Blog: Health literacy and health library partnerships
Health librarians work in a wide range of sectors. Some provide evidence services for pharmaceutical companies. Others work in academic or NHS libraries. As a health librarian, I have spent most of my career in the voluntary sector, but started my career in a pharmaceutical library and worked most recently in the national NHS Knowledge and Library Services team at NHS England. All of these sectors provide opportunities for health literacy activity and partnerships. This blog post outlines current activities and also opportunities for PIF members through the Health Libraries Group.
Health libraries and health literacy
Librarians in all sectors play a key role in enabling individuals to develop information literacy skills. These information literacy skills include the ability to search for content, assess the validity of information providers and reference sources used.
Health librarians integrate information literacy skills into health literacy activity. Within the NHS, the national leads for health libraries in each of the UK nations include learning opportunities on health literacy and share resources. The team in Scotland is running a series of events for Health Literacy Month and curates resources in the Health Literacy Place. The national NHS libraries team in England commissioned geodata on health literacy levels and curates resources in the Health Literacy Toolkit.
Individual health libraries vary in the specific roles that they play in health literacy. Some focus on evidence-based sources to be used in patient information materials and advising on engagement and techniques to ensure that the information is health-literacy friendly. Others provide training to staff or students. Some health librarians, particularly those based in the voluntary sector, support members of the public in developing their health literacy skills. Much of the activity by health libraries with members of the public is through partnerships.
Health literacy partnerships
Health libraries are involved in health literacy partnerships both locally and nationally. Staff at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust worked with NHS England to develop a series of Misinformation UnMASKED tools and videos on health literacy techniques. People with learning difficulties through Camden First and Opening Doors worked with the national NHS Knowledge and Library Services team to co-design easy read materials on preparing for health conversations.
The National Health Literacy Partnership in England consists of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), Libraries Connected, Arts Council England and the national NHS Knowledge and Library Services team at NHS England. The partnership is currently working with the NHS App and NHS Website teams in NHS England to equip public libraries with resources to help members of the public to use the NHS App and the NHS website. This activity builds on previous health literacy work with public libraries.
Health Libraries Group
The Health Libraries Group is a special interest group within CILIP. It is a group for library and information professionals with an interest in health information as well as health librarians. Online learning opportunities are free to members of the group. The newsletter is freely available to all, providing insights into current activities and reflective articles from health librarians across the world.
The Health Libraries Group also runs conferences. In 2026, we hosted the International Congress on Medical Librarianship in Glasgow. The current issue of the newsletter includes reflections on the conference, in which health literacy was well represented. Keynotes for the event included reflections from Professor Steven Buchanan on population health literacy and the importance of research into information behaviours to assess how people access information in practice.
In a partnership with NHS England, the Health Libraries Group operates the Health Information and Library Services Directory. This is the key resource to enable healthcare staff and others to identify health libraries and health information services.
Opportunities for PIF members
If you run a health information service in the UK, do check whether your service is included in the Health Information and Library Services Directory. If your service is not included, please contact the administrator to set up an entry. Through the directory, you can identify health libraries or other health information services that may be geographically close to you or working in a similar area of specialism. Partnership activities could include joint promotion of Health Literacy Month in 2027 or joint health literacy training.
Do look at issues of the Health Libraries Group newsletter for ideas and updates on activities and learning opportunities. If you are already a CILIP member, do add the Health Libraries Group as one of your special interest group options.
For the future
The Health Libraries Group is very happy to be represented within the PIF Advisory Group. As the Health Libraries Group celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2027, alongside PIF’s 30th anniversary, we hope that the coming year and future years will provide opportunities for collaboration.