Louisville Free Public Library Receives NNLM All of Us Ambassador Award

Posted by Darlene Kaskie on July 12th, 2019 Posted in: All of Us, Blog, Consumer Health, Funding, News from the Region, NNLM All of Us Ambassador Award, Outreach, Public Libraries, Success Stories

The Greater Midwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) has announced the Louisville Free Public Library as an award recipient of the 2019-2020 NNLM All of Us Ambassador Program. Funding for this program is the result of a partnership between the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and All of Us, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research program that seeks to enroll one million or more people living in the United States to accelerate breakthroughs in precision medicine and advance treatment and prevention.

The Louisville Free Public Library will receive up to $100,000 to support the health information needs in the Louisville Metro area, which will assist individuals in making informed decisions concerning their healthcare. This grant award to The Library Foundation will enable LFPL to enrich the lives of community residents with information about the largest health risks facing the area, as identified in a 2015 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) conducted by the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health. These health risks include cancer, obesity, alcohol and drug addiction, heart disease, and nutritional deficiency. Over the next year, a portion of the award will fund the hiring of a full-time program coordinator to collaborate with strategic partners in developing health education programs and discussions for the public, as well as providing consumer health in-service training for public librarians.

“At a time when our city is focused on significant issues affecting public health and health equity, this is a great opportunity for the Library to offer free, health-related educational programming in the community,” said Library Director Lee Burchfield. “We look forward to working with NNLM and local partners to address these critical issues facing Louisville Metro.”

The Louisville Free Public Library is Kentucky’s largest public library system, serving more than two million visitors annually. Its mission is to provide individuals the broadest possible access to knowledge, ideas, and information in support of lifelong learning.

Learn more about the mission of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine at https://nnlm.gov and the All of Us Research Program at https://joinallofus.org/nlm.

To find free and trusted health information, visit https://medlineplus.gov/.

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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