A contract recently awarded to the medical library at ETSU is being used to develop a new system that will provide the public with better access to reliable and accurate health information.

A contract recently awarded to the medical library at ETSU is being used to develop a new system that will provide the public with better access to reliable and accurate health information.
The contract is funded by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) – Clinical Trials Section and was awarded to ETSU’s James H. Quillen College of Medicine and the Preston Medical Library at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. It is one of only four such contracts given by NLM nationwide.
Janet Fisher says ETSU and UT will be training public librarians, health professionals, and consumers in locating medical information using databases such as PubMed, MEDLINE Plus, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the health resources available through the Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL).
“A growing number of people are turning to the Internet when seeking medical advice,” said Fisher, library director for outreach and development.
“By partnering with other libraries across the region, our goal is to develop a system where the general public will have access to information from the most accurate and up-to-date sources.”
As part of the contract, consumer-oriented book collections on health will be given to the Johnson City Public Library and the Erwin Public Library. In Erwin, some of the materials will be written in Spanish.
The ETSU medical library will also create a Consumer Health Information Service whereby individuals can request health information directly from the library. A part-time librarian will be hired to assist with the project and provide educational and consulting services to public libraries in the area.
Richard Wallace, project director and outreach librarian from ETSU, anticipates having the services available some time this fall.
For more information, call (423) 439-6211.