National electronic Library of Infection

This specialist library provides resources to healthcare professionals in the UK.

The National electronic Library of Infection (NeLI) is one of the specialist libraries of the National Library for Health (NLH). The core function of NeLI is to provide access to

It is a single portal to evidence-based medical knowledge around infection.

the best available evidence on investigation, prevention, treatment and control of infectious diseases. This project is funded by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and the Department of Health, and has been running since 2001. NeLI is aimed at all healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses and scientists, but can be used by anyone.

Impact

NeLI logoNeLI produces a monthly eNewsletter - which is currently subscribed to by more than 3000 professionals. This provides information on the latest news and new resources added to the library. The key value of NeLI is the quality appraisal of posted documents, which is conducted in collaboration with major professional societies and expert committees in infectious disease in the UK. Each document considered the best available evidence on a particular subject is assigned a quality tag, called a Reviewer’s Assessment. This provides a critical summary that allows users to swiftly gauge the nature and relevance of the article, by discussing the nature of the study, the methodology used, level of evidence, potential biases and applicability of the results. Reviewer’s Assessments are displayed with the reviewer’s name and affiliations, and can earn CPD accreditation.

 

NeLI user information needs evaluation study

An evaluation of information needs of the NeLI users over the last decade, funded by the HPA, will provide a unique insight into the changing information needs of infectious disease professionals and their online navigation behaviour.

Staff

  • Professor Mike Catchpole, Deputy Director of the Centre for Infection at the HPA has recently taken over as the clinical lead for NeLI
  • Professor Julius Weinberg, provides senior public health and infectious disease expertise (Acting Vice Chancellor)
  • Dr Patty Kostkova leads the project team based at CeRC. She provides technical expertise and co-ordinates the day-to-day running of NeLI.
  • Sue Wiseman is the Content Manager for NeLI and has the responsibility of selecting appropriate resources and adding these to the portal.
  • Gawesh Jawaheer provides technical support for the development and maintenance of the NeLI website.

For more information, please visit the website.