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Strategies for Consumer Health Reference Training

ABSTRACT Public librarians are challenged to provide consumer health reference services. Libraries cannot afford extensive health and medical collections; moreover, librarians fear giving the wrong answer or providing medical “advice.” Most public libraries have access to the Internet, and this, along with adequate staff training, can provide the public librarian with the tools to handle all but the most difficult consumer health questions. This paper describes a model three-hour training session for public librarians covering the inherent difficulties in the consumer health reference interview. Using a handful of reliable and easy-to-navigate Web sites, the challenges in consumer health reference can be overcome.