Check Out New NN/LM Consumer Health Workshop Materials on the NTCC!

Four new consumer health workshops including handouts, scripts and exercises are available through the National Training Center and Clearinghouse.

The classes are:

These courses were developed by Jo-Ann Benedetti, a librarian from New York. Medical Library Association continuing education (CE) credit is available if the courses are taught by an NN/LM Coordinator. The classes are intended for public librarians, but some of the materials are quite adaptable for other professions such as nurses and allied health. If you are interested in having one of us present one of these classes at your institution, please contact Michelle Eberle at michelle.eberle@umassmed.edu or call 800-338-7657.

The New England Region is also now offering three other new classes for Medical Library Association credit. The classes are:

• Caring for the Mind: Providing Reference Services for Mental Health Information (3 CE)
• Consumer Health: An Evidence Based Approach to Complementary and Alternative Medicine (4 CE)
• ¿No Comprende? Spanish Health Information Resources for English Speaking Librarians (4 CE)

New Collaboration Tool for Public Libraries and Community Partners Debuts

In August, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) launched a new web site, "Public Libraries and Community Partners: Working Together to Provide Health Information" available at http://nnlm.gov/libinfo/community.

This web resource is intended to serve as a guide to encourage health information partnerships between public libraries, members of the NN/LM, and local health or community-based organizations. The site includes background information about consumer health as well as suggestions for providing health information services. There are also six Guides that provide extensive information for organizations that are interested in preparing health outreach projects in their local communities. These projects are examples of how public libraries and other agencies can apply for funding from the NN/LM or other sources.

We welcome your feedback about this new tool for collaboration! E-mail michelle.eberle@umassmed.edu with comments or questions about this new resource.

Michelle Eberle, Consumer Health Coordinator

Consumer Health Information Network (CHIN)
Yale Cushing / Whitney Medical Library and New Haven Free Public Library

The Consumer Health Information Network (CHIN) opened in 2002 at the New Haven Free Public Library's Ives Library and its three branches. CHIN is a collaboration of the Yale School of Medicine, the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library, the Epidemiology and Public Health Library and the New Haven Free Public Library in Connecticut. The goal of CHIN is to bring accurate, current and comprehensive health information to the public in New Haven. The development of the Consumer Health Information Network involved updating the consumer health collection at the public library, training staff on health resources, and offering health related workshops for the community. The first several years of the CHIN were funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region (NNLM/NER)

To begin collection development for CHIN, staff at the New Haven Free Library consulted collection development resources on CAPHIS and proceeded to develop guidelines for collection development for consumer health. Fifty six books and eight circulating videos were purchased to update the collection. The most frequently requested titles included diet, cancer and pregnancy.

The electronic resources were also updated. After careful review of consumer databases available, three products were selected. These were an electronic subscription to five textbooks through OVID, Well-Connected and the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. The library already has access to the Health and Wellness Resource Center from the Gale Group which is available through the Connecticut Digital Library.

A web site was developed for the Consumer Health Information Network. It was officially launched in the fall of 2002. The site is http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/library/healthnetwork/

CHIN held some creative health programs for the community of New Haven. Local professionals and neighborhood clinic staffs were tapped to present programs including:

• Parkinson's Disease Educational Program
• Summer Safety for Teens
• The Healing Power of Art
• Movement Therapy and Body Image
• What is Diabetes?
• Healthy Eating Through the Holidays

  The librarians at CHIN also exhibited at the Connecticut Library Association and the Professional Holistic Fair at Quinnipiac University. Allison Botelho, CHIN Project Coordinator and New Haven Public Reference librarian taught "Introduction to Health Databases", a hands-on class for the public at the Ives Library on May 25, 2004.

  The Consumer Health Information Network, a collaboration between the Yale Cushing/Whitney Medical Library and the New Haven Free Public Library is an excellent example of a successful community partnership for health information outreach. The public library has also been able to continue their services since the end of the subcontract funding. This is a true measure of success of a subcontract. Future efforts of the Consumer Health Information Network include increasing emphasis on reference, focusing on training the public to use the CHIN databases, continuing to update and expand the print collection, creating a consumer health collection at the soon-to-be built state of the art Courtland S. Wilson Branch in the Hill neighborhood and developing more kiosks similar to the library's Shaw Supermarket kiosk that features the Consumer Health Information Network in a heavily trafficked neighborhood location.