Comparative Study Of Health Information Services In Chinese And American Public Libraries

In recent years,health issues have aroused great attention,and the demand for health information services has gradually increased.As a public library of information service organizations,they should also take the responsibility of health information services.The American Public Library has always attached great importance to the health information service to the public.It has accumulated rich experience since the 1960 s and has achieved remarkable results.Although most public libraries in China have already provided health information services,they still have certain shortcomings compared with the American public library health information services.To this end,China needs to summarize the experience from the development of health information services in American public libraries and extract the best of them to guide our public libraries to better develop health information services.This article is based on the information service theory and refers to the previous research results to build five elements of public library health information services,namely health information service objects,health information resources,health information service strategies,health information service providers,and health information services.Safeguard mechanism,which is also the research framework of this article.Then,from the perspective of the five elements of public library health information services,the development status of the health information service of 16 public libraries in China and the United States was investigated and analyzed by network research method.Through comparison,we can find the following deficiencies in our country: in terms of service objects,the group classification of service objects of public libraries in our country is not clear enough,and the key services for vulnerable groups such as women,children and homeless people are not paid enough attention;in terms of health information resources,the number of digital health resources in public libraries in China not high,especially the construction of online health resources is still a blank stage;in terms of health information service strategies,the conventional health information services in our public libraries are not deepened enough,and extended health information services have not yet been launched;on health information service partners,China's public libraries lack cooperation with health enterprises and other types of libraries;in terms of health information service guarantee mechanisms,the guarantee mechanisms in all aspects of China's public libraries are not perfect.Finally,five suggestions were made:Pay attention to the grouping of service target groups and conduct research on the service target groups in advance;Construction of digital health information collection,especially collection and organization of network resources;Deepen and expand health information service modes and enriching health information service contents;Strengthen cooperation with all sectors of society,especially health enterprises and other types of libraries;Establish a comprehensive guarantee mechanism to ensure the smooth development of health information services.