Licence agreements
The Eira office, a part of Inera AB, manages negotiations and contacts with publishers as well as the day-to-day administration. The publishers’ agreements are signed with the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (the “SKL”), by powers of attorney from the county councils.
Eira's basic service offering
The content of the common knowledge base has changed and expanded over ten years of cooperation with the Eira. The selection of e-resources to be included is determined by representatives of hospital libraries throughout the country in collaboration with the Eira office. The hospital libraries are the ones primarily responsible for disseminating information and providing training in the use of the electronic resources.
Eira for the social services
During 2010–2011, Eira has been operating a pilot project to compile a similar knowledge base for the various municipal social services. In 2011, the project’s six pilot municipalities will receive test subscriptions to over 600 journals and e-books. It is hoped that advantageous agreements will result in the establishment of relevant basic packages that will then be offered to all municipalities by 2012.
A national knowledge base for health care and nursing staff
There is currently no common platform for hosting Eira content. Employees access the content via the county councils’ own websites and e-libraries. Early this year, Eira participated in a preliminary study relating to the development of a national website for health care and nursing staff (cf. Health Information Resources, NHS). Its purpose was to find out if the development of a national knowledge base for health care and nursing staff will improve access to and awareness of the wealth of knowledge that is available.
About Inera
Inera AB, which is a company owned by the county councils, deals with development and management assignments, particularly in information provision and IT, based on the requirements of the county councils and municipalities. The assignments primarily involve electronic services for healthcare personnel and for the public. Inera’s premises are located at Södermalm in Stockholm, at Östgötagatan 12. The switchboard telephone number is +46 (0)8 452 71 60.
About county councils and municipalities in Sweden
Sweden is divided into 21 county councils/regions, whose primary areas of responsibility are healthcare, dental care, and public transportation. Issues relating to social services, care for the aged and the functionally impaired, and schools are the purview of Sweden’s 290 municipalities.