MAC Messages Number 86:
March/April 2001

When the Medical Library at Cape Fear Valley Health System moved to its present location in 1982, a Consumer Health section was added. However, few members of the community know about the existence of this service. Numerous methods for advertising the collection have been attempted including phonebook listings, radio programs, a television broadcast and distribution of information cards to area physician offices. The Librarian felt that one of the best means of promoting this service was to enlist the help of the public library staff. With the cooperation of the Cumberland County Public Library staff member responsible for training of the Reference personnel, a two-hour workshop was designed. The workshop was offered twice, to allow maximum participation.

The first step was to poll the Public Library staff to assess their areas of interest. After obtaining the feedback, the Public Library training coordinator and the medical librarian met to develop a presentation outline. The following areas of interest were identified:

1. How to conduct a reference interview for health information (special considerations).
2. Good health information books already available at the Public Library.
3. Recommended health information books for the Public Library.
4. Review of the Medical and Health resources available on NCLive (a statewide collection of electronic resources).
5. Cape Fear Valley Health System information resources available to the community.
6. Health statistics reporting and availability. Recommended Web sites.

The attendees at the workshop were brimming with questions. It was obvious that the Public Library staff encountered requests for health information daily and they wanted to learn more about how to help. Much time was spent talking about the Reference Interview as staff members asked for advice about how to handle personal and difficult situations. We didn't have enough time to do a thorough job on the NCLive databases. One reference librarian asked, "Which database is the best?" I explained that database selection depends on the needs of the requester. I recommended three databases as the best, depending on user need: CINAHL, EBSCO's Health Source Plus and MEDLINE. Perhaps a full two-hour session can be done later on the NCLive resources.

Establishing rapport with the Public Library staff will facilitate meeting user need for health information in our community. Drawing attention to the many services available through the hospital should help put healthcare consumers in touch with needed services. One of the challenges of keeping the public library staff informed about health resources is high staff turnover. The workshop will need to be repeated periodically for new staff.

*** A recent article about the consumer health service at our library appeared in the Fayetteville Observer.
http://www.fayettevillenc.com/obj_stories/2001/feb/f05check.shtml

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