Creating Your Own Manuals

You are encouraged to print HEALTHINFOQUEST pathfinders either to use as your own reference or to incorporate into a workshop.

Warning: The dynamic nature of the World Wide Web can result in unexpected changes to any resource at any time. There is no guarantee that a path that worked one time will work the next. However, the process of finding information integral to HEALTHINFOQUEST should still allow you to adapt to any changes and find the information you are seeking.

Disclaimer:
Keep in mind that HEALTHINFOQUEST is designed for information specialists and not for the lay public. Pathfinders are not designed to be used at the point of client contact.

Creating Your Own Workshops

HEALTHINFOQUEST pathfinders evolved from workshops offered to help public library staff become more comfortable handling health and medical reference questions. Pathfinders demonstrate authoritative and reliable Web sites where users can find answers to health questions common in public libraries.

HEALTHINFOQUEST pathfinders are designed to stand alone. Nonetheless, consider making them part of an interactive workshop which addresses some of the other issues involved in providing health and medical information to the lay public. The following workshop design is based on those offered to public librarians by Maureen Carleton, Project Director.

Workshop Design

Each workshop is two hours long and is composed of two parts:

Hour 1:
Question-driven conversation in which the participants discuss their experiences with people who seek health information from the public library, and the kinds of questions they ask.

During this hour, participants learn about the role of the information provider and strategies for interacting with clients more effectively. They learn:

• How to listen for clues in a client's story while negotiating a query.
• How to set limits and establish boundaries.
• How to deal with a client's emotions and other psychosocial aspects of health reference service.

Hour 2:
Participants are introduced to HEALTHINFOQUEST pathfinders to find answers to specific questions. They can try to answer similar questions using the pathfinder as a model.

The best pathfinder to start with is Terminology. Most health and medical reference questions logically begin with finding the correct pronunciations and definitions of terms. This helps put both the information provider and the client at ease in a situation where clear communication is imperative. Other pathfinders may be used in any order for independent learning or review.