Reprinted from the Health District's quarterly publication mailed to district residents (Summer 2001)

Those looking for health information are in luck, thanks to the Poudre Valley Health System (PVHS). Fort Collins Main Library has recently expanded its consumer health collection and significantly increased the amount of health reference materials available for public use. 

“We now have what we call a health reference collection,” explains Ginny Feagler, reference librarian and medical specialist for the Main Library.

“This collection includes many specialty books that we didn’t have available in the past.”

Both the expanded consumer health and health reference collections were made possible after the library acquired materials from the former HealthAware Library, a consumer health library operated by PVHS. When the health system decided to discontinue operation of HealthAware, the Main Library agreed to take a large amount of the inventory. Since that acquisition, Feagler and Sylvia Garcia, library assistant, have worked diligently to incorporate the new material with health information already located at the Main Library.

Now, with acquisition of the HealthAware inventory—and with funds from PVHS to pay for a good medical electronic database and some printed reference and circulating books—the Main Library wants residents to know they can find a wide array of health materials in one location. Thanks to the health reference collection, library patrons will find many materials geared toward specific medical specialties and health issues. The collection includes such materials as medical dictionaries, encyclopedias, even medical textbooks, Feagler says.

The collection may be particularly helpful for those who have recently been diagnosed or have a loved one diagnosed with a particular disorder, for example. Or it might benefit someone facing a medical procedure. “We might have someone come up to the desk and say, ‘I just found out I have to have surgery. What can I look at that will tell me more about this surgery?’” Garcia explains.

Feagler stresses that although staff at the Main Library can help patrons find medical and health-related materials, they are not equipped to answer medical questions. “We also tell patrons that they should not try to look up specific information without knowing exactly what their doctor told them.”
Materials found in the health reference collection are not available for check-out; however, patrons can make copies—at 10 cents per copy.

Patrons can, however, check out books from the consumer health collection. Materials found in this collection tend to be less technical and include timely topics covering anything from yoga and weight loss, to arthritis and dealing with anxiety.

“We are trying to keep the collection current,” Feagler explains. “We’re also trying to weed out as much as possible information that is old and could be misleading.”

Both health collections can be found on the second floor of the Main Library. Library staff is available to assist patrons who have questions or need assistance in locating information from health materials.

Library staff can also help those who need health-related information that isn’t available at the library but might be available from online sources. By going to dalva.fcgov.com patrons enter the Fort Collins Public Library catalog web page, which gives them access to numerous databases including EBSCO’s General Health Collection—which includes articles on traditional and holistic health-related topics, psychology and health business—and Well-Connected—which includes articles and reports on various health-related topics. 

The Main Library has several computer terminals available for patrons to access these databases. “What’s really nice,” Garcia says, “is that they can also access these databases from home. So, they can come in and we can assist them initially, then later, they know how to find information when they access the databases from home.”

Although many may prefer to receive assistance from library staff when calling up the databases for the first time, those who access the site from home initially can receive instructions on how to best use the databases by clicking to a link titled, “Instructions for Access Outside the Library.”

With the expanded collections of health-related books within the library and access points to an assortment of other health-related materials online, Feagler and Garcia hope library patrons can find the information they need and want. Looking over at the shelves containing the expanded health reference materials, Feagler says, “It will be interesting to see how this collection is used.”

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