NNLH logo

National Network of Libraries for Health
Réseau national des bibliothèques pour la santé

Home

Vision [Français]

CVHL

People

Activities

Canadian Initiatives

Support the NNLH!

NNLH Forum

Vision

What
The National Network of Libraries for Health (NNLH) will ensure that all health care providers in Canada will have equal access to the best information for patient care. It is designed to fit the Canadian health care model and fill in the information gaps inherent in a complex health delivery system.

Why

Why is it so difficult to provide equitable access to quality health care information in Canada?
Why do some health professionals have several layers of library services and other health professionals have none?
These are just a few of the many questions that exist around access to health information. Because Canada does not have a national library of medicine, it is proposed that the National Network of Libraries for Health be created to address health information issues. With coordination and partnership among Canada's existing health libraries and the development of a coordinated, integrated approach, we can provide equitable access to the best health information. This will take advantage of Internet and web-based resources.

How
The National Network of Libraries for Health will provide infrastructure and content both through partnerships and on its own.

The infrastructure will bring together the many initiatives that provincial health departments, universities, associations and regional partners have made to deliver health care information to health care professionals.

It will provide highly trained library personnel who can:

Train end users to locate the best information
Coordinate partnerships
Plan for the future

The content will ensure that Canadian health literature is collected, preserved and made available. Canadian health care providers will have access to the most appropriate databases, journals, books, reports, and web resources.

Who
The Canadian Health Libraries Association / Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada (CHLA/ABSC) is the sponsor of the proposed NNLH. The association is a non-profit organization of libraries and library professionals.

 
UPDATED: October 2, 2006