Introduction
From 14-16 July 2026, I attended my first International Congress of Medical Librarianship (ICML) in Glasgow. I connected with health librarians from around the world and exchanged knowledge and experiences on improving knowledge and library services. During the conference, I discovered that health librarians face similar challenges in building relationships with users, promoting services, and supporting clinical researchers. Through presentations and conversations, we shared experiences and explored ways to improve knowledge and library services across different cultures and healthcare settings.
Building Relationships to Strengthen Library Services
Several presentations highlighted the importance of relationship-building with users, including collaborative abstract-writing workshops with nursing students and knowledge mobilisation services for clinicians. The presenters emphasised that the success of training programmes and knowledge mobilisation services depends on sustainable relationships with users. This echoed the key message of my presentation on the relational service design framework. Greater understanding and trust between health librarians and users enable services to be shaped around users’ needs. It was encouraging to hear that health librarians from different countries also emphasised the importance of relationship-building in service design and development.
Broadening Our Approach to User Support
Some presentations broadened my understanding of how libraries can support users. There was a presentation about introducing various online tools and platforms to increase engagement with staff during the training sessions. By comparing these tools, I realised that some tools available within our services such as Padlet may be underused and could be better utilised to improve engagement.
Another presentation explored ways to increase researchers’ visibility by linking their ORCID with their Scopus Author ID and Google Scholar profile. I had not previously considered how libraries could support researchers in increasing their visibility in this way. Although this approach may be more common in university settings, it prompted me to think about how we might raise awareness of research identity within our own research support services. Beyond managing institutional repositories, health libraries can play a proactive role in enhancing the visibility of clinical researchers.
Learning About Research Quality and Retractions
One presentation on journal article retractions offered a valuable reminder of the importance of research quality. The presenter highlighted the increasing number of article retractions, emphasising the importance of evaluating the quality and reliability of published research. This prompted me to reflect on my own practice as a health librarian. While we often support clinicians with literature searches, we also have a role in helping them evaluate the quality and reliability of the evidence. Improving research skills through literature searching and critical appraisal training may help clinicians identify potential issues in published research and understand the implications of retractions when using evidence to inform practice and clinical guidelines. As a result, I updated my critical appraisal training materials to include discussion of how retracted articles can affect evidence synthesis and clinical guideline development.
Sharing Practice Through Conference Presentation
In addition to learning from colleagues, I had the opportunity to contribute to the international community by presenting my work undertaken at Leamington Spa Hospital. This was my first time presenting at an international conference. I was grateful to share my experience of designing digital knowledge services through relationship-building, which informed the development of a relational service design framework. I received positive and thoughtful feedback from colleagues, which helped me further develop my work. I also made valuable connections and continued discussions about digital service design beyond the conference.
Conclusion
Attending and presenting at an international conference was an invaluable experience. I treasure the opportunity to learn from global colleagues and reflect on how their experiences can inform local library practice. I look forward to applying the knowledge and ideas gained from the conference to my future work.
