF): Authoritative and practical information on the selection and clinical use of medicines. You don’t need a login to access this content.
• British Medical Journal (BMJ) Best Practice: The latest evidence-based information from the BMJ, whenever and wherever you need it. You need to log in with OpenAthens.
• Cochrane Library: This is a collection of six databases that contain different types of high-quality independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making. You don’t need a login to access this content.
• Knowledge and Library Hub: Health and care evidence, from Health Education England.
• The Mental Elf: This not-for-profit, impartial blogging site highlights evidence-based publications relevant to mental health practice. You don’t need a login to access this content.

• Dementia Evidence Toolkit: This forms part of the MODEM Project, an initiative funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) as part of the ESRC/NHIR Dementia Initiative. The toolkit contains information on over 1,000 research studies or interventions and summaries of research findings for some of the main care and treatment interventions. You do not need a login to access this content.

For general enquiries, contact us by email at awp.ejournals@nhs.net.

Woodside Library (Callington Road Hospital) 
Marmalade Lane 
Brislington
Bristol
BS4 5BJ

Tel: 0117 472 8625
Email: awp.callingtonlibrary@nhs.net

Fountain Way Staff Library
Beechlydene
Fountain Way
Wilton Road
Salisbury
Wiltshire
SP2 7FD

Tel: 01722 548670
Email: awp.fwlibrary@nhs.net

Green Lane Hospital Library
Marshall Road
Devizes
Wiltshire
SN10 5DS

Tel: 01380 712162
Email: awp.glhlibrary@nhs.net