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While all patron questions are important, health related questions can have life or death consequences. And even when the stakes aren't quite that high, helping patrons find information to make sound decisions on health issues can be intimidating.

Here are some resources and tips that can help you increase your own skills and help your patrons meet their health information needs.

Work the Network (of Libraries of Medicine)
The staff at the Pacific Northwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine have put together a set of extremely useful resources. Their "Serving the Public: Health Information for the Public Program" includes information specifically designed for public librarians.

One don't miss article is "Nine Ways You Can Really Help Consumers Needing Health Information". In it they provide a set of clear steps that use can take to improve how you provide health information to your patrons.

Another resource for library staff is their "Best Health Favorites for Your Computer ...or to put on a public access computer".  This is a great way to quickly get a set of high-quality, annotated links to online health resources in both English and Spanish.

These are just highlights of the resources and tools available on the Serving the Public site. There are also links to online tutorials, handouts for patrons, and training opportunities for public librarians.

A wider range of resources, including guides to consumer health workshops for public librarians and funding opportunities can be found on the National Network of Libraries of Medicine website in the Librarian & Health Educator Resources area.

In Your Neighborhood
Medical libraries in your area can be an important resource. The National Network of Libraries of Medicine has a directory of U.S. health libraries can be used to find addresses and phone numbers, and libraries that serve the public.

Learning from the Best
Yet another service of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine is their series of Consumer Health Workshops for Public Librarians.

The workshops include:

Beyond an Apple a Day: Providing Consumer Health Information in a Public Library

Looking in all the Wrong Places: PubMed for Public Librarians

Prescription for Success: Consumer Health Information on the Internet

From Snake Oil to Penicillin: Evaluating Consumer Health Information on the Internet

Course materials, links to regional training providers, and information on continuing education credits are available for each course.

Other training opportunities may be offered by your state library agency or library network or consortium.

For example, the Health Sciences Library of Minnesota, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, recently offered a workshop on Reference Tools for Health Questions. Local workshops have the added advantage of helping you connect with other local agencies that can be partners in providing consumer health information.

Information, Not Advice
In helping library patrons with health information take care not to advise, interpret, or suggest a particular course of action or treatment. Nine Ways You Can Really Help Consumers Needing Health Information suggests the following guidelines:

When you deliver information, you can:

• Comment on the authority of the source
• Comment on the methodology of the work
• Comment on the credentials of the author/s
• Rephrase the information, if the information is too difficult for the consumer to read
• Represent various approaches to the same health issue

• Not analyze the contents
• Not interpret the contents
• Not advocate for one course of action or another

Providing a disclaimer may also help remind both library staff and patrons of the limitations on the library's role in providing health information. Here's an example from the Health Science Library of Minnesota's workshop:

"This information is provided by *** Library and is for informational purposes only. It should not be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your health care professional for advice relating to a medical problem or condition."

Healthnet, the Connecticut Consumer Health Information Network has an extremely clear and detailed set of "Guidelines for Providing Medical Information to Consumers".

Resources for Patrons
One of the most effective ways to help both staff and patrons is to assemble a carefully selected and annotated set of links to the best online health resources.

Start by taking a look at the online resources suggested by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine in "Best Health Favorites for Your Computer...or to put on a public access computer"

Also check out the Medical Library Association's "User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web".

The Health Information Center of the Montgomery County (MD) Public Libraries maintains a large collection of annotated health links.

The Skokie (IL) Public Library also has a substantial and clearly organized set of annotated health & medicine links.

Don't forget to include local online health resources and agencies in your library's online health information links.