Health information services: a submission to LISC (Library Information Services Council) by the Library Association on behalf of its Medical, Health and Welfare Libraries Group.

Abstract

The Library Association Medical, Health and Welfare Libraries Group was asked by the Library and Information Services Council (LISC) for England to submit a paper on health information services for the lay person and this presented a timely opportunity to consider the situation thus far and possibilities for the future. A working group was set up from amongst those active in the field to pool ideas and experience, and it was fortunate also in being able to include consideration of Elaine Kempson's recently published study Informing health consumers. It was felt particularly that whilst a number of worthwhile services were developing there was no guarantee of adequate local provision and that in the absence of any sort of framework there was considerable danger of duplication of effort and isolation on the part of the practitioners. The paper was considered by LISC in October 1988 and in the intervening period our recommendation that public library development incentive funding might be used to enable a public library to co-operate with other local statutory and voluntary agencies in the setting up of a pilot local health information centre, perhaps capitalizing on existing expertise by buying-in a database such as that of Help for Health, has been fulfilled by the establishment of the Dorset Health Information Service whose progress will be watched with interest. Nevertheless there is still much to be achieved in this field and it is hoped that this paper will prove a useful basis for continued discussion.