Volume 4 - Issue 5
In This Issue: |
  New Projects Come Alive!
It's been an exciting few weeks watching the time and effort of the previous months "come to life" with the launch of two web-based resources for quality consumer health information for the residents of Massachusetts. e-Mental Health in Central Massachusetts and Go Local Massachusetts seek to provide users with better awareness of, and easier access to, the healthcare services available in their local areas. Both projects are sponsored by the Lamar Soutter Library (LSL), University of Massachusetts Medical School, and made possible through funding from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, New England Region. e-Mental Health in Central Massachusetts is a collaborative effort between LSL and several mental health agencies in the region. Visits with representatives from these agencies offered insight into five types of resources the Library could provide that would be helpful to practitioners as well as their patients/clients. These included:
Today, the website offers contact information to approximately 400 agencies from Winchendon to Webster, Hardwick to Harvard, and all of the towns in between that make up Central Massachusetts. Other features include links to authoritative educational materials on 35 common mental health conditions, recent news stories from sources such as the National Mental Health Association, "Ask a Librarian" reference assistance, and document delivery services for the professional staff of our partner agencies. Finally, to improve the information literacy skills of users, on-line tutorials and classroom sessions for practitioners are being developed and will be available in the near future. Go Local Massachusetts is designed to help users identify local health services, healthcare providers, and health-related programs that correspond to the information about a variety of health topics found on MedlinePlus. Since 1998, MedlinePlus has supplied quality-filtered consumer health information on more than 650 diseases and conditions. Massachusetts joins Indiana, North Carolina and Missouri as one of four states providing its residents with information to local health services through the "Go Local" project of the National Library of Medicine. 
Now, residents of Massachusetts can use the "Go Local Massachusetts" link on MedlinePlus health topics pages to find information about related local health services in their geographical area. For example, if you choose "Go Local Massachusetts" from the MedlinePlus Lyme Disease page, you will be able to find links to Health Education Programs, Public Health Services, and Support Groups that address this disease in your town or region. "Go Local Massachusetts" currently provides information for close to 1,500 services throughout the Commonwealth. The database is growing daily with the goal of becoming a comprehensive collection over the next 12 months. Questions or comments regarding either of these projects, as well as suggestions for sites/services to be included are welcomed. Please direct them to Sally Gore (sally.gore@umassmed.edu), Project Librarian, Lamar Soutter Library, the University of Massachusetts Medical School.  GOVERNMENT INFORMATION: MAINTAINING FREE AND UNRESTRICTED ACCESS
For over 140 years, the Government Printing Office (GPO) has kept America informed by producing and distributing publications from all three branches of the U.S. Government. The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was established by Congress to ensure that the American public has access to that information. Today, nearly 1,300 libraries nationwide have been designated as Federal depositories. Under the FDLP program, these libraries make available a wide range of government material. There are certainly parallels between the NN/LM and the FDLP. The mission of the NN/LM includes providing "equal access to biomedical information" and improving "the public's access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health." Likewise, the mission of the FDLP is "to ensure that the American public has access to its Government's information" and the libraries in the FDLP network are "committed to equity of access" and "free and unrestricted public use." Just as the NN/LM is the link between biomedical information and health professionals and consumers, the FDLP is the link between Government publications and U.S. citizens. Today, of course, more and more government information is available on the Web. Nevertheless, some materials are still only available in print; some are easier to use in print format (just think of maps, for one); and some patrons simply prefer to read print copies (many senior citizens, for example, are uncomfortable using computers). FDLP libraries not only receive and organize government materials in various formats, but they also provide professional assistance in accessing and using it. In New England, there are Regional depository libraries in Connecticut (Connecticut State Library in Hartford - also serves Rhode Island); Massachusetts (Boston Public Library); and Maine (University of Maine, Orono - also serves New Hampshire and Vermont). Regional depositories receive all Federal publications. There are also 86 selective depositories around the region, which collect specific types of Federal materials. For instance, the Lamar Soutter Library at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester collects about 11% of all Federal materials - mostly of a medical nature. These publications, both print and electronic, are cataloged, and the paper copies, fiche, CDs and videos are shelved appropriately. The FDLP libraries work hard to provide all citizens with access to government documents. Keeping the flow of information going and protecting the rights of U.S. citizens to access information from the Federal government is more important than ever today. So - the next time you need U.S. government documents or have questions about them - contact your friendly, helpful FDLP librarian! APRIL 2005 New Public Health Information and Data Tutorial Released 
The National Library of Medicine, in collaboration with the University of Michigan Public Health Library & Informatics Division and Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce has released the Public Health Information and Data Tutorial. This online tutorial, at http://phpartners.org/tutorial/, is a new tool designed to help the public health workforce effectively locate and use health information. The Public Health Information and Data Tutorial helps public health workers use and manage the wealth of information available from myriad sources. The tutorial is made up of four modules:
"In these modules, users can learn how to build a plan to stay informed about developments and events related to public health, find reliable and authoritative consumer-oriented materials to support health education goals, retrieve statistical information, access data sets relevant to public health, and use information in support of evidence-based practice," commented Marjorie A. Cahn, head of the National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR), NLM's lead office in the creation of the tutorial. The Public Health Information and Data Tutorial builds on the success of Public Health Information and Data: A Training Manual, a publication for those developing training for the public health workforce published by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and the National Library of Medicine, and prepared by the NN/LM Public Health Training Workgroup. The Public Health Information and Data Tutorial captures these critical strategies employed by information specialists in the field to locate and manage public health information in an easily accessibly online format. The Public Health Information and Data Tutorial was developed collaboratively by staff of the University of Michigan Public Health Library & Informatics Division, the Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce project, and the National Library of Medicine.  Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce (http://phpartners.org) is a collaboration of U.S. government agencies, public health organizations, and health sciences libraries. The group's mission is to help the public health workforce find and use information effectively, to improve and protect the public's health. Hathy Simpson |
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NLM | NN/LM | NER Comments to: Rebecca.Zenaro@umassmed.edu |
University of Massachusetts Medical School 222 Maple Avenue Shrewsbury, MA 01545 Phone: 800-338-7657 508-856-5979 Fax: 508-856-5977 |