One of the best reasons for using your local library to find medical information is that the reference librarians can help you. Most libraries have medical reference books that you can only read in the library. Often times the books are located close to the reference desk because they keep track of their whereabouts. The librarian knows which books can help you find your information. Take them to a table and either photo copy the pages or take notes or both.

Most libraries also have internet access and a data base that includes medical information. They usually have a collection of basic medical references which may include medical dictionaries or encyclopedias, drug information handbooks, basic medical and nursing textbooks, and directories of physicians and medical specialists. You may also want to find magazine articles on a certain topic. Look in the Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature for articles on health and medicine that were published in consumer magazines. Be sure to ask the librarian which of these resources is available on line and open to the public because life on the internet changes quickly.

Libraries also have computer databases indexing hundreds of popular magazines and newspapers as well as some medical journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association or the New England Journal of Medicine. In these journals you have free access to some of the articles but not to everything without a paid subscription. However, many of the databases or indexes have abstracts that provide a summary of each journal article. Although most community libraries don’t have a large collection of medical and nursing journals, your librarian may be able to get copies of the articles you want through Interlibrary loans. You may have to pay for this service.

Again, the reference librarian will be able to walk you through all this and help you organize that information. Again, some of that information may not be available to you at home because you need to be a member of this or that organization. Copy the url addresses that are open to the public so you can look at those sites at home and on your own time.

Do you use your community library when looking for information? Do you combine that with online searches? Or do you only use internet searches to find the information you want? It appears that  I am taking a survey.

To your success at healthy aging.

Ruthan Brodsky

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Filed under: Conditions and Diseases • Uncategorized

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