Collaboration and marketing ensure public and medical library viability

Library Trends, Wntr, 2005 by Stephanie Weldon

The CCHILL group is an offshoot of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, MidContinental Region's goal to have each state within its six-state (Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Utah, and Wyoming) region develop collaborative partnerships between medical and public libraries. It is hoped that each state will develop groups that meet in person, on a regular basis, in order for lasting connections to develop.

Wyoming held its first annual symposium in the summer of 2003. Librarians from across the state gathered to make connections, and learn about accessing quality health information for health professionals and the public alike. Public and medical librarians made connections and a listserv was formed uniting librarians from diverse institutions across a state that is primarily rural. The combination of distance and weather make face-to-face meetings a once a year occurrence. The listserv is a way for librarians in Wyoming with an interest in providing consumer health information to collaborate at a distance.

Nebraska has had a partnership in place between public and medical librarians since 1985. The McGoogan Library, the Nebraska Library Commission, and more than seventy public libraries in the state formed the Consumer Health Information Resource Service (CHIRS) (McGoogan Library of Medicine, 2004). This service provides consumer health information to any person in the state of Nebraska. Librarians from McGoogan provided training and materials to public librarians across the state. The CHIRS project has evolved over nineteen years and now provides individualized information packets to patrons requesting information. They also have the public library as the initial point of contact, reinforcing the importance of the local librarian.

Utah also has had a longstanding collaborative effort between public and medical libraries known as the Utah Consumer Health Information Network (UCHIN, 2004). UCHIN is a collaborative project of the Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah and the Health Round Table (HEART, 2004) of the Utah Library Association. UCHIN connects people to resources found online and in their local communities. HEART brings together public and medical librarians on a regular basis. A few of the HEART goals listed on their Web site include

* Provide professional development opportunities with content geared toward health information resources for librarians

* Increase awareness and practice of personal healthy choices

* Publicize the round table and attract members by maintaining the HEART home page

Kansas is in the midst of developing a consumer health librarians group that will meet regularly. They have several strong consumer health librarians in their state who are anxious to explore collaborative ideas on a more formal level. Partnerships between public and medical librarians exist on a formal level via the Johnson County Public Library system. It is hoped that this endeavor will serve as model for the rest of the state.