Health Literacy in an Academic Environment

Description: The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) outlines a vision for organizations and professionals to take an active role in improving health literacy. Several of its underlying goals are applicable to libraries, including those in higher education. A great opportunity exists for college and university libraries to provide high-quality health information while simultaneously educating students on how to select and use credible health information. Academic libraries independently, or in collaboration with public health services, can disseminate accurate health information and build campus-wide partnerships to improve health literacy.

This webinar focuses on identifying stakeholders, liability, goal setting and content creation. The webinar will highlight how a library from a mid-size university was able to collaborate with the university’s health service center to promote health literacy.

Presenter bio: Semhar Yohannes has been serving as a Science Reference and Instruction Librarian for nearly a decade. Following her graduation from the LIS program from the University of Maryland, College Park, she worked as the Science Librarian at Capitol Technology University, developing their information literacy program. In her current role at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), she teaches library instruction sessions, conducts reference consultations, and has developed workshops and other outreach initiatives with a strong focus on health literacy. In 2018, she obtained her Master of Public Health (MPH) degree with a concentration on health literacy in young adults.