From gmarie@u.washington.edu Mon Jul  7 12:52:34 2003
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Message-ID: <3F09CF7C.203@u.washington.edu>
Date: Mon, 07 Jul 2003 12:52:28 -0700
From: Gail Kouame <gmarie@u.washington.edu>
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To: "Harris, Margo" <margo.harris@seattlechildrens.org>,
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Subject: More on medical reference in public libraries
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Margo (and others) -

Thank you for your insights regarding the role of public libraries, 
especially for parents of children with special needs.  It's unfortunate 
to hear that people feel disappointed by the inconvenience of having to 
wait on an interlibrary loan, but even more by feeling like they are not 
treated well.  I substitute at the public library on occasion and I have 
to confess that there are certain types of questions that I dread such 
as legal references, statistics, or the like.  I'm sure some librarians 
cringe at "the dreaded medical question."

I think all that is meant by "medical interview" is one that focuses on 
a medical term or condition.  I think because medical terminology is so 
specialized, librarians with minimal exposure/training feel less 
comfortable with it.  Also, there is a certain amount of liability 
involved (or at least a perception of liability) and fear of giving 
erroneous advice, etc.  There's a fine balance between pointing to 
information and providing medical advice sometimes.  I honestly don't 
know if there's ever been a case of a librarian being sued for giving 
out bad medical advice.  Here's a link to a great resource about the 
health reference interview:

http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/ref/star/chapter9.html#c9b

Others, please feel free to chime in (especially you public librarians!)

Gail Kouame
Consumer Health Coordinator
gmarie@u.washington.edu

NN/LM PNR
University of Washington
Box 357155
Seattle, WA  98195

(206) 221-3449 – voice
(206) 543-2469 – fax
1-800-338-7657
in WA, OR, ID, MT, AK


.