VT Medical Libraries: Partner for Health at Blueprint Conference

“What are your unmet health information needs?” librarian exhibitors asked at the Vermont Blueprint for Health Conference, on March 9 at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center. Public health professionals among others wanted to know how they could obtain full-text journal articles if they are not affiliated with UVM. The Dana Medical Library exhibit, presented in cooperation with the National Network of Libraries of Medicine-New England Region, provided answers that highlighted the Library’s Health Research Affiliates Program, and the services of eight hospital libraries throughout Vermont. Free resources such as Medlineplus.gov and the Vermont Go Local health services referral database were also featured. Marianne Burke, MLS, UVM Dana Library, and Claire LaForce, MLS, UVM and Rutland Regional Medical Center, were the exhibitors.

For more information about VT Blueprint for Health, go to: http://healthvermont.gov/blueprint.aspx.

Top Ten Most Useful Websites for Personal Health

The Medical Library Association each year evaluates and lists the top ten sites for personal health use. Whether you are recommending a site to a patient, or using one for yourself, these ten are “best bets!”

(Sites are listed in alphabetical, NOT ranked, order.)

• Cancer.gov
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• familydoctor.org
• healthfinder®
• HIV InSite
• Kidshealth®
• Mayo Clinic
• MEDEM: an information partnership of medical societies
• MedlinePlus (English | Spanish)
• NOAH: New York Online Access to Health

The Consumer and Patient Health Information Section (CAPHIS) of MLA evaluates web sites based on the following criteria: credibility, sponsorship/authorship, content, audience, currency, disclosure, purpose, links, design, interactivity, and disclaimers.

Community Medical School Returns

The Community Medical School lecture series began in 1998 and was designed to provide people in the community with an opportunity to share in the medical learning experience. Offered each semester, Community Medical School consists of seven weekly lectures on such diverse subjects as high-altitude medicine, DNA, food allergies, asthma, melanoma, stem cell transplants, coronary artery bypass surgery and antibiotic resistance.

The Dana Medical Library hosts a table at each lecture featuring materials from the Library’s collection and other general consumer health information. The Library also provides a web site listing additional resources on each week’s topic.