Health Promotion, Collaboration, and Outreach: Creating Space for Health Literacy at a Specialized, Academic Research Library

Abstract

In the current cultural climate, the ability to engage with and understand health resources is more important than ever. Health literacy, broadly, describes an individual’s ability to process health information and use it to make sound medical choices. In relation, health promotion adapts health literacy to focus on people’s ability to lead healthy lives. While many public librarians are actively engaged in health literacy services to their patrons, far fewer academic librarians report such engagement. This paper aims to demystify health literacy and health promotion for a library audience, along with providing real world examples of collaborating with health experts and turning a library into a built environment that encourages the growth of health literacy skills.