Consumer Health Information Provision: A Workshop for Librarians

Abstract

Librarians in all library settings may receive health-related questions from patrons. Librarians in settings outside of medical and consumer health libraries may not have received training or experience in consumer health information provision. Two medical librarians with extensive consumer health information experience developed a two-day training workshop for local area librarians. The first day of the training focused on finding and evaluating medical apps for patrons. The second day emphasized consumer health information provision: consumer health reference interview, ethics, website evaluation, and demonstrations of several reliable consumer health websites. This paper explores the development and implementation of the consumer health information workshop.

KEYWORDS:

• Consumer health information
• mobile health apps
• public libraries
• training

About the Authors

Dana L. Ladd, MS, SLIS, Ph.D. ([email protected]) is Associate Professor, Community Health Education Center Librarian, Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1200 East Marshall Street, Richmond, VA 23298.

Emily J. Hurst, MSLS, AHIP ([email protected]) is Assistant Professor, Deputy Director, Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University, 509 N, 12 Street, Box 980582 Richmond, VA 23298.