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G2S Project Code: 2014-PA-73017
State: Pennsylvania
Fiscal Year: 2014

Grantee
EASTTOWN LIBRARY & INFO CENTER

Project Director
Director Name: Alan J. Silverman
Director Phone: (610) 644-0138
Director Email: asilverman@ccls.org

General Information
Title: Health Literacy Collection Development
State Project Code: 4100069299
Start Date: 01/15/2015
End Date: 08/31/2015
Abstract: The purpose of this project was to update and augment the health and wellness collection at Easttown Library through the purchase of books, audiobooks on CD, and DVDs on a wide range of topics. We anticipated that the grant would allow us to purchase about 272 new health and wellness items and would increase the currency of our collection on these topics by about 2 years (from an average publication date of 2011). The improvement in the currency of our collection was to be achieved by a combination of weeding and acquiring new grant-funded items published no earlier than 2014. It was expected that the beneficiaries of the grant would be library users in Easttown Library's service area as well as the wider population of Chester County, Pennsylvania through the shared library system catalog and system-wide van delivery service.
State Goal: Create opportunities for libraries to enhance their capacity to provide 21st Century resources, services and programs to their communities.

Budget Information

LSTA

MATCH-State

MATCH-Other

Total

$6,387.26

$0.00

$2,650.00

$9,037.26

Intent(s)
Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.
Personal/Family health & wellness

Activities
Activity Details
Title: Increase size and currency of collection
Narrative: Staff researched materials that would be appropriate to add to the collection. Process involved analysis of collection to identify high use topics as well as areas that are underrepresented. Older items were also identified for removal. Materials were then purchased.
Intent: Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Acquisition
Format: Combined physical & digital

Quantity
Number of hardware acquired: 0
Number of software acquired: 0
Number of licensed databases acquired: 0
Number of print materials (books & government documents) acquired: 296
Number of electronic materials acquired: 0
Number of audio/visual units (audio discs, talking books, other recordings) acquired: 43

Partner Information

Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: Yes
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No

Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No

Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General

Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: EASTTOWN LIBRARY & INFO CENTER
Address: 720 FIRST AVENUE
City: BERWYN
State: PA
Zip: 19312

Activity Details
Title: Inform users of new content
Narrative: Creation of displays to increase visibility of new materials, new content (various mediums) to inform public of the collection.
Intent: Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.

Activity: Content
Mode: Creation
Format: Combined physical & digital

Quantity
Number of items digitized: 0
Number of items digitized and available to the public: 0
Number of physical items: 2
Number of open-source applications/software/systems: 0
Number of proprietary applications/software/systems: 0
Number of learning resources (e.g. toolkits, guides): 4
Number of plans/frameworks: 0

Partner Information

Activity Details
Title: Evaluation of project outcomes
Narrative: Staff analyzed the program based on circulation statistics, and survey results.
Intent: Improve users’ ability to discover information resources.

Activity: Planning & Evaluation
Mode: Retrospective
Format: In-house

Quantity
Number of evaluations and/or plans funded: 1
Number of funded evaluation and/or plans completed: 1

Partner Information

Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important findings or outcomes from your project:
1.- 1,269 circulations of 339 items in less than 5 months library shows that customers are using health and wellness information. 2 - 7 of 11 people who answered our survey were aware of new LSTA-funded health and wellness 3 - Materials age of collection improved from 2011 to 2012.3
Please briefly describe importance of findings:
1 -- Despite the supposed prevalence of information from the Internet, usage shows that books, audio and DVDs are still desired formats for acquiring health information. 2 -- Our public relations efforts and displays helped communicate information about the grant to some of our customers. 3 -- Customers rely on up-to-date health information; keeping outdated information could be detrimental to their health.
What methods did you use to determine your findings? Check all that apply:
Survey
Review of Administrative Data
Based on outputs, outcomes and/or other results, explain any significant lessons learned from these findings for either the SLAA or others in the LIS field:
1.-- Acquired both books on CD (19 titles) and MP3-CDs (5) as available; customers appreciate a variety of formats; 2 -- Learned how popular DVDs are for learning health & wellness related activities; 3 -- Found high use of older publications whose information did not become invalid over time; 4 -- Displays increased circulation of the grant-funded materials; 5 -- Because we have asked our customers to respond to several surveys over the past year (related to the strategic plan and other activities), it is not easy to get customers to be responsive again and again; 6 -- Short grant year reduced the statistical measures of the success of the grant; 7 -- People are still seeking health and wellness information at their public library through traditional formats (print, audio and DVD); 8 -- The low number of responses suggests that customers who are repeatedly surveyed become disinclined to respond to additional surveys; 9 -- It is often difficult to find new materials on all health topics; in some cases, we weeded dated materials even when we could not find any newer publications; sometimes popular books are weeded if we think some of the information in them has been superseded; sometimes older materials are kept because the information in them is not dated and/or customer demand for them is high (e.g., Oliver Sacks titles)
Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
Yes
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort:
No
Do you anticipate any change in the project's scope:
No
Do you anticipate any other changes in the project:
No

Exemplary: No
Exemplary Narrative

Project Tags: health wellness literacy