Contact Information (press inquiries only) The New York Public Library Public Relations Office 188 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10016 phone: 212.592.7700 fax: 212.592.7729 
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Press ReleaseCHOICES in Health Information at the 96th Street Branch of The New York Public LibraryA son is concerned about possible interactions and side effects of the medication his elderly father is being prescribed. . . a pregnant teenager needs to find easy-to-understand information about prenatal care. . . a woman who has found a lump in her breast wants to learn about a mammogram. . . a newcomer to New York City needs to choose a family physician. . . Where do these people and others with questions about health go for reliable answers? The New York Public Library has created CHOICES (Community Health Onsite Information Centers), a health information service, to help people find the answers and information they need. CHOICES offers books, videos, and periodicals in both English and Spanish on a number of medical and health-related topics. The library also provides free Internet access to full-text health information and gives workshops to help people find appropriate materials on the World Wide Web. Harriet Gottfried, the Regional Librarian for the Library's East Side Region explains, "With all the changes in the health care field, consumers are really becoming proactive and taking charge of their health." Indeed, public libraries across the country are noticing more requests for information about health and medicine than ever before. The New York Public Library is responding to this increased demand by providing the public with open access to reliable and up-to-date health information on a variety of topics such as: Diseases, medications, and medical tests Jane Fisher, the consumer health librarian at the 96th Street Branch works with library users and with health care agencies to spread the word about CHOICES. "I want people to know about our services because the library is such a good place to go for health information. Our sources are up-to-date, and since we are not selling anything, people can be sure that there is no pressure or bias when they visit the library for information about how to stay healthy, or about a particular medical concern," says Fisher. While basic health reference sources are available in all branch libraries, enhanced reference assistance and special workshops are available at two CHOICES locations:
CHOICES has been made possible, in part, by the generous support of The Charles A. Dana Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Fredric S. Nathan, Pfizer Inc, and the Sergei S. Zlinkoff Fund for Medical Research and Education. The New York Public Library offers a wide variety of free programs for adults, young adults, and children at all 85 of its branches, located throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. ### pro: jb: 10/98 |