July 19, 2000
Health library real resource for residents
Library located in Munson Community Health Center
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
When David Hacker of Kingsley had a heart attack in February, he and his wife, Vergie, found much-needed support in the usual places after he left the hospital: Munson Medical Center's Cardiac Rehab and the Change of Heart programs.
They also found another resource to help them adjust their lives to a new diet and lifestyle regimen: the new Community Health Library located in the Munson Community Health Center.
Vergie and her aunt stumbled on the Community Health Library quite by accident one day while David was at Cardiac Rehab. The wandered in even before it officially opened, but librarian Chris Allen was more than willing to help them out. Vergie left with an armful of books and articles on heart disease, cookbooks containing low-fat and vegetarian recipes and the confidence that she had access to the latest and greatest information she and her husband needed.
"The support made it a lot easier because there it was right in front of me: what to cook and what not to cook," said Vergie, who has since researched information at the library on other medical conditions for herself and a friend. "I've been checking out books there ever since, I really like this library. I think it is a great addition to the community and it has really been a help for my husband and I."
Since the Community Health Library officially opened in April, Allen has already logged more than 125 people coming in for medical information. She has found that approximately half of the clients are interested in specific medical conditions and the other half are looking for information on lifestyle issues such as diet, nutrition or parenting.
"A lot of exercise tapes for arthritis are very popular," she noted.
Gearing her collection to the layperson, Allen has stocked her shelves with books and journals on specific diseases as well as health and wellness topics. She also carries information on alternative and complimentary therapies, medical newsletters, anatomical models and standard reference texts.
A full range of CD-ROMs, audio and video tapes on a variety of topics are also available and a childrens' collection features books on grief, sibling rivalry and living with a disease.
"The consumer health field is really big now and people want information," said Allen, who has worked at medical and college libraries throughout her career, most recently at Northwestern Michigan College library. "My focus here is different than the public library, this is a very specific niche."
Nancy Winters of Cedar found her trips to the Community Health Library very helpful since in opened. A member of the Lymphedema Support Group for the past few years and advocate for people with the condition, she believes that the library has the area's most extensive collection of books and videos about lymphedema. At her request, Allen has also compiled a bibliography of information on lymphedema for additional reference.
"The videos in particular are very helpful for patients to view prior, during and after therapy," Winters said. "The community is just very fortunate to have this new resource. There are a lot of conditions out there that are rather obscure and this library really opens the doors for patients to find out about everything."
The Community Health Library is located at 550 Munson Avenue in the Munson Community Health Center. Regular hours are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and on Tuesday from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.