Visit to College of Occupational Therapists’ (COT) Library

I probably shouldn’t admit this but when I got the job of Librarian for Health and Social Care I didn’t know what occupational therapy was! So for those that don’t know, this is what the COT claim occupational therapy is all about,

 “Accident, illness and ageing can turn everyday activities into challenges which reduce independence and undermine our sense of identity. Occupational therapists work with people of all ages and backgrounds who are affected by accident, physical and mental illness, disability or ageing. They provide help and training in daily activities, such as bathing, dressing, eating, gardening, working and learning; offer advice on adapting your home or workplace to meet your needs; assess and recommend equipment, such as mobility aids and help children with disabilities to build their confidence, enabling them to take part in school activities.”

(BAOT/COT, 2012, www.cot.org.uk).

The College of Occupational Therapists sets the professional and educational standards for the occupational therapy profession and represents the profession at national and international levels. Similar sorts of organisations in the health world include the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nurses.

Students can sign up to be members of COT and they often mention to me that, as well as our own resources, they use the library space and resources provided at the COT library. I thought it was high time I went and investigated the library for myself to see what services they offered and how they work with higher education students. I wanted to see the resources and facilities on offer and have a good rummage through their stock to see what they provided.

I met with the Librarian who gave me a tour of the library and showed me the members-only area of the COT website. The library is small but perfectly formed and filled with policy documents, archive material, hard-to-find journals and key textbooks – it is truly a specialist collection. I was greatly relieved to see that we already have lots of the key textbooks that I saw on their shelves.  Their website is used by both academic staff and students at the University. Not only do they have access to key journals via their COT membership but from the members section of the website they can access hot topic guides which list key journal articles, web resources and grey literature on a diverse range of issues such as driving, working with military personnel who have been injured and obsessive compulsive disorder.

For the latter part of the visit I chatted to some of the other library staff to find out what support they offered students.  The staff do not carry out literature searches for the students (after all it’s the student’s assignment and it should be all their own work) but help them to develop a search strategy and point them in the direction of their university librarian.

The COT library staff are hoping to run a networking day for higher education librarians that support OT students. In a moment of madness I offered to present something on the day – this means I have a new challenge to get my teeth into.