January 25, 2006
Allen earns health library award
Munson's Community Health Library coordinator wins state honor
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Serving between 4,000-5,000 people last year, Munson's Community Health Library is the go-to resource for a wide range of health-related questions.
Shepherding seekers to information and answers is Chris Allen, the coordinator of the library since it began six years ago. In fact, Allen was hired from her position as a reference librarian at Northwestern Michigan College to start up the library, which has become a regional reference center offering a wide range of books, journals, educational materials, videos and other resources. Other tools she can offer clients are subscriptions to online database as well as specialized newsletters and periodicals.
"When I went to library school, I specialized in health science information and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time with the right credentials," she said.
Allen has become known at the Community Health Library for her dedication, community outreach and professionalism. Acknowledging her contributions to the profession and the community, last year Munson colleagues successfully nominated Allen as Librarian of the Year for the Michigan Health Sciences Libraries Association. She received her award last September during the professional society's annual conference in Crystal Lake.
Barbara Platts, manager of library services at Munson, said the award nomination was a collaborative effort among Allen's peers, who kept their efforts secret until Allen was named as the recipient.
"She really enjoys what she is doing and I think that reflects in now only how she does her job but the people she surrounds herself with," said Platts. "One of the key factors that has helped Chris make the library evolve and be more visible in the community has been her tireless effort promoting the library and its services."
Allen has Master's of Library Science degree and has worked as a librarian for 25 years, interspersing gigs as a reference librarian with more specific duties in health libraries. She has always had an interest in consumer health and is pleased to realize a career goal she envisioned years ago.
"It is just one of those jobs that is really gratifying," Allen said. "The people we work with and serve are just so grateful when we can explain all that medical gobbledy-gook to them."
With the doctor-patient relationship growing into more of a partnership over the past decade, Allen's mission as a health librarian is to help patients or their families learn about a health condition, treatment or related topic. Armed with this information, they can determine what to ask their doctor and then better understand the answers, making visits more effective and satisfying.
Accomplishing these goals requires close collaboration between the client and Allen or one of her staff or volunteers.
"Here the information is really specialized and we really spend a lot more time with people one on one," she said. "The nature of what we do here, people have to trust you to tell you the personal information that they are looking for."
Besides knowing what to look for where, Allen said a little old-fashioned hand-holding and listening can go a long way.
"Sometimes people just need to talk, to hear that it's going to be OK and they're going to get through it," she said. "Sometimes just a little bit of information is all it takes to give them more confidence."
With the Internet offering an endless amount of information, ideas and commentary on virtually any topic, quality information is crucial to Munson Community Health Library clients. The library was founded in part to provide a reputable source of information for the region.
"There's not a filter on the Internet, so what we can do here is point people to reliable and credible information," Allen said.