October is Health Literacy Month

When calendars turn to October, then Halloween programming becomes top-of-mind.  But here’s another promotion to consider: for more than 20 years, October has been recognized as Health Literacy Month.  It’s a time of international observance when hospitals, clinics, businesses, governments, and libraries join forces to focus attention on healthy living.  With COVID issues still worrisome and flu season on the horizon, this is an opportune time for libraries to promote health literacy. 

The theme for Health Literacy Month is “Building Awareness Through Action.”  There are a wide variety of Health Literacy Month events, thanks in large part to the Institute for Healthcare Advancement (IHA) This agency has developed a free toolkit for raising awareness of how libraries support health literacy in their communities which includes social media graphics, video clips, print posters and flyers, even ZOOM room backgrounds. 

From the IHA website “During Health Literacy Month, we urge you to move health literacy awareness to health literacy action!  It is our collective health literacy actions that build bridges between organizations and people needing health care or services. Our collective efforts will lead to a more equitable world whereby all people can access high quality care and attain positive health outcomes.”

Assisting in the cause is the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) and the American Library Association (ALA): these two agencies have partnered to provide another free toolkit for raising awareness of how libraries support health literacy in their communities.  Loaded up with new “Because” statements like "Because an Informed Community is a Healthier Community," visit Libraries Transform for promos and graphics.  

Rightfully, library policies prevent staff from answering patron questions regarding medical conditions or treatment options.  But staff can certainly guide library users to reliable, authoritative information, allowing patrons to make more education health-related decisions.  Promote October as ... 

Health Literacy Month @ Your Library

October Also Boasts Friends of Libraries Week

October also brings an opportunity to recognize the efforts of Library Friends Groups—it’s during National Friends of Libraries Week October 16-22.  And it’s United For Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, that coordinates Friends of Libraries Week each year.  2022 marks the 17th annual recognition as a time to promote local Friends Groups, raise awareness of their efforts, and thank them for their work in support of libraries everywhere.  You can be part of it all ?

The United For Libraries website has lots of ideas, including a sample press release, promotional materials, graphics, and stories about how Friends Groups across the country support their libraries in fun and effective ways.  You can also watch a recorded webinar that offers ideas on how to celebrate National Friends of Libraries Week within your library and throughout the community.  And hear about the ALA Store’s customizable products designed specifically for Friends Groups.

United for Libraries offers a variety of resources for library friends, foundations, and trustees.  Some of their materials are behind a pay wall, accessible to members. Other materials are freely available, among them are these publications in PDF format:

• Libraries Need Friends: Starting a Friends Group or Revitalizing the One You Have 
• Friends Groups: Critical Support for School Libraries 
• Power Guide for Successful Advocacy 

Download these docs and more at the button below. 
And make plans to celebrate ... 

Friends of Libraries Week @ Your Library

Next Big Ideas Book Discussion

Stage (Not Age) on November 18

The fourth and last book in the Big Ideas Book Discussions for this year is Stage (Not Age) scheduled for November 18.  The book’s subtitle lends insight into the contents “how to understand and serve people over 60—the fastest growing, most dynamic market in the world.”

Author Susan Wilner Golden is an expert on innovation and entrepreneurial opportunities created by new longevity.  She teaches this subject at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and advises companies on their longevity strategies.
In an August interview with Next Avenue Media, she said this about the later stages of life “We need better language because there's ageism in the language, calling people ‘senior’ or ‘elderly.’  I came up with a concept that we're not in elderhood or seniorhood, we're in furtherhood ... we're going further and we're looking forward to it.  But we're going to need to be continuous learners to keep going forward.”

From Amazon: “In the time it takes you to read this, another twenty Americans will turn sixty-five. Ten thousand people a day are crossing that threshold, and that number will continue to grow. In fifteen years, Americans aged sixty-five and over will outnumber those under age eighteen. The key is to stop thinking of older adults as one market. Stage (Not Age) is the concise guide to understanding that people over sixty are a deeply diverse population…”

The Iowa Dept on Aging projects that Iowa’s population of adults aged 65+ will make up nearly 20% of the state’s population by 2050.  What do these demographics look like in your town?  Sure to have programming implications, Stage (Not Age) will reshape your understanding of what it means to be an older person.  And how one-size-service does not fit all people in the boomer+ generation. 

We encourage participants to purchase books used throughout the Big Ideas series for your own collections. And join us for the next good read: Stage (Not Age)

Register in IALearns

This Week ...

We are webinar-free this week and next as State Library staff make the final preparations for the Learning Circuit workshops scheduled for October 20.  There’s still time to register for the Learning Circuit nearest you.  Plus the Iowa Library Association Conference is around the corner, happening next week October 12-14 in Coralville.

Public Library Annual Survey

Remember the Maine and the Alamo.  Remember, too, that the Public Library Annual Survey is due on October 31. The FY22 Survey (July 2021-June 2022) has new programming questions, including a section about passive programs and indirect activities; you’ll find those in Section G of the survey.  Because these will be new data elements for some libraries, Scott Dermont’s advice is to enter N/A in answer to those new questions that you don’t have data for.  Scott writes “It normally takes a few years for data elements to become statistically useful.”  Let us know if questions about the ...

Public Library Annual Survey