The following blurb was submitted to several library journals and newsletters about the completed Consumer Health Video. Currently video covers and bookmarks are being designed (see below) to go along with the video and Erin Bauer and Roxanne Cox will be presenting a Poster Session to promote and give information about it at MLA 2001 in Orlando.
A new consumer health training video entitled The Librarian is In: Facing Modern Consumer Health Issues in the Public Library has been underwritten by ICON, a health sciences library consortium in Nebraska and Western Iowa. The video was developed and scripted by the Reference Department at the University of Nebraska Medical Center McGoogan Library of Medicine and acted by members of ICON. The film was funded by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine under contract N01-LM-6-3524 for ICON, and produced by the University of Nebraska Medical Center Biomedical Communications Department.
The Librarian is In is intended to help librarians in the public library setting deal with consumer health questions they may encounter in their libraries. However, it would also be useful for librarians in any setting who deal with consumer health questions. Five scenarios on the topics of doctor credentials/questionable doctors, dealing with emotional customers, cancer treatment, alternative medicines, and drugs are covered. Each scenario demonstrates an interaction between a librarian and a customer asking for help. Various print and Web resources are mentioned by the characters as well as by the narrator. The narrator summarizes important information to remember at the end of each vignette.
A facilitator’s handbook has also been developed to accompany the video. The handbook and video are intended to be used as training aids for librarian educators or could be used for self-study by individuals.
The video and facilitator’s handbook may be ordered from
Mary Helms, Executive Secretary
ICON Consortium
University of Nebraska Medical Center
McGoogan Library of Medicine
Box 986705 Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, NE 68198-6705
(402)559-5498 (fax)
(402)559-7099 (voice)
mhelms@unmc.edu
The cost for the video is $15. The cost for the handbook is $10. Checks can be made out to ICON and sent to the above address.