Reading is Healthy Introducing the NNLM Reading Club

Posted by Darlene Kaskie on October 31st, 2018 Posted in: All of Us, Blog, Consumer Health, From the GMR, News from the Region, Outreach, Public Libraries

Book Clubs or reading groups are a staple of library outreach and literacy efforts. People gather to discuss Oprah’s picks or the New York Times’ Best Sellers to socially engage with literature and current events.

To help grow health literacy, the NNLM All of Us Community Engagement Network announces the launch of the NNLM Reading Club. The goal is to support libraries’ health literacy efforts and address local communities’ health information needs by celebrating important National Health Observances through the fun and intimacy of a book club.

The NNLM Reading Club offers a selection of three different book titles along with corresponding free, ready-to-use materials designed to help promote and facilitate a book club discussion on a health issue or topic. It’s easy to download the discussion materials and direct patrons to the library’s book holdings. However, the NNLM is offering an added benefit.

Beginning November 1st, participating NNLM libraries are making the quarterly Reading Club picks available in a free, handy, portable Book Club Kit. This program-in-a-box format includes 8 copies of each of the following items: the selected book, discussion guide, MedlinePlus.gov flyer, NIH MedlinePlus Magazine, NIH All of Us Research Program brochure and additional material in support of the health topic all of which are tucked inside a handy library book bag and shipped to the requesting library.

Any U.S. library that is an organizational member of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine is eligible to apply and to receive one NNLM Reading Club Book Kit from November 1, 2018 through April 30, 2019. Due to the limited supply of federally-sponsored NNLM Reading Club Book Kits, libraries that support outreach to vulnerable populations receive priority status.

Visit the NNLM Reading Club page to browse the November selections and download the ready-to-use materials or to order an NNLM Book Club Kit from a participating region.

ABOUT Darlene Kaskie
Darlene Kaskie, M.L.S. is Community Engagement and Outreach Specialist for Region 6 of the Network of the National Library of Medicine. She connects communities to training, engagement, and funding to improve access to health information and NLM Resources such as MedlinePlus. Advancing health literacy and digital skills training helps people make informed decisions about their health. She earned her Consumer Health Information Specialization (CHIS) from the Medical Library Association.

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