Resources for Planning a Consumer Health Library
Listed below are resources for those beginning or expanding consumer health collections.
Consumer Health Information Source Book.
Alan Rees (ed.), 7th Edition, Oryx Press, June 2003, ISBN: 1573565091
This is a classic book of consumer health sources, and has kept up with the changes in health care and information delivery systems. This book provides a comprehensive guide to popular health information in both print and electronic formats for the general public. It can be used for both collection development and reference services. The book provides descriptive evaluations of more than 385 books, 165 popular health magazines and newsletters, 1,500 English-language pamphlets, 850 Spanish-language pamphlets, 215 toll-free information hotlines, 325 health resource and referral organizations, 31 online and fax-based information services and CD-ROMs, and 40 medical textbooks, monographs, and journals.
This book also contains a chapter on the library’s role as a provider of consumer health information, and profiles of 12 outstanding consumer health libraries associated with hospitals, health care agencies, or public libraries.
CAPHIS - Consumer and Patient Health Information Section of the Medical Library Association
http://caphis.mlanet.org/
CAPHIS is the section of the Medical Library Association dedicated to serving the needs of consumer health librarians. To become a member of CAPHIS, one must first be a member of MLA; however the CAPHIS Listserv is an unmoderated discussion list created for people interested in consumer and patient information and is highly recommended.
The CAPHIS website provides a starting place for health science and public librarians interested in consumer health. The section entitled "How Do You Set Up and Run a Consumer Health Library?" has several excellent bibliographies and chapters on planning, budgeting, staffing, collection development, reference services, and theory.
National Network of Libraries of Medicine
http://nnlm.gov/
The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) is dedicated to serving the health information needs of librarians, health care practitioners, educators and consumers across the United States. The Program is coordinated by the National Library of Medicine and carried out through a nationwide network of health science libraries, public libraries, and information centers.
Member libraries in the NN/LM provide health professionals and the general public with health information resources and services. Members are supported via eight regional offices under contract to the National Library of Medicine. The National Library of Medicine oversees these contracts.
Membership in the NN/LM is free. If you are providing health information resources through a library, information center or other organization, your organization is eligible for membership in the NN/LM. Benefits of membership include free promotional items, free health information and database training for your staff, opportunities to apply for funding, and networking opportunities with health sciences libraries and other members of the Network.
To join, go to http://nnlm.gov and click on the image of your state. Each Regional home page has a "Join the Network" link.
Medical Library Association Mental Health Special Interest Group
http://www6.miami.edu/mhsig/
The purpose of the Medical Library Association (MLA) Mental Health Special Interest Group is to foster cooperation and support among libraries and librarians whose collections or services include the literature of mental health. The MLA Mental Health SIG:
- Provides a forum for exchange of knowledge about psychiatry, psychology, mental health issues, and mind-body connection.
- Facilitates communication and collaboration in the development and delivery of information services related to these areas.
- Promotes the exchange of ideas and experiences in promoting and marketing mental health issues.
- Collaborates with Sections to develop relevant mental health programming at MLA and promote professional development for librarians in this area.
The Mental Health SIG’s online discussion list, MHLIB, is open to anyone with an interest in mental health librarianship and issues.
Bringing Health Information to the Community
http://library.med.utah.edu/blogs/BHIC/
This blog, created and maintained by Siobhan Champ-Blackwell, Community Outreach Liaison of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine MidContinental Region, focuses on health information issues related to the community, especially underserved communities. It is an excellent way to stay up on the latest issues and funding involving health information. You can also receive a daily digest version of the blog by emailing Siobhan Champ-Blackwell.
Public Libraries and Community Partners: Working Together to Provide Health Information
http://nnlm.gov/outreach/community/
This website, designed to encourage health information partnerships between public libraries, local health or community-based organizations, and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM), was developed by the Consumer Health Coordinators of the NN/LM. It links to resources about providing health information services, and contains a step-by-step set of guides for health information outreach in the community, "Guides for Developing a Community-based Health Information Program."
