Library Services

We are delighted to share with you our comprehensive library within the Pepperell Education Centre at Saint Francis Hospice.

The library houses a multi-disciplinary collection of material on all aspects of Hospice and Palliative Care and Lorraine Cheek, Library Services Coordinator, is on hand between 09.45 and 16.15 to assist you. Lorraine works with a wonderful experienced team of volunteers who are happy to help you find what you are looking for.

Our Users

We offer an excellent and informative resource for all hospice staff, volunteers as well as external health care professionals and students on related courses.
Any individual or group may visit us in person or contact us by telephone 01708 771406, e-mail or fax 01708 758641. We can provide library tours and introductions as required, by prior arrangement.
All users can benefit from our library as a facility for academic research and clinical awareness.

Our specific resources include:

Books

The library has a collection of over 2000 books which library members may borrow. These provide excellent coverage of a wide range of palliative care topics, including history of the hospice movement and pharmacology, as well as research and education. All materials are classified by a special general hospice classification scheme, indexed on the computer catalogue and may be found by author, title word or keyword.

Journals

We hold a wide selection of around 30 journals which are on display to view in the library. These specialist journals cover core articles for many palliative care subjects, including Pain and Symptom Management and Bereavement.

Study Packs and Teaching Packs

A selection of these are available for you to view and borrow.

Audio-Visual

The library has a small collection of videos, CDs and DVDs together with our books; viewing facilities are available in the library. Some DVDs are available on loan.

Our services include:

Literature Searches

We are happy to provide training and advice on literature searching on specific subjects using both our in-house book database as well as key website databases. We can also carry out literature searches on your behalf, if appropriate.

Requests and Reservations

Books held by our library may be borrowed or reserved free of charge. Books and journal articles not available from library stock may be requested and will be obtained from another library, if available.

Location of Relevant Material

We can provide help with locating key palliative care websites and current key literature on all hospice related subjects.

Computer Advice

We are pleased to provide general computer advice, including applications such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel; as well as training on searching databases such as Medline, and the use of the Internet.