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Posted by benniefinch on June 20th, 2025
Posted in: Blog
Tags: Focused Outreach, funding, hospital librarians, Member Spotlight, New York, public libraries
NNLM met Nicole Barker, director of the Harris Memorial Library in Otego, York while traveling for focused outreach in 2024. In this article, learn how a rural library partnered with their local healthcare system to provide health programming on managing chronic conditions designed specifically for their library patrons.
As part of NNLM Region 7’s cooperative agreement, two rural areas were identified to explore for each year of the contract. This past year, Bennie and Margot focused on Otsego, Chenango, and Delaware Counties in central upstate New York, located between Binghamton and the Catskills and home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. We were able to visit Harris Memorial Library, located in the Village of Otego (population 835) which is part of the Town of Otego (population approximately 2500). Bennie learned about some of the library programs hosted at the library for all ages. Nicole also shared about some of the health concerns that she has encountered in her community. Nicole shared about her interest in holding a speaker event in response to some of the health concerns she was learning about in the community but wasn’t sure who to invite.
Margot met with Matthew Roslund from the Bassett Healthcare Network when she visited Cooperstown, New York. Matthew has been an active member of the hospital libraries community of interest, so it was great to meet in person and visit the library. Matthew was very supportive of helping connect a speaker from the healthcare system to meet with the library to discuss the possibilities.
NNLM was able to help make an introduction and then they took it from there.
The event was held at the Harris Memorial library and facilitated by Dr. Kristin Pullyblank, a public health researcher and nurse scientist at Bassett Medical Center, who brought valuable insights into the realities of living with chronic conditions. It was open to community members struggling with chronic conditions and caregivers. The small group event introduced participants to a wide range of ways to manage stress when living with a chronic illness, including decision-making skills during medical uncertainty. Participants received a workbook, purchased for the event by NNLM, Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions (Bull Publishing Co.), and were introduced to library resources, including several self-management toolkits donated by Bassett’s Living Well program. This event is part of an effort to provide wider community support for those living with chronic conditions in rural upstate New York.
Nicole Barker hosts numerous events at Harris Memorial Library each year including arts and craft programming. These creative projects encourage connection and community.
Each year NNLM Region 7 develops more knowledge about our region by focusing on the health information needs and health resources of smaller geographic areas. This gives us an opportunity to visit communities and see first-hand the libraries who are making such impacts on their communities. We learn about the innovative programming and resources in communities, and we learn about existing barriers or gaps in health information access. We also share the resources of the National Library of Medicine such as MedlinePlus, PubMed, Traveling Exhibits and more in support of health information access.
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