Howard County Library - Health Information Center Pilot

While people in the Information Age can effortlessly compile huge quantities of health information, much of this information is irrelevant or off target. In order to ensure the availability of high quality, targeted information, The Horizon Foundation and Howard County Library are piloting a new Health Information Center concept.

The project tracks with one of the Foundation's strategic priorities: 'Harnessing information technology to ensure that community residents have accurate and relevant information that is pertinent to health and wellness improvement.'

Our partner in this effort, the Howard County Library (HCL), recently ranked first in the nation among the great public library systems. With 2.1 million annual visits, the Library often is used as a health information source. In addition to the current pilot, the Horizon/Library partnership has included joint work in installing the HorizonHelp system for library patron use and the library placement of kiosks in the emergency response area.

The Health Information Center pilot began with an initial Foundation grant aimed at developing a Cancer Health Information Collection at the Central Library. The collection compiles high quality documents and online resources. A single catalogue search on a cancer topic will call up high quality, relevant books, articles, professional sources, research and websites.

Unlike other collections, reference materials can be removed from the Library premises for several days. Simplified, local work stations afford privacy and the ability to perform topical searches. In addition, federated searching enhances the probability of finding materials regardless of the format without having to resort to complex search strategies. Staff working with this collection have also received training to assist Cancer Collection users in 'finding' rather than 'searching'.

In the second pilot stage, a broader Health Information Center will be assembled. Using the Cancer Collection model, the Health Information Center will include topical sections such as heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's, diabetes, disabilities, aging in place as well as other health topics.

In addition to linking with automated Library systems, the Health Information Center will be integrated with expansion in the Horizon Foundation's suite of websites and a new Horizon Foundation health portal currently in development.