Regional library management systems

An overview of NHS England's currently used library management systems, and future plans of consolidation.

There are currently 8 regional library management systems across the NHS in England.

Some consortia are long standing such as South and West Information Management System (SWIM)S in the South West, the North East, Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) and the East of England.

Others have more recently expanded, such as in the Midlands and London.

Other regions are coming together on a joint system for the first time, such as the North West, and Yorkshire and Humber.

This ambitious programme of work has taken place since 2019 moving from 90 different largely locally funded systems to nationally funded systems and support.

Each regional system has a board which meets quarterly to review strategic aspects for the system. This is attended by all the library managers from the participating organisations and is chaired by a member of the NHS England Resource Discovery team.

Each network also has an operational group also bringing together library staff representatives from all the Trusts as well as other local groups such as for cataloguing.

A Library Management System Community of Practice provides a forum for administrators and others involved to share good practice across the regions.

If you have an enquiry or would like to be linked to your regional team, please contact the Service desk.

Regional systems

Strategic priorities for the Koha regions

Cybersecurity 

Implement multi-factor authentication for staff logins to Koha, and strong passwords for users.

Re-procurement process and understanding the user journey 

NHSE procurement processes requires us to undertake user discovery work. This provides an opportunity to capture the needs of users; of both end users and library staff and to make decisions about future developments based on the evidence we obtain. 

Aspen pilot

The purpose and benefits of Aspen include: 

• website functionality and an opportunity for individual library or Trust branding 

• e-library card functionality 

• app functionality for Koha users

Improving e-book discoverability and the Knowledge and Library Hub 

A project is currently underway with PTFS and EBSCO to provide a way for users to see more clearly the e-books they have access to.  

Data quality 

Improving the user experience by increasing the quality of the data and setting a framework to ensure new data is of consistent quality.

Interlibrary Loan module 

We have commissioned PTFS to improve the ILL module based on thorough consultation with KLS staff.  This will include: 

• ILL requests from the Knowledge and Library Hub automatically being routed to Koha

• integration with INCDocs and a forthcoming National Union List of Print Journals

• better compliance with the terms of the NHS CLA Licence and copyright and ‘library privilege’

• improved ILL management information and statistical reporting

• automatic article availability checking

New modules to explore 

Bookings 

Users can book items, such as rooms, laptops or equipment in advance for specific dates. 

Electronic Resource Management (ERM)

Provides a central place for Trusts to store contracts, licenses, and contact details for your suppliers and local purchases. 

Collections Management Guideline 

A national guideline providing broad principles and recommendations for collection development for knowledge and library services in the NHS in England.  it covers stock acquisition with criterion to consider for books and journals, print and electronic; stock retention and withdrawal; as well as issues of equality, diversity, and inclusion. 

The guideline is intended to inform local and nationally procured collection management.

Library Management Systems roadmap