News

The Museum and Libraries Archive Council has commissioned a major new project looking at the contribution public libraries are making to the health and wellbeing of the communities they serve.

The team will examine the current landscape of health-related library work, focusing in particular on partnerships with health service providers such as the NHS and on a wide range of models including the highly successful Books on Prescription scheme, creative bibliotherapy, health information and public health activity. It will also look at the future potential for this work.

The first stage of the research will take place in January. It will include interviews with library staff, patients and patient advocates, health and social care representatives and local authority representatives. These will gain their views on issues such as:

• libraries’ potential to take on a greater role in contributing to the community health and wellbeing
• current partnerships between NHS/social care and libraries and how well these have worked
• where barriers to partnership working might exist, and be overcome
• the keys to success for establishing future partnerships.
  

There will also be a national survey of English library authorities to discover the extent of their current contribution to the health and wellbeing of local communities and case study work undertaken, to highlight examples of good practice. Findings will be reported in May 2010.

Read more: www.mla.gov.uk/news_and_views/press/releases/2010/Health%20research