Academy Library Announces Schedule of Health Literacy Classes

NEW YORK CITY, Dec. 14???The New York Academy of Medicine Library has launched a series of free health literacy classes for the general public and health professionals, in a continuing effort to help people learn how to effectively find reliable, high-quality medical information online.

The Academy encourages students, senior citizens, healthcare professionals and other members of the public to take advantage of the variety of courses being offered, which include classes on how to conduct research using Google Scholar, research on genetic conditions using freely available resources from the National Library of Medicine and other institutions, and how to find full-text consumer health articles using the Health and Wellness Resource Center database, a collection of more than 900 health and medical journals, newsletters and pamphlets.

"As the amount of health information available to the public increases, being a savvy information consumer becomes all the more important,” said Winifred King, Coordinator of Outreach and Education at the Academy Library. “The classes will assist health consumers in learning more about their health and healthcare options.”

The classes being offered this winter are:

"Locating Material at the Academy Library":
Jan. 16, 10:00-12:30 pm
The New York Academy of Medicine Library is one of the largest medical libraries in the country collecting in public health and clinical medicine. This class is for anyone who is looking to learn how to use the Academy Library to access information regarding health and medicine.

Included are brief tours of the public areas of the Library and the extraordinary Malloch Rare Book Room, which contains over 35,000 rare books and manuscripts, including a 9th century manuscript copy of the oldest known cookbook, a wonderful collection of anatomical atlases, thousands of significant medical books printed in the west in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, and about 90 percent of the medical books printed in what is now the United States between the late 17th and early 19th centuries.

Basics of Finding Research Articles in PubMed:
Jan. 22, 10:00-12:00 pm
An introductory class on how to use the National Library of Medicine’s MEDLINE database through the PubMed portal. PubMed is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine that includes more than 17 million citations for biomedical articles dating back to the 1950s.

Introduction to Alternative Medicine Resources:
Jan. 30, 3:30-5:30 pm
Learn how to find books and Internet resources providing alternative approaches to health and medicine. This class includes an introduction to Alt-HealthWatch, a full-text database of alternative medicine periodicals and magazines.

Advanced Searching in PubMed:
Feb. 6, 3:30-5:30 pm
After taking the Basics PubMed course, participants will learn how to fine-tune research inquiries using PubMed's additional features. Students must have attended the Academy's Basic PubMed class within the past 12 months to be eligible for Advanced PubMed.

My NCBI: Saving Searches and More in Pub Med:
Feb. 6, 5:30-6:30 pm
My NCBI is an easy way to customize PubMed and other National Library of Medicine databases. Participants will learn how to save searches, save results and narrow results to a particular medical library using My NCBI in PubMed.

Searching Google Scholar:
Feb. 12, 10:00-11:00 am
Learn how to navigate Google Scholar, an Internet search engine that provides access to health-related books, theses, and articles published by universities and scholarly organizations.

Searching Grey: Literature: Additional Resources in Public Health and Medicine:
Feb. 12, 11:00-12:00 pm Grey literature is material that is not published as books or journal articles. These reports and issue briefs often published by private research organizations are not usually found in PubMed. Participants will learn about the value of grey literature in the field of public health and how to find it in the Academy Library.

Searching CINAHL: Nursing and Allied Health Material:
Feb. 20 , 10:00-12:00 pm
Learn how to find nursing and allied health material using the CINAHL database in the OVID interface. This class is geared towards information and healthcare professionals.

History of Medicine Resources:
March 5, 10:00-12:00 pm
Learn about a variety of print and electronic resources in the history of medicine including PubMed, and IndexCAT, a digitized version of the Index-Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon-General's Office, U.S. Army.

Health Research on the Internet
March 18, 10:00-12:00 pm Learn how to find and evaluate medical information on the Internet. As the amount of inaccurate health information the Internet increases exponentially, being a savvy information consumer becomes all the more important. This class is designed to teach members of the public how to evaluate health information more effectively.

Researching Genetic Conditions on the Internet
March 18, 12:15-1:15 pm
Learn how to find information on genetic conditions using freely available electronic resources including the National Library of Medicine's database Genetics Home Reference.

Below are highlights of comments from former students:

Finding Reliable Health Information on the Internet
“The instructor was great, very informative and clear. The information for a library student, such as me, was very valuable.” ??? Student from Queens College

Searching Grey: Literature: Additional Resources in Public Health and Medicine

“I didn’t really know what to expect, I hadn’t heard of Grey Literature before, but I found this class interesting, informative, and immediately useful.”- Graduate student

Advanced Searching in PubMed

“The classes are superb! I would highly recommend them to my students.” ??? Librarian

Locating Material at The New York Academy of Medicine
“This was an excellent introduction to the Library. I was in the Library a few months ago and found it overwhelming, now I would be able to jump right in!” ??? Health professional

Locating Material at The New York Academy of Medicine
“This class had excellent coverage of the online catalog and its uses.” ???Participant from the general public

Visit www.nyam.org/events/healthresearch for a complete schedule of Academy classes. Classes are taught by Academy reference librarians in the Library’s computer instruction room. Classes require only basic knowledge of the computer. Class size is limited to 10 registrants per session. To register, e-mail libtrain@nyam.org or contact Linda Gardin at 212.822.7367.

Founded in 1847, The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. The Academy is a leading center for urban health policy and action working to enhance the health of people living in cities worldwide through research, education, advocacy, and prevention. Visit us online at www.nyam.org.

-by Sarah Rathsam

Posted on December 21, 2007

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Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10029
212-822-7285
amartin@nyam.org

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