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Posted by Darlene Kaskie on May 1st, 2026
Posted in: Blog, Consumer Health, NNLM Reading Club
For more than seven years, the NNLM Reading Club has been a sustainable community outreach program. Designed as a national toolkit to promote health literacy, the program set out to award book kits to NNLM network partners such as academic health science and public libraries to raise awareness of All of Us and precision medicine and to share health information resources from NIH, NLM, and NNLM.
In the summer of 2018, three All of Us Community Engagement Coordinators developed a criteria to select books and connect the titles to NIH and NLM resources. Different genres and reading levels allowed readers to choose and discuss relevant health topics to reduce stigma and raise awareness of quality and trustworthy health information to make informed decisions about their health or the health and wellness of others.
When COVID struck in 2020, the Reading Club transitioned from shipping in-person book kits to hosting virtual author talks. Then, when the NNLM All of Us award ended in April 2021, and its three founding members transitioned to the Regional Medical Libraries (RMLs), the Reading Club program paused to allow for the startup of new libraries, offices and centers.
In January 2022, the newly reorganized NNLM Reading Club launched its first selection of books highlighting the need for trustworthy health information. It’s Probably Nothing: The Stress-Less Guide to Dealing with Health Anxiety, Wellness Fads, and Overhyped Headlines by Casey Gueren l Viral BS: Medical Myths and Why We Fall for Them by Seema Jasmin, M.D. l Hype: A Doctor’s Guide to Medical Myths, Exaggerated Claims and Bad Advice by Nina Shapiro, M.D., & collaborator Kristin Loberg
By the NumbersThroughout the years, NNLM staff and network partners have made the NNLM Reading Club possible. We are grateful to the external Advisory Group members, who volunteered their time to identify health topics, source books, and develop discussion guides each month, over the last 2 years allowing the work of the Reading Club to continue.
From January 2022 through April 2026,
the NNLM Reading Club featured
45 health topics and 147 book titles.
Readers have said:
“They would shout from the rooftops how great the NNLM book club selections are and {libraries} should pick all of their books for their library.” – User feedback at the Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL), Chattanooga, TN, September 15, 2022.
“My goodness, I don’t know who makes y’all’s selections, but you select really good books!” – Region 3 NNLM member email
The NNLM Reading Club also has been featured in blogs, conference papers, and a book …
Kaskie, D.; Strawley, G.; Torp, K. “Reading Clubs: Encouraging Health Conversations in Libraries.” [Book chapter]. Health Literacy and Libraries, edited by Medical Library Association, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated., 2024.
One selected title was featured as part of the NNLM Discovery series: A Canary in the Coal Mine: A Story from Region 6. Season 2
As we turn a new page, continue to search the NNLM Reading Club. With more than 200 book titles and over 50 health topics to choose from, you are certain to find something to read and share.
You also can look forward to our new publication, NNLM Reading Club: 2021-2026 Collection, coming out this summer. For the earlier years, see NNLM Reading Club: 2018-2021 Collection.
The NNLM Reading Club Toolkit tells the history and evolution of the NNLM Reading Club. You also will find our selection criteria and how it aligns with our mission. Additionally, Health Book Club Tips are included for facilitating health book club discussions in different types of library and organizational settings and guidelines for creating a safe space for health book club discussions and for responding to health information questions.
ABOUT Darlene Kaskie