What I particularly like about this title (apart from the fact that, as an A5-size book, I am able to pop it in my bag for easy reading) is that the editor was not currently working in libraries so was giving the reader a fresh new perspective from her role as a business projects and intelligence manager for a not-for-profit healthcare organisation devoted to improving both providers' and patients' experience of care. What adds to the very generic health approach of this book is that Michele Spatz holds a master's degree in LIS as well as a certificate in Lean Six Sigma. This gives the book a relevance much broader than often seen from similar titles penned by highly experienced librarians and makes this a book worth adding to collections in many healthcare settings due to its transferable skills and ideas for marketing and liaison teams, as well as human resources, education and, of course, librarians.
More than any other employment situation, the breadth of client ages, cultures, abilities and needs found in the health sector can be quite dramatic. This book, in 13 short chapters, crystallizes the innumerable issues to be considered when examining or re-examining the information needs in the health setting. To put it in the simplest terms, the editor uses her broad career background and education to focus this text from the perspective of lifelong learning.
This book is logically set out, commencing with an overview of the subject in the chapter titled History of Consumer and Patient Health Librarianship and proceeds to escort the reader through the suggested stages of the project via subjects devoted to needs assessment, planning, budgeting, technology, staff, ethics, diversity, sensitivities and marketing. Other key areas that make this an invaluable resource include chapters on strategic partnerships and on social media – two of the trickiest topics for the more mature librarian or library manager to come to grips with. The concluding chapter on strategic partnerships adds to the book's value for the experienced professional.
Supporting the concise, informative and easily negotiated chapters of this little book are well-constructed lists of figures and tables and a solid index. Each chapter has a short bibliography of key, mostly periodical, references that facilitate further reading. The use of clear monochrome illustrations in addition to the numerous useful tables and figures makes this a very user-friendly book for catching up or refreshing quickly and painlessly on this topic.
This is certainly a title that belongs in every health library or on the desks of librarians, marketers and educators. It is comprehensive in its scope and covers all aspects of consumer and patient health and medical information.