Greetings!

Apologies for the lateness of this message regarding an online discussion
that started yesterday and continues today on "The Librarian’s Role in
Health Literacy".  As I am taking this year off from my work at the
Ontario Prevention Clearinghouse to pursue my Master's degree in
Information Studies (library and information science stream), I should
have known about this topic a little earlier and shared it with CLICK4HP
list. Ah well, it is 'papers, presentations, and exams' time for me, so I
have missed a few things. If you have been following the work being done
at the Canadian Public Health Association on health literacy, and by Dr.
Irving Rootman on the same topic (see OHPE Bulletin 376, August 27, 2004
at http://ohpe.ca/ebulletin/feature.cfm) - then this issue may be of
interest to you. The Health Literacy Network has two more online
discussions planned January 19-20 and February 10-11.  Check it out below!

Alison Stirling,
co-facilitator, CLICK4HP

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Librarian’s Role in Health Literacy
Health Literacy Network online discussion December 8-9, 2004
*with guest librarians *Kara Thompson*, Communications Coordinator, NN/LM
Greater Midwest Region and *Dawna Rumball*, (MLIS, CAS and MEd) a
Saskatchewan-based advocate for accessible information for people with
disabilities.

Librarians are well equipped to play an important role in health literacy
work. The individual's right to information has long been an accepted
tenet of the profession. Expertise in areas such as health, information
literacy, user needs and limitations, special audiences, and knowledge of
the power of cooperation and resource sharing gives librarians enormous
potential in meeting the health literacy challenge.

Ruth Parker and Gary Kreps* argue that "Library professionals have a
unique opportunity to help bridge health literacy challenges by developing
new and effective communication strategies for disseminating relevant
health information to audiences with differing levels of health literacy."
Sharon Grant** discusses forging new partnerships between health sciences
librarians and public librarians.

At the Health Literacy Network, we propose even broader partnerships:
cooperation between health sciences librarians, public librarians, school
librarians, and special librarians working in diverse community agencies
can make a real difference for people with health literacy difficulties.

Join us on Wednesday and Thursday December 8-9 for an asynchronous
discussion (or email your questions/comments in advance for anonymous
posting).

Participation is free! For more information about the Health Literacy
Network online community or upcoming discussions, email Shelley Hourston
at [log in to unmask]

* Ruth Parker and Gary L. Kreps. "Library Outreach: Overcoming Health
Literacy Challenges." Available at
http://medstat.med.utah.edu/symposium/docs/ParkerKrepsOutreach.pdf

**Sharon Grant. "Information Literacy and Consumer Health," July 2002,
White Paper prepared for UNESCO, the U.S. National Commission on Libraries
and Information Science, and the National Forum on Information Literacy,
for use at the Information Literacy Meeting of Experts, Prague, The Czech
Republic. Available at
http://www.nclis.gov/libinter/infolitconf&meet/papers/grant-fullpaper.pdf .

*Upcoming Online Discussions:

January 19-20, 2005
*/Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health
Message
/with author Helen Osborne.

*February 10-11, 2005
*Accessible Sexual Health with guest Gail McVicar, sexual health educator
with Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada.

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