Introduction

Under the direction of Drs. Charles R. McClure and Ebrahim Randeree at the, Information Institute at Florida State University, a study is underway to collect data from Florida’s multi-type library cooperatives (MLC) and public librarians through interviews, focus groups and surveys. This process will inform the development of medical and consumer health resources available through the Florida Electronic Library (FEL) http://www.flelibrary.org/. The study is funded by the State Library of Florida.

Background

The FEL currently offers some medical and consumer health resources, such as Gale’s Health and Wellness Center. To improve access to existing FEL resources and potentially add other helpful resources to the FEL, this study will explore how the current FEL resources are being used, what types of resources the FEL could add to answer the health questions of all Florida residents, and how public librarians could be assisted to improve deliver of such information.

There is also a statewide initiative among the academic medical libraries, various health care organizations, and others to plan for a statewide consumer health information network. Results from this study will serve two purposes, assisting the administrators, librarians, and users of FEL to better exploit medical and consumer health information available from the FEL and also inform the long range plan for a statewide consumer health information network.

Study Objectives

• To improve the success by which the FEL meets the health information needs of Florida residents and the library community
• To assess public library and school needs for consumer health information

Study Questions

• Who are the users of existing FEL medical and consumer health information resources?
• What do public librarians and schools think are the most important issues that need to be addressed to improve access and use of FEL medical and consumer health information resources?
• What medical and consumer health information resources and services other than those already provided on FEL should be considered for purchase or development?
• What are the training needs of public librarians and schools in the provision of medical and consumer health information through the FEL?

Study Approach

To assess and improve the FEL, the study will be collecting data from Florida’s Multi-Library Cooperative (MLC) directors and public librarians throughout the state. All six MLC directors will be interviewed for their administrative perspective on the FEL as well as medical and consumer health information resources and librarian training. To provide a more detailed perspective of day-to-day questions and challenges faced in libraries with medical and consumer health information, the study will conduct twelve focus groups around the state — two at each of the six MLCs. A web survey will also be used to reach out to more librarians who may not have been able to attend focus groups, but still can offer valuable opinions on the various issues related to medical and consumer health information.

All three methods of data gathering will focus on answering the study questions of who uses the FEL, what are the issues to address to improve access and use of the FEL, what other resources and services would improve the FEL, and what are the medical and consumer health training needs of public librarians.

Focus Groups will be held at the following location⁄times:

• 03/05 [PLAN] Niceville 11am Central Standard Time
• 03/11 [TBLC] Tampa Bay 11am, 1pm
• 03/12 [SWFLN] Ft Myers 11am, 1pm
• 03/13 [CFLC] Orlando 11am, 1pm
• 03/14 [SEFLIN] Ft. Lauderdale 10am
• 03/14 [SEFLIN] West Palm Beach 3pm
• 03/20 [PLAN] Tallahassee Community College, Tallahassee 11am

If you are interested in participating, please contact Ebe Randeree (eranderee@ci.fsu.edu)

Being Involved in the Study

As part of this study effort, the Information Institute encourages all Florida public librarians to take part in the survey http://surveys.ci.fsu.edu/TakeSurvey.asp?SurveyID=31Im93M16755G. The survey will be available from February 21 through April 1. Please participate! Findings from the needs assessment will be available in June 2008 from the Information Institute. If you have any questions, please contact Ebe Randeree directly at <eranderee@fsu.edu> or Bradley Wade Bishop <bwb06c@fsu.edu>.