Beyond an Apple a Day: Providing Consumer Health Information at Your Library

Want to improve your consumer health collection and services? Interested in improving your reference skills for providing health information for the public? Then this class is for you. Starting with a discussion about the information seeking behaviors of consumers, the class focuses on the provision of consumer health information services for the public. We will also cover health literacy, planning the service, the reference interview, consumer health online, collection development, collaboration, community partnerships, outreach and marketing. Students will also learn about how to stay up to date on consumer health librarianship.

Course approved:
• 8 Medical Library Association contact hours
• May be applied towards the MLA Consumer Health Information Specialization.

Dates: January and February 2009
Format: A course shell you can access online 24/7 at your own pace as well as two interactive online sessions (dates to be announced)

Assignments:
• forum discussion of health information seeking of providers and consumers
• patient education rewrite exercise
• forum discussion on aspects of the reference interview including challenges, evaluating health information and usage of disclaimers
• needs assessment for program development
• collection development activity
• practice literature searches
• create a sample outreach project
• develop an elevator speech to promote your service

Instructor: Michelle Eberle Consumer Health Information Coordinator, NN/LM NER
Interactive sessions co-facilitated by: Terri Ottosen Consumer Health Coordinator, NN/LM SE/A

To register: Please contact Martha Pearson.

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