Health Program in the Library of Alexandria

Abstract

The presence of health programs in libraries is important to all, from the youngest to the oldest. School libraries should offer this kind of program because. children and youth are the good seeds of any society, and so investing in this age is very important and will have major advantage in the future of any country. Elder people also need guidance in this subject. Health is the key of happiness for everyone, so health programs must be offered to them through many channels. One of the most common and effective channels is the library’s instructional services. This is the case of the Library of Alexandria. Since the inauguration of the Educational Services Section in 2002, the librarians began to receive many demands related to health care. The information specialists did great work by offering needed information through the printed or electronic information resources available in the library. But, this was a one to one service: this means that all the efforst of the information specialist served only one user, the one who asked the question(s). Therefore, it was clear for the instructional services team that efficient steps had to be taken in this regard. Information specialists with pharmaceutical and scientific backgrounds formed a team in order to prepare a comprehensive health program covering the main topics in question in the Egyptian society, such as diabetes, hypertension, nutrition, and cardiology. This program was offered for the first time in 2007, and had excellent echoes and lasts for many years after.

The...