by Carol Nelson
Quick Summary
Learn about what resources the National Library of Medicine has to offer.
Thank you to Darlene Kaskie for the following information:
Have you heard of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the largest biomedical library in the world providing free, evidence-based, non-commercial health information to libraries, health professionals, and consumers throughout the United States?
You don’t have to visit the library to gain access to its many resources.
- MedlinePlus is the place to start for consumer health information in both English and Spanish. MedlinePlus features hundreds of consumer-friendly health and wellness topics, easy-to-read information about diseases and conditions, medicine and supplements as well as lab test information.
- With Genetics Home Reference, the public can learn fundamental concepts related to human genomics as well as the causes, signs, and symptoms of more than 1,200 inherited conditions.
- ToxTown looks at toxic chemicals found in everyday places and situations and explains how to reduce exposure risk.
Not only does the NLM make available free information resources, it offers an outreach program called the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM). The NNLM provides free training of NLM resources as well as Medical Library Association (MLA) certified consumer health courses on a wide-range of health topics. Additionally, NNLM awards funding to its regional members in support of developing health literacy programs and information tools to meet specific population and community needs.
Visit the Greater Midwest Region to learn how an educational and outreach coordinator can help you and your organization engage with health information.
Darlene Kaskie, MLS, is the All of Us Community Engagement Coordinator for the Greater Midwest Region of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM). She supports the mission of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to improve public access to consumer health information as well as the mission of the NIH All of Us Research Program to advance medicine and improve individual treatment, prevention, and care for all of us by inviting libraries to engage with the network, connecting them with health information community partners, and providing training and funding to help raise awareness of precision medicine. She has her Consumer Health Information Specialization from the Medical Library Association. You can contact her by email: darlene-kaskie@uiowa.edu
