CHI Services Introduction What does it mean to provide consumer health information services in your library?

Generally speaking, a library that includes consumer health information among its services makes sure that its reference services, policies and collections reflect the personal or family health information needs of the community it serves. Consumer health information services in libraries have their roots in the consumer movements of the 1960s and 1970s in the United States. Along with all the other social movements that marked a shift in attitudes toward authority figures and institutions, this period in medicine noted a transition in the doctor-patient relationship from a largely paternalistic, authoritarian pattern to one where patients began to adopt a more assertive role as partners in their own health care. This newfound patient empowerment led to a growing desire to learn more about their bodies and health conditions. Gradually, as demand for health information from users grew, librarians overcame their initial hesitation about overstepping their professional boundaries. They developed policies to allow reference staff to help their users access reliable health information while avoiding the pitfalls of providing medical advice. Of course, consumerism was not the only trend driving the growth of consumer health information services in libraries. The technological advances of the latter part of the 20th century, especially the growth of the Internet and World Wide Web from 1993 onward, helped fuel the demand for readily accessible, understandable and cheap, if not free, health information for the public. Of course, the explosive growth of online resources for health information came with its own set of challenges, one of which was the information overload so apparent today. Another challenge that soon became evident to librarians and continues to this day was that of encouraging critical evaluation skills among users of health information. Health InfoNet of Alabama is a collaborative consumer health information service of the medical and public libraries throughout the state. It was formed in 1999 as a Jefferson County-focused initiative then spread statewide in 2004. Well talk more about the Health InfoNet services and protocols later in this tutorial. I mention it now in connection with this general overview of consumer health information services to demonstrate our proud part in this history. Weve been part of a movement! Next, well move from the general to the specific that is, from a general overview of consumer health information services to the nuts and bolts of connecting our users to reliable health information.