Announcing NNLM Discovery Podcast

Posted by Kristi Torp on March 17th, 2023 Posted in: Blog, Consumer Health, Equity Diversity Inclusion, News from NNLM, Public Libraries
Tags: #DiverseVoicesToolkit, #NNLMDiscoveryPodcast

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We are excited to announce the launch of the new NNLM Discovery Podcast Series! This podcast series explores how the Network of the National Library of Medicine – part of the National Institutes of Health – is engaging with communities to provide access to trusted information for the purpose of improving the public’s health. Accompanying videos can be found on the NLM YouTube Channel.

Three Region 5 libraries will be featured on March 22, 2023, sharing how they used Collection Equity Outreach Awards to enhance collection equity and support health literacy in their libraries by acquiring more materials by and about diverse voices.

Hear how the Juneau Public Library partnered with Shéiyi X̱aat Hít (Spruce Root House), a brand-new emergency shelter for runaway and homeless youth, to provide both fiction and nonfiction materials that cover a broad range of health topics and highlight underrepresented groups including Alaska Natives, who are disproportionately likely to need shelter services.

Afterward we’ll hear from librarians in Hawaii where the Wailuku Public Library used the award to create book discussion kits for children and families on timely subjects including racial equity, identity & belonging, joy & self-love, immigration & refugees, social justice & activism, and social emotional learning.

And finally, we’ll hear from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Medicine Library which improved its Health Humanities Collection with more depth in two key areas: women physicians with a focus on diverse voices, and LGBTQ+ experiences.

In total, 27 NNLM Region 5 member organizations received the Collection Equity Outreach Awards and submitted a bibliography of purchased materials. Region 5 compiled these bibliographies into the Diverse Voices Toolkit, a freely accessible toolkit of collection development resources for all to use.

Please like, subscribe, comment, and share. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or the podcast website.