Research led by ISPH Investigator Sasha Fleary demonstrates how public libraries can strengthen their role as trusted health spaces by adopting organizational health literacy principles.
Along with co-authors Kevin Sifa Gonzalez of Queens Public Library (QPL) and Sarah Montricher and Ramon Cabrera of Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), Dr. Fleary examines how the two library systems—among the nation’s largest—already align with health literacy best practices and identifies opportunities for expansion.
The research addresses a critical gap in community health infrastructure. While libraries increasingly field health-related questions and requests for programming on topics ranging from mental health to chronic disease management, they face significant challenges including funding constraints, staff training needs, and concerns about mission alignment.
“Libraries are important transgenerational third places providing refuge, solace, and resources for all segments of the population,” the authors say. “They are viewed by some patrons as a more trusted space than health care organizations.”
The research applies the 10 attributes of health literate healthcare organizations developed by the Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Health Literacy to library settings, demonstrating how these principles can help libraries better serve patrons with varying health literacy levels. Key findings show that both BPL and QPL already excel in several areas, including incorporating community input, meeting diverse linguistic needs, and providing navigation assistance.
The study found that from July 2023 to June 2024, BPL’s Community Health unit alone provided 582 programs and partnered with 120 health-serving organizations. Both library systems employ dedicated health staff including community health coordinators, social workers, and medical librarians.
The authors recommend that libraries explicitly integrate health literacy into their missions, establish universal health literacy standards for external partnerships, and provide systematic staff training in plain language principles and health communication strategies.
“By adopting organizational health literacy principles, libraries may increase the extent to which they organically promote health literacy and address some of the challenges they face in operating as a health space,” the researchers conclude.
Reposted with permission from CUNY SPH.
