HLABC is an organization dedicated to supporting health libraries, their staff, and anyone interested in the search and discovery of health information. For more information, please click here.
We began looking at a Health Literacy plan for Surrey Libraries in the winter of 2009, after reviewing the work done by Richmond Public Library and Vancouver Coastal Health. To date, our health literacy plan has mostly involved building relationships with healthcare professionals, and expanding our collections in the area of Consumer Health, particularly at the new City Centre Library. Regarding the latter, we invested over $5000 in building on the existing health resources that transferred from the Whalley Library. This new Consumer Health collection focuses primarily on resources in the areas of mental wellness, addictions, and chronic conditions (diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, cancer, respiratory diseases, etc.).
While we continue to strengthen our Consumer Health resources, where we would like to improve is in the area of marketing these materials to the public and improving the health literacy of Surrey residents. “Searching for Health Information Online” classes have not been well attended in the past, so we are looking at new ways that we can educate our patrons about the materials, services and programs that we offer.
One of our goals is to develop stronger relationships with Fraserhealth and other health care agencies so that we can grow our opportunities for partnership in the area of health literacy. We currently partner with them to offer Babytimes at the Guildford Library which are hosted by a public health nurse. We also continue to host workshops with S.U.C.C.E.S.S. on a variety of health topics, and these sessions are well attended.
Through the BC Health Literacy and Public Libraries Network, we have developed contacts with various health professionals and literacy practitioners. One key relationship that grew out of the network was our partnership with Douglas College’s Nursing Program in January 2011. Surrey Libraries hosted 2 nursing students for their community based practicum from January to April 2011, and we hope to partner with them again in future.
Another area that we are working on is organizing and centralizing the different events going on at the library and in the broader community, so that our patrons can more easily find out about health related events of interest to them. Similarly, we are redesigning the Health & Wellness section of our website to make it more relevant and not just a long list of links.
Asian Publications (Surrey) for all S. Asian languages
Tsai Fong Books (Texas) for Japanese, Vietnamese
Today’s Books (Burnaby) and Panmun (Korea) for Korean
Urdu Bazar (Surrey) for Urdu
Continental books (Colorado) for Spanish
Goethe Books (Toronto) for German
Tania Tong orders Chinese and I always forget the suppliers, so check with her as Chinese is our largest collection
MiddleEast Bookstore (Montreal) for Arabic
Thiessen, Tanya [TDThiessen@surrey.ca]
I have completed the evaluation for HLABC's Feb 16th "unconference for regular and prospective members. On behalf of the Executive, let me take this opportunity to thank Marjorie Jardine for booking JIBC's well-equipped computer lab and for being "on deck" for the unconference before, during and after.
Report on Unconference, Feb 16th, 2012
Location: Justice Institute of BC, New Westminster
Time: 6:30 to 8:00pm 1.5 hours structured opening section with Sue Bradley demonstrating PubReMiner
Participants: 15 attendees; 11 arrived to participate in-person; 5 beamed in via WebEx
WebEx worked well for the presenters and without incident
Comments: "That was a lot of fun.... when is the next one?"
HLABC President Linda Howard discussed two excellent sites for psychosocial and geriatric QoL scales
These are now on the HLWIKI Canada Finding health questionnaires, scales & tests
Thanks to all. Our next unconference will likely be at UBC in April or later.
In the meantime, mark off March 27th for a special evening (6-8pm at UBC Koerner Library) bringing together LIBR534 Students and HLABC members for an evening of shared innovation. So far, Andrea Freeman, Devon Greyson, Doug Salzwedel, Greg Rowell, Sharon Stevens & Linda Howard have agreed to speak. I will also ask two groups of two students to present their research.
Its Valentine's Day! This seems like a perfect opportunity to talk about how we might go about romancing our library users. How do you go about charming your library users to visit your library and feel welcome coming back? I like to first and foremost have a welcoming presence in my library with plants, blankets, and good signage. I check to make sure the library has pens, scrap paper, and that the photocopier and printer are filled with paper. I also like to provide a warm and friendly welcome to any new library users to encourage them to return. When I teach library workshops, I usually come armed with pamphlets about library resources to hand out after the teaching session. Sometimes I follow up via email with the class attendees thanking them for attending. I also like to get out of the library to remind the staff and physicians at my hospital that I am alive and well and willing to take literature search requests in the hall or cafeteria. If I have a chance, I deliver some articles directly to users, especially those staff who cannot easily get out of their units. The other day I offered to deliver articles to a nurse in emergency. In the process of doing this, I had an opportunity to meet some other doctors and nurses I serve and ask them about life in the ER. They started telling me about research projects they are exploring. Hum, there must be an article for that!
How do you romance your library users? Email me at Linda.Howard@fraserhealth.ca
Linda Howard, President, HLABC
Room C028, Justice Institute of BC, New Westminster (or WebEx)
We are happy to report that the first of two unconferences will take place on Feb. 16th 2012 in the computer lab of the Justice Institute of BC [map] in New Westminster starting at 6:30pm. Mark your calendars~!
The unconference session is designed to allow any member to speak briefly on a topic of their choosing for a casual atmosphere of learning, knowledge sharing and continuing education. HLABC members are encouraged to attend in person, or virtually using WebEx.
Virtual attendees are encouraged to participate and present as well! Instructions on using WebEx will be distributed on the HLABC listserv before the event.
More information about the unconference is available on the HLABC website.
The Medical Library Association (MLA) is holding its next annual conference in Seattle, May 18th – 23rd, 2012. Attend presentations, hear from experts, see the latest products and network with over 2000 librarians. Conferences require many hands, and we are recruiting MLA members and non-members for volunteer opportunities noted below. Shifts vary from 2-4 hours, between 7 am and 7 pm.
Not an MLA member? Have you dreamed of attending MLA but couldn’t stretch your budget? This is your opportunity! In return for every four hours of service, you receive a one-day pass! Multiple days can be earned for multiple shifts. MLA members are not eligible for passes, but karma points are plentiful.
Volunteer Opportunities
Hospitality Information Booth:
Exercise your customer service skills! Answer questions about the conference, including schedule changes, provide information about conference and emergency services, transportation, restaurants, and other Seattle-related fun facts.
Prepare Annual Meeting Bags:
This fun, one-time event will be, Thursday, May 17th, 2012 (mid-day). Rock out in your comfy shoes while you interact with other volunteers. Lunch provided.
Placement Center and Member Resource Room:
Meet and greet in a quiet environment while you monitor computers, equipment and other resources available for members. If business is slow, you may even have time to sneak in a little reading…
Interested? Please respond to Ann Whitney Gleason: amwhit24@u.washington.edu
Conference website: http://www.mlanet.org/am/am2012/index.html
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