Frequently Asked Questions

Membership is free and open to all NHS staff in Midlands and East. To register at one of the libraries simply show your staff identification and fill in a membership form. You can download a form (opens in new window) now and email it back to us.

The main library at KMH is staffed during office hours, Monday to Friday. Access outside staffed hours is available via the trust swipe card system. Newark Library is mostly self-service, but a member of the team visits at least once a month. You will need to obtain the key code to access the Library. We also have a small unstaffed Library Resource Room at Mansfield Community Hospital. The door code can be obtained from the General Office next door.

Your loan entitlement is dependent on your membership status. Sherwood Forest Hospitals staff members and students on placement can have up to 16 items. If you are a member of another local trust or community service you can borrow six items.

The loan period will be for six weeks. This will be indicated on each item. We also have an annual loan for items that are specific to a particular department.

All items will auto-renew five times unless they have been requested by another reader. After the five initial renewals it may still be possible to renew.

Please contact us on ext. 4009 or email library.sfht@nhs.net to find out.

There may be restrictions on items obtained for you via the inter library loan system.

Yes. The main email address is library.sfht@nhs.net.  

To request a service from us download the appropriate form and attach it to your email.

Any loan item can be requested and sent to your work base or held for collection. This can be done by contacting the library or by logging on to our Online Catalogue, locating the item and clicking either the reserve or place booking button.

Bookings can be made if a resource is required for a particular event or date. For items not held in our libraries, it may be possible for the library to obtain these via our Document Delivery and Inter Library Loan service. Suggestions for stock to purchase are always welcome.

The self-issue of loan items is available at KMH library outside staffed hours for registered members. Please be aware that there are CCTV and alarm systems. You can also return items and renew too.  

The library subscribes to several key electronic resources. Visit NHS England's NHS Knowledge and Library Hub to: 

• Access and browse e-books and journal articles
• Search healthcare databases, including Medline, Embase, Emcare and CINAHL
• Review clinical decision support resources, including NICE Guidelines, DynaMed and BMJ Best Practice 

You'll need to sign in with your NHS OpenAthens account to access the resources

The library offers a series of training and induction sessions as part of its Information Skills Programme contact the library for courses and dates. To book a session you will need to visit the Sherwood e-academy and search for the course that you are interested in to book on.

Alternatively, if none of the bookable dates suit you, email library.sfht@nhs.net and we will arrange a one-to-one session to suit you.

Courses can be delivered at Newark Hospital and Mansfield Community Hospital on request.

Some of our electronic resources are available via sites specifically tailored for users of mobile devices, for example EBSCO databases. You can access the platform specific to mobile devices.

• BMJ Best Practice - is a trusted authoritive clinical decision tool that provides quick easy to use answers to clinical questions:
  • BMJ Best Practice (iPhone)
  • BMJ Best Practice (Android)
• DynaMed - is the clinical reference tool that physicians go to for answers to clinical questions. Content is written by a world-class team of physicians and researchers. It is available to you for free through our institutional subscription.
• The BNF is available as apps for iPhones/iPads and for Android based devices. It can be downloaded for free, but you will need to have an OpenAthens account to authenticate it.

There are also a number of free health related applications available for mobile devices. You can find a list of approved apps on the NHS Health Apps Library or download our Mobile Apps for Healthcare guide (opens in new window).

Yes. Download and fill in the Evidence Search Request form (opens in new window) and email the form back to the library to request a search.

We aim to respond to your request in five to ten working days. If your request is complicated or time-consuming, we may need to contact you again to discuss how and when your request can processed.