Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, for instance, hosts Connections4Health, a program in which college student volunteers refer patrons to health resources, including those that address food insecurity, transportation, housing, and immigration concerns. In Ithaca, New York, Tompkins County Public Library teams up with Cornell University and Ithaca College for Ballet and Books, in which college students … Continue reading Exercise Your Resources
ALS—or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease—is a motor neuron disorder characterized by progressive weakening of muscles, often beginning in the legs or arms. More than 5,000 people in the US are diagnosed with ALS each year, and about 20,000 have it at any given time. After diagnosis, most patients die within … Continue reading Librarians Defeating ALS
That’s what it took to come up with the idea of the Zombie Pandemic Preparedness Workshop, held October 25 at Gwinnett County (Ga.) Public Library’s (GCPL) Suwanee branch. The workshop taught attendees how to plan and prepare for a real-life pandemic. Participants learned crucial tips such as the importance of having an emergency supply kit … Continue reading Library Zombie Workshop Is a No-Brainer Success
“The city of Camden has only one grocery store, and most city residents rely on small stores and bodegas for food,” says Devlin. “These stores have a more limited supply of healthy food, which limits meal planning.” Inspired by a visit to the nearby Culinary Literacy Center at the Free Library of Philadelphia, Devlin decided … Continue reading A Movable Feast
Staff members of Houston Public Library (HPL) discusses the WIC food and nutrition center in one of their branches in the session “What Having a WIC Center in Your Library Brings (Besides Crying Babies)” on March 22. Drew Alvey, manager of HPL’s Stimley-Blue Ridge branch, spoke of the WIC center project consisting of three overlapping … Continue reading WIC, Wellness, and Libraries
Patients today are now expected to be more involved in making decisions about their health, and as they search for information librarians are often asked questions like the ones above. In her presentation, “The Health Needs of Your Community Are Increasing. How Will You Meet Them?,” Bobbi Newman, a community engagement and outreach coordinator for … Continue reading Hungry for Health Information
For some libraries serving vulnerable populations, food-producing gardens and nutrition initiatives are born out of necessity. Others have launched programs to advance the causes of sustainability and education. When David Mixdorf was named director of the South Sioux City (Neb.) Public Library in 2009, he was well positioned to establish the library’s first community garden. … Continue reading Library to Farm to Table
Librarians from South Africa, Croatia, Sri Lanka, and the United States presented findings from diverse initiatives, campaigns, and studies, mostly focusing on the librarian’s role in facilitating health information for the public and acting as a bridge to professional medical resources. Praba Naidoo of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa, presented on a … Continue reading Bridging the Health Divide
Instead, Davis assists patrons with their health care questions by helping them find information on Medline-Plus, an authoritative, free website where the public can find health information in more than 40 languages. Although Davis, a former medical librarian, is familiar with health care topics, most public librarians do not necessarily have a medical background. Still … Continue reading Improving Health Literacy, One Public Library at a Time
Unfortunately, according to Christian Minter, NLM Associate Fellow at Welch Library, Johns Hopkins University, 36% of adults in the US (87 million people) have basic or below basic health literacy. Low health literacy leads to $106 to $236 billion in health care costs annually because of higher use of emergency rooms, longer hospitalizations, and other … Continue reading Public Health and Public Libraries
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), with open enrollment for health insurance running from October 1, 2013, through March 14, 2014, may turn out to be as busy as April tax time for libraries. And as with taxes, those manning the reference desk are not expected to be experts or to help people complete the paperwork, … Continue reading Studying Up on Health Care Literacy
