Providing Consumer Health Information at Your Library

Speaker: Andrea Kenyon.

I attended this workshop because I'm never quite comfortable dealing with medical questions at the reference desk. I find it hard to walk the line between being helpful and making it clear that we are not medical experts. So I was relieved when one of the first things addressed in the workshop was the fact that many librarians feel the same way. People tend to be more comfortable with librarians than with doctors, so the library is an obvious place to go with medical questions. We will always be called upon to answer medical questions, so we would be wise to have a few resources handy.

She talked about the importance of health literacy and shared some useful websites. She recommended knowing the community and understanding some of the main health information needs and resources.

A big issue, for both patrons and for librarians, is the expectation that a public librarian can answer specific, personal medical questions. This is the problem I've come across - for example, a patron describing symptoms and hoping for a diagnosis. This can be very uncomfortable and distressing for both parties.

She recommended being very careful during the reference interview to make sure the patron understands that the conversation is confidential and that we will respect their privacy and refrain from judgment. It's also important to ask if their question was fully answered and to encourage patrons to consult health professionals when necessary.

I'm glad I attended this workshop, but I didn't gain any big insights. The advice was mainly practical and based on common sense. The list of websites is a useful resource and I'm sure I will get some good use out of it.