Health Professional Development Scheme
It’s possible to become a certified Health Specialisation professional. This entitles you to add post-nominals to your title and be listed on a website as having obtained this Certification
For more information, view:
HLA has also produced a list of 2025 courses that are aligned with the 8 HLA Competencies and these may assist with professional development
Competencies and Course Map
View the 2025 Courses List (updated Mar 2025). These courses / activities have been mapped to the eight HLA Competencies to assist you with your professional development
Health Specialisation Skills Audit will help you identify gaps in your knowledge and provide guidance for choosing your most appropriate courses
Resources for new health librarians
- Join the aliaHEALTH e-list to stay up to date (overseas e-lists available also)
- Attend a HLA event (details posted on the AliaHealth e-list, HLA social media, and this website)
- Watch some videos on the HLA Videos page
- Find a mentor – set up a monthly check-in with someone external to your new workplace for peer-to-peer learning
- Read JOHILA – Journal of Health Information & Libraries Australasia (or even consider contributing a piece …)
- Listen to Shoosh – a podcast about Health Libraries
- Consider undertaking a medical terminology course to help you with the jargon!
- Follow HLA social media
- Join HLi (Victorian focus but have online events that can be attended from anywhere)
- Read Early Career Health Science Librarian Resource Guide (US)
- Communities of Practice (CoP). Join some HLA health library Communities of Practice. They are free, every group welcomes new members, and they can look good on your CV:
- Health Library Managers CoP: glynis.jones@health.wa.gov.au | Health Library Managers website
- Hospital Librarians’ CoP: hospital.lib.cop@gmail.com (note – managers are encouraged to join the Library Managers CoP)
- Solo Health Library CoP: jane.orbell-smith@health.qld.gov.au
- Searching CoP: Darcy.Stephenson@monashhealth.org
- Artificial Intelligence CoP: visit AI CoP
Competencies Review and Comparison poster 2019
Health Librarianship Competencies
Review project
Creating the health librarian
professional workforce for the future by Ann Ritchie Presentation
Creating the health librarian
professional workforce for the future by Ann Ritchie Notes
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
ALIA HLA: Unearthing Grey Literature: Learn, Share, Apply (1-2 pm Wed 18 Feb 26)
📝 Event Description Looking to level up your grey literature skills? This interactive event brings health librarians together to:* Share practical strategies* Explore real-world examples* Discuss challenges in finding and using grey literature You’ll gain actionable...
ALIA HLA: Making It Matter – Deliver Search Results That Hit the Mark (1-2 Thu 5 Mar)
📗 Event Description Join us for a practical session on literature searches, focusing on how to present results effectively to clients. Learn strategies to make your search outputs clear, actionable, and tailored to client needs. 🗣️ Presenters Kim Meers – Redland...
ALIA HLA: Negotiating with Publishers: Strategies for Success (1-2 Wed 25 Mar)
📔 Event Description Join ALIA HLA and VHLC (Victorian Health Libraries Consortia) for an insightful session on navigating the complex world of publisher negotiations. Learn practical approaches to securing better deals, managing costs, and building strong partnerships...
ALIA HLA: Preserving Our Past: Hospital Libs & Organisational History (1-2 Tue 28 Apr)
📝 Event Description Join us for an engaging lunchtime session exploring the vital role health libraries play in safeguarding organisational history. Discover practical strategies for building and caring for historical collections, and learn how to access National...
Canva for Librarians: Easy Video Design for Promotion & Training 40 spots (Tue 05 May)
📝 Event Description This hands-on workshop will show you how to use Canva to create engaging and professional videos for library promotion and education resources. This session covers:• Editing a Canva video template• Image and text editing, animations and effects •...
On the Go: Mobile & Pop-Up Health Library Services (Online1-2 pm Wed 26 Nov)
🐘 Event Description In this session, we’re shining a spotlight on the creative and impactful ways hospital libraries are reaching out to their communities. You’ll hear from passionate professionals who are doing fantastic work through pop-up libraries and outreach...
Past Professional Development (PD) Days
2021
2020
2019 Program
Living Evidence – Partnerships and technology for up to date, reliable evidence – Julian Elliott
Better Connections: The future of digital health – Angela Ryan (ADHA)
Being data savvy – What do health librarians need to know? – Liz Stokes
Polyglot Search Translator – Justin Clark
Your authors will love you – Classifying search results to reduce numbers to screen – Anne Parkhill
Using machine learning to semi-automate abstract screening in a systematic review – Leo Ng
Ask an informationist – Choosing Wisely at Austin Health – Helen Baxter / Michele Gaca
Research data management – is this a niche role for health librarians? – Patrick Splawa-Neyman
“I want what she’s got” – Providing a liaison librarian-supported metrics service – Chrissy Freestone
Bibliometric analysis of University of Newcastle systematic reviews – Debbie Booth
What we count to what really counts – Measure outcomes versus activities for your library using statistical evidence – Laiman Li / Jacinta Cloney (OCLC)
Advocacy for Health Libraries – Sue McKerracher (ALIA)
Digital health education strategies for a skilled healthcare workforce: Be part of the conversation and contribute to the future of digital health learning and capability – Angela Ryan (ADHA)
Work smarter, not harder: How to utilise data to build an efficient library service – Cameron Wu & Cindy Slater (EBSCO) / Helen Ried
Person-centred care and its role in health literacy: How librarians can champion its values – Lindsay Barnes
Using automation tools to improve the speed of searching for studies for a systematic review – Justin Clark
2018
2017
2016
2015
Satellite event for the EBLIP8 Conference, Brisbane, July 9th
2014
Joint Collaboration Conference
2014
Joint Collaboration Conference HLA News Collaboration Special Edition