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NLM Hosts NCLIS Forum and Awards Ceremony
Celebrating Ten Outstanding Health Information Programs at Libraries
What are the best library programs in the country addressing health and wellness issues? From a group of 50 state winners, ten outstanding health information projects have been chosen by a Federal panel.
On May 3rd, at a forum at the National Library of Medicine (NLM), representatives of the finalist libraries will recount their experiences in a day-long forum attended by consumer health information specialists and other information professionals.
The Health Information Awards program is sponsored by the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), an independent agency of the Federal government created to advise the President and Congress on national and international library and information policies and to develop plans for meeting national library and information needs. This is the second year of the nationwide competition.
The all-day forum featuring the ten finalist libraries will take place in the National Library of Medicine's Lister Hill Auditorium, Building 38A, on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, Wednesday, May 3rd. Dr. J. Edward Hill, President of the American Medical Association will deliver the keynote address, and former NLM Board of Regents Chair Eugenie Prime, who served as manager of corporate libraries for Hewlett-Packard, will serve as the forum moderator. The ten finalists will discuss their programs in the day-long forum divided into three categories: "Effective Programs," "Health Literacy" and "Partnerships and Outreach." Each finalist will be awarded a $1,000 prize in recognition of their library's work. At a reception at the end of the day, the Commission will announce the Grand Prize Winner, with a prize of $20,000 to be awarded to that program.
The ten finalists selected by a panel of NCLIS Commissioners are:
California:
Pacific College of Oriental Medicine Library. The program was
designed to promote healthy lifestyles by teaching access to
reliable, accurate and authoritative health information. It
integrates principles of Eastern and Western medical
traditions.
Connecticut:
Healthnet. For more than two decades, the Connecticut Consumer
Health Network, an outreach program of the library at the
University of Connecticut Health Center, has enabled citizens to
access high quality, authoritative consumer health information
directly through their local public libraries.
Idaho:
GetReal, Get Fit! With state statistics showing that one of every
five Idahoans is obese, the Portneuf District Library in Chubbock
is targeting its multigenerational, multi-ethic patrons for
quality fitness programs for adolescents and their families.
Kentucky:
Olive Hill Adult Learning Center/Library. Located in a very rural
area of the state-the county is the only one in Kentucky without
a tax-supported library -this library is totally staffed by
volunteers. It works to support the education of teens in the
area.
Massachusetts:
Access to Community Health Resources (ARCH). Treadwell Library,
Massachusetts General Hospital, created this new model for health
information delivery to four poor, urban and underserved
communities. The goal is to provide access, especially electronic
access, to quality health information, to help people who live
and work in these communities to make more informed decisions
regarding their health care.
Minnesota:
Minnesota Prevention Resource Center (MPRC). Making resources
about alcohol, tobacco and drug use programs available throughout
the state, MPRC has provided information, training and technical
assistance through its library and clearinghouse since 1981.
Prevention is a key component.
Mississippi:
Consumer Health Education Center (CHEC). A program of the Rowland
Medical Library, University of Mississippi Medical Center, CHEC
seeks to reduce the effects of inadequate health information
associated with health disparities and to improve knowledge of
health issues associated with health literacy among all members
of the community.
South Carolina:
REACH 2010. The Charleston and Georgetown Diabetes Coalition's
Library Partnership expands Internet access at five community
sites and trains people to use high quality diabetes information
through libraries and the Internet. Reach 2010 seeks to eliminate
disparities for more than 12,000 African Americans diagnosed with
diabetes by improving self-management and care.
Tennessee:
Health Information Center (HIC). Recognizing Memphis as "an
unhealthy city," the Memphis Public Library's Health Information
Center serves as the central resource for health information. HIC
is now identified as the recognized community asset for
empowering Memphis citizens to improve their health.
Virginia:
Community Outreach Information Network (COIN). Sponsored by the
Tompkins-McCaw Library of Virginia Commonwealth University
Libraries, COIN offers four consumer health information centers
to the general public. Its purpose is to empower individuals to
learn more about their health.
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Last updated: 02 May 2006
First published: 02 May 2006
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