Volume 24, Number 3 (2005)

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https://hdl.handle.net/1805/1203

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Browsing Volume 24, Number 3 (2005) by Subject "Health -- Information resources"

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    From the Editor's Desktop
    (H.W. Wilson Company, 2005) Burek Pierce, Jennifer
    This general issue, with its focus on health information, represents a touchstone for me, first because it explores a compelling area of professional interest and also because it is the last issue of Indiana Libraries of my editorship. Connecting with the professionals who have worked on these essays (as well as those that have come before) has been a thought-provoking experience. Essays addressing a range of health information topics written by librarians with diverse insights into health as a professional concern form the content of this issue.
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    Health Literacy: Challenges and Implications for Consumer Health Librarians
    (H.W. Wilson Company, 2005) Orban, Elizabeth
    In recent years libraries have experienced a bigger demand from the general public for accessible and reliable health information sources and services. Not only have public libraries been responding to the growing needs of America’s health-conscious consumers, but many academic and hospital libraries have responded as well, opening their doors to worried patients and inquisitive community members in search of valuable, even life-saving, medical information. Extending health information services to the layperson involves unique challenges that all librarians must recognize and address if they are to effectively meet the diverse information needs of today’s health consumer. Because consumers may rely on the health information they obtain from libraries to make important decisions regarding their personal well-being, it is imperative that the librarians responsible for selecting and disseminating consumer health information are mindful of the far-reaching implications of their services. This paper will explore some of the most important issues involved in providing patrons with consumer health information, and, more importantly, offer practical strategies for managing these issues.
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    IN Health Connect: Connecting Local Health Services to Quality-Filtered Health Information
    (H.W. Wilson Company, 2005) Richwine, Peggy
    To many librarians, the term MEDLINE has connotations of a huge, complex database that returns far too many citations with little relevance or readability for most library users. And although some might expect that MedlinePlus is more of the same, it is really QFWBFTCHI – quality-filter, web-based, full-text, consumer health information. Unlike MEDLINE, MedlinePlus is relevant and readable for the library user seeking health information. Librarians in Indiana have contributed to a unique dimension of MedlinePlus, IN Health Connect, which offers state residents consumer health information specific to the region where they live. Some background on MedlinePlus prefaces the development of this initiative.
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    Promoting Improved Access to Consumer Health Information
    (H.W. Wilson Company, 2005) Kaiser, Josephine
    “Do you have any information on lupus?” “What are the side effects of Prozac?” “I want to find an herbal remedy for arthritis.” Questions such as these are asked each day across the country at public library reference desks. The boom of interest in consumer health, fueled by changes in society and the medical system itself, has strained the infrastructure for dissemination of such information, including at the local public library. In response to this problem, medical libraries, led by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), have explored methods of partnering with public libraries to provide improved consumer health information for their clientele. Cooperation between medical and public libraries has proven to be quite effective.