Whittington Barracks Burnett Library, Staffordshire

1. Can you give us the flavour of what the role and purpose of your library is?

Our role is to provide a high quality and cost-effective library and information service to meet the worldwide requirements of the Defence Medical Services (DMS), in support of patient care, operations, training and research.

Our users are both clinical and non-clinical staff, from all three of the armed services as well as civilian staff. Most DMS personnel use us remotely (from UK and overseas postings, when deployed or at sea) which brings its own challenges in promoting the service and supplying resources.

Our on-site users include the DMS headquarters and the staff and students of the Defence Medical Academy.

2. How do students and staff access the collections out of hours?

Since 2020, our medical, management, education and well-being resources have been available 24/7 to everyone on-site. This gave us the dilemma of how to capture loans from the collections outside of staffed hours. We needed a simple issue system, but something more effective than paper forms. As a result, we introduced our “Snap and Share” service which works by users taking a photo of the library barcode for each item on their phones and then emailing them to us. This ensures we have contact details for the user (who may not yet have joined the library) and the only operating costs have been the posters advertising how it works. Although some users have snapped the ISBN in error, we can still do a shelf check to determine which copy has been borrowed. Once we have logged the issue, we then contact the user to confirm the loan period. This also gives us the opportunity to send any non-registered staff the library application form and details of our services.

3. How has the space changed over the last five years?

This library was opened in 2014 and was an amalgamation of several existing libraries. Over the last five years demand for office space has reduced our footprint. Resources are increasingly being provided online which has offset this to an extent. We have also taken the opportunity of reduced quantities of hardcopy resources to introduce more study pods and tables to facilitate group learning.

The one area that is physically expanding is our historic archive which charts the development of military medicine, and this will continue to grow.

4. What is the most popular aspect of your library to students?

They appreciate having to somewhere to work or gather, especially in the evenings and at weekends. Our higher-level academic students appreciate the range of resources to support their courses. For our students studying in external universities, access to military specific resources and additional copies of books in high demand in their university libraries are also welcome.

5. Did you have any concerns around siting new books in the corridor open plan area?

We see this as an opportunity to display resources which people passing through the corridor may not be aware of. Although we do occasionally lose stock, the benefits of doing it outweigh the negatives. Feedback shows that it has been successful in increasing awareness of the range of material we hold, as well as promoting loans as people spot items of interest when passing.

Producing displays relating to events being supported by the organisation, various health weeks and other national/international events helps promote a positive image of the library service.

6. How do you display some of the historic books and journals?

Our historic resources play a part in supporting visits from VIPs, including overseas delegations. The library curates exhibitions based on the individual’s interests or the country visiting us. Guests always appreciate seeing articles about their home countries from the pages of journals from the 19th and early 20th century and it offers talking points for hosts and guests to discuss. Often the chat recognises how people are still facing the same issues today as their predecessors did, and how universal some issues are which helps build a bond with the visitors.

7. What plans do you have for the next chapter in the library's design or plan?

We are always adapting to meet the needs of our users, and to encourage personnel to use our spaces. More people are using the library for meetings and teaching sessions which is an effective way to get people to explore our resources and services whilst they are with us.

We are developing our wellbeing offer and are planning to introduce a wellbeing area equipped with comfy chairs, books, jigsaws and board games. We can also offer space for other activities such as mindfulness sessions and drop-ins with welfare staff.

8. Is there anything you would do differently in planning the library and layout?

This library was a rare opportunity to build a space to our own specification and the whole library team worked on the brief and development of the plans. The original layout worked very well but nothing stays constant in the use of the space and the ways in which we deliver services, so there are some tweaks we would like to make the space more adaptable.

9. Were there any unexpected outcomes of your refurbishment?

Mainly seeing just how much people value a physical library not just as a study space but also as a safe space to discuss issues. The library staff are widely seen as approachable and knowledgeable which is invaluable in reaching people who have had little contact with libraries previously.

Perhaps the biggest outcome has been how we have been able to use the space creatively to demonstrate our value, so that the organisation has broadened its understanding of what a library service can offer.