OSU Health Sciences Library Receives National Library of Medicine Award The Greater Midwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) is pleased to announce The Ohio State University Health Sciences Library as an award recipient of the 2019-2020 NNLM All of Us Ambassador Program. Funding for this program stems from a critical partnership between the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and All of Us, an NIH research program that seeks to enroll one million or more people living in the United States to accelerate breakthroughs in precision medicine and advance treatment and prevention. Learn more about the Ambassador program here.

Healthier Communities: Libraries Improve Health Literacy, Access

Everyone needs health information. In fact, the Pew Research Center found that health
information is the second most popular type of online search (after community news and
information). A wide array of programs and services are offered by an overlapping
patchwork of government agencies and for-profit and non-profit organizations. And
healthcare delivery continues to evolve in multiple ways, especially with patients
increasingly treated as active partners in the delivery of treatment. Libraries connect
people with authoritative information, technology access and training, communityaware guidance toward obtaining relevant services, and lifelong learning related to
strengthening health and wellness. From the opioid crisis to telehealth to overall health
literacy, libraries are well-positioned to cost-effectively collaborate to build healthier
communities. This potential can be realized only with increased training for library staff
and effective partnerships that appropriately leverage library assets. Read the latest ALA Policy Perspective here. 

Celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month with the NNLM Reading Club

The NNLM All of Us Community Engagement Network is pleased to announce its three book selections in support of LGBTQ Pride Month, celebrated each June. To learn more about each of these titles, download book discussion guides, promotional materials and corresponding LGBTQ health information or to apply for a free NNLM Reading Club Book kit, visit the NNLM Reading Club Selection Guide: LGBTQ Pride Month.

ALA Annual AGSCLA Consumer Health Group Meeting

If you are heading to the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference, please join the Association of Specialized Government and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASGCLA) Consumer Health Information Librarians Interest Group for a meeting. 

When: Sunday, June 23, 2019, 10:30-11:30
Where: Washington Convention Center, 101
Description: Does your library currently or have interest in providing health outreach and programming? Want to know what free and reliable health and wellness information resources are available to you for youth, adults and underserved populations? Join the ASGCLA CHIL group to discuss consumer health topics of interest such as libraries response to the opioid crisis, providing health information to vulnerable populations, ready to use health programs for librarians and training and funding from your Regional Medical Library. Come and learn how to develop long-term partnerships and collaborations to share trusted health information with members of your community.

Vaccines Work. Here Are the Facts. The risks, the misinformation, and the science behind history’s greatest life saver. Click here to read a comic by Maki Naro on why vaccines work.

Lawrence Public Library
" Health Literacy After School Program"

Prior to expanding the health literacy after school program, the Library’s children’s department had engaged with the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center’s residency program to host a series of sessions aimed at providing health related education through activities. It launched in the Fall of 2018 and after a few sessions, it was evident that both our partner and the students participating had found a common ground in which to take vital information and make it fun, engaging, and a part of their weekly experience. In the Fall, the program focused on the Human Body and every week, using every day household items, the students would do experiments and simulations to learn about different parts of the body. The week focused on the lungs was filled with many balloons!

Through the NNLM grant, the program was able to expand significantly. This time, the theme was plants, and the medical residents were on board with planning for the use of the new technologies at the Library during the sessions. The addition of the technology coupled with the use of household items, enhanced the students’ learning and made for an enriching experience. By the last session, the students expressed how they were eager to teach their parents what they learned about growing their own food which is a great indicator of the experience having longlasting effects. Watch a PSA from Lawrence Public Library. 

The All of Us Journey visits East Brunswick Public Library

On Saturday May 4th, the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Journey visited community members and patrons at the East Brunswick Public Library in New Jersey. This was just one stop on the nationwide tour of the All of Us Journey as it raises awareness about the All of Us Research Program, an initiative which aims to speed up health research and medical breakthroughs through data provided by 1 million or more volunteer participants.

The day was a celebration promoting wellness in the region and highlighted the library’s dedication to health programs and services. The event also featured family-friendly activities provided by the East Brunswick Public Library staff, music from a DJ, and free healthy lunches from a local food truck. The event was a way to connect people to the important health initiatives that the library performs as well as an opportunity for them to learn more about the All of Us Research Program.  The library also promoted their health initiative ‘Just for the Health of It’ at the event. The East Brunswick Public Library is a past recipient of funding from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and is currently taking their health initiative mobile with assistance from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.  During the event the All of Us Journey also engaged community members with interactive activities. Visitors entered the trailer by scanning a unique information card that they use throughout the exhibit. Inside the Journey, there are educational and entertaining activities that help explain precision medicine and the importance of considering how genetics, environment, and lifestyle all influence a person’s individual health needs and status. Most importantly the All of Us Journey provides an opportunity for individuals to ask questions and have a conversation with knowledgeable staff about the program. For those wishing to, bus visitors could also sign up to be one-in-a-million and become a participant of the All of Us Research Program on stations provided inside the bus, completing the initial surveys for enrollment.

The All of Us Research Program will create a research resource to inform thousands of studies, covering a wide range of health conditions. More information about upcoming All of Us Journey stops can be found at joinallofus.org/journey. Organizations can chose to host the All of Us Journey (either at planned events like East Brunswick’s health celebration) or simply providing space for the bus to set up in your community. Individuals can also volunteer with the journey to help out for a shift if it comes to your area. To learn more about the All of Us Research Program, visit joinallofus.org/nlm.

NNLM PNR All of Us Health Literacy Outreach Awards!

NNLM PNR All of Us Health Literacy Outreach Awards of up to $19,000 each were awarded to support two impactful public library partner projects:

Healthy Pathways: Programs, Resources, and Education for Multnomah County’s Vietnamese, Cantonese, and Mandarin Communities. Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR.
Multnomah County Library (MCL), Portland, Oregon, will plan, pilot, and evaluate a six healthy lifestyle workshop series for Asian families in Multnomah County with a specific focus on Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Cantonese speaking populations. The project will support these communities' health literacy needs by offering culturally relevant health lifestyle programs on nutrition and healthy cooking, fitness and stress relief in their own language. Each program will include a short presentation on MedlinePlus showing participants how to access health and healthy lifestyle information in different languages by library staff.

MCL is focusing on healthy lifestyle education because it is one of the core tenants of precision medicine, which is a focus of the NNLM All of Us Community Engagement Network and is a needed topic in these particular communities, as evidenced by health outcomes including diabetes, social isolation and low birth weights.

Library staff will share promotional materials for the All of Us Research Program at their library locations and during the programs. Staff will be available to interpret All of Us Research Program promotional information that is not available in Vietnamese, Cantonese, and Mandarin.

Access Health at East Adams. East Adams Library District, Ritzville, WA.
The East Adams Library District is a small, rural library in Eastern Washington. Access Health at East Adams will allow East Adams Library District to join the NNLM in their mission to “improve the public’s access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health” by:

• offering an adult centric, monthly health literacy program which follows NNLM’s selected National Health Observances.
• creating a dedicated health and social services computer and workstation to provide patrons the ability to access various health and social services including but not limited to: MedlinePlus, Genetics Home Reference, health insurance and/or Medicare/Medicaid, telemedicine, and other needs based programs.
• increasing the health literacy skills of library staff through staff training on NLM/NIH health websites and participation in professional development opportunities.
• Staff will be trained on the All of Us Research Program aims and All of Us promotional resources will be available in the library and shared at the monthly NHO topical programs.