by Rob Penfold | Mar 12, 2026 | Events
“A four-day, free, virtual professional development event for information professionals supporting evidence synthesis services in libraries and other information workplaces”
Registration is free and includes the full schedule of symposium sessions. All sessions will in English, held on Zoom, with Zoom-integrated captioning and transcripts available.
Shortly before the event, you will receive an access link for the LESSS Zoom event by email
Registration closes on June 11, 2026.
Sessions (except for networking events and roundtables) will be recorded with transcripts, but presenters may chose to not release that recording for viewing after the conference
View the Symposium home page
by Rob Penfold | Apr 20, 2026 | Events
📝 Event Description
Human participant research sits at the uncomfortable intersection of good intentions, regulation, and paperwork — and it applies to far more projects than most people realise. This session provides a practical, big picture overview of what counts as human participant research, and why interventional research is only a subset of that, why “clinical trial” is not synonymous with “medical experiment,” and how projects move from idea to ethics and governance approval to actual participants. Framed specifically for health library professionals, Sarah will explore where library services can add real value across the research lifecycle, from shaping research questions and evidence bases through to protocols, data management, consent, and publication — and why working closely with local research offices makes all of this easier for everyone involved.
🗣️ Presenter
Sarah Rathjen – Eastern Health Library
In her previous life, Sarah worked in a wide variety of roles in the Health and Medical research field over 15 years, with the majority of her experience in Ethics and Governance (both as a submitter and an approver), before a recent career change to librarianship!
Currently she works as the Clinical Research and Education Librarian at Eastern Health.
She has a passion for both human participant research, for exploring innovative ways to deliver education and training, and for getting the right information to the right people at the right time – which is why she’s presenting here!
She loves dogs 🐶, but does not have one yet, so encourages you to tell her about your pets.
✅ ALIA HLA Competencies
CA1 – The health environment
CA7 – Health research
View HLA Competencies
🧑🏫 HLA Health Professional Development Scheme
This session contributes 1.0 hours towards CPD
View the HLA Health Professional Development Scheme
🕑 When
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
1-2pm (Vic/NSW/TAS/ACT/QLD);
12:30-1:30pm (SA/NT);
11am-12pm (WA);
3-4pm (NZ)
🌏 Where
Online webinar Zoom – a link will be sent the day prior.
This event will be recorded and sent to attendees following the event.
💰 Cost
ALIA Members – Free (one of 14 benefits of membership)
Non-Members – $30
⌨️ Register
Register | Additional Information
by Rob Penfold | Feb 26, 2026 | News
Many health librarians in Australia are well aware of Cheryl’s contributions over many years
She has won a number of awards including the ALIA Fellowship 2013 & the HCL Anderson Award 2020 and published quite extensively
She has decided to hang up her (Dockers) boots and swap Libkey Nomad for Grey Nomad
(in the image, Cheryl is on the left with an unknown art gallery attendant on the right)
Her most ardent parting wish is that anyone who hasn’t yet completed the HLA 2026 Survey takes the time to do so
As many librarians are frustrated authors, perhaps the best send off is a Cheryl Poem (by a health librarian who obviously has too much time on his hands …)
An ode to Cheryl, on her retirement (HCL Anderson redux)
There once was a health librarian named Cheryl,
Whose name was not amenable to limerick writing,
Unless she had colleagues named Beryl, or Meryl,
And they co-authored papers, and were diligent in citing.
Still, even if the rhymes elude a limerick,
The HCL Anderson award is worthy of something poetic.
A sonnet in MeSH, perhaps, announced with a gong,
Or NLM classification reworked as the Dockers theme song.
I know. A Haiku!
It’s True, I do know haiku.
See, told you I do.
But back to Cheryl, and all that she does,
For WA, and HLA, and NLA, and ALIA;
For committees and sub-committees and all their paraphernalia;
And, well, frankly, for all of us.
(Sidenote – ALIA is not the Australian Liquor Industry Association…
although that would explain some MARC records I’ve seen – boom-tish!)
But back to Cheryl, and all that she does,
In collecting and parsing and sharing,
And building and joining and supporting,
And setting an example for all of us.
There cannot be a PubMed search string she has not run,
An interdisciplinary comment thread she has not begun,
A publisher price she has not negotiated down,
Or an uppity rep she has not run out of town.
So all hail Cheryl, a paragon of the profession,
Even if she would be appalled by this digression.
Fare thee well in your deserved retirement,
As you pen your memoirs on digital parchment.
No more battling the traffic on Canning Highway.
No more worrying if your job can be done by AI.
No more union claims frustrated at every turn.
No more desire to watch the (publishing) world burn.
No more finding all the full-text… except one!
No more search updates to be redone.
No more fighting mildew in the basement stacks.
No more downtime after more cyber attacks.
Just a new hip to go with the other one
And a new caravan to chase the sun.
Plenty of reading and a Europe trip or two,
A Dockers flag to pine for and some Weagles to boo.
The money is the same but the hours are better.
As one road ends another will lead wherever.
Dream a new dream and say goodbye to tension,
Set a new goal and say hello to your pension.
All hail Cheryl, a paragon of the profession,
The legacy she leaves is a lasting impression.
Health and libraries are richer for her contribution,
And all of us blessed by her friendship and dedication.
