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E-book purchases have been on the rise in the general populations, as has the rise in e-book borrowing from public libraries. In the last few years, health-related, personal growth and leadership books for professionals and consumers have also been increasingly available in an e-book format. The librarians at Saint Joseph Hospital, which includes both a clinical and a consumer library, wanted to provide their patrons with this new type of e-collection to meet the growing interest. After looking at other options, OverDrive was chosen based on several factors: familiarity by public, ease of use, breadth of titles, support, few app downloads to access items.

Migraines are a disabling condition affecting millions of adults and children worldwide. Complementary, alternative, and integrative medical approaches have been used for thousands of years to treat not only the migraine but also to help in prevention, reduction, or severity of future migraines. Many migraineurs use pharmacological treatments prescribed by their physician; many find these treatments do not provide relief, loose their effectiveness over time, or would rather use a nonpharmacological therapy. Although there has been research into a variety of complementary, alternative and integrative approaches to managing migraines, little extensive and reproducible research on any one approach has been conducted. The author investigated some of the current research and clinical thinking about complementary, alternative and integrative therapies, as well as general internet information that is easily accessible to all.

Health literacy has been redefined in recent years to move beyond an individual's own communication skills to include the skills of persons working within health care organizations, including librarians. Provision of consumer health services and resources, while a long-standing practice in hospital libraries, has also been redefined. As definitions of health literacy have evolved, so too have hospital librarian services as they embrace their role within health literacy. Many hospital medical and consumer health librarians have developed programs, services, and collaborations to further health literacy awareness, education, and initiatives for consumers, health care professionals, and their parent organizations.

Extensive research has linked low health literacy and negative patient outcomes. It has found that these outcomes are due to a lack of understanding caused by low literacy, discomfort with asking questions, use of medical terminology, anxiety caused by the condition itself, and forgetfulness — all of which are key components of health literacy. Ask Me 3™, a program created by the Partnership for Clear Health Communication, has shown positive results in addressing these which in turn have significantly improved patient outcomes. In 2010, Novant Health implemented this program throughout the organization. Increased awareness of health literacy concerns, which became more noticeable to providers and clinicians as the program was practiced, led to the development of patient education materials using this program as a guideline.

Women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant are often filled with questions they may consider too trivial to ask their health care provider, or they think of them after leaving the doctor's office. Often they attempt to get answers by searching the Internet. Most of those who go online use a search engine, but unfortunately most never check the source of the information they access. The types of questions pregnant women have can be as simple as, “Can I have caffeine,” or “How do I know whether I am really in labor,” and the results they find most quickly online can be highly inaccurate and potentially harmful. Helping pregnant patrons by suggesting reliable Web sites is one of the most valuable services a librarian can offer.

At the November 2008 meeting of the American Academy of Religion, the History of Christianity section sponsored a panel around the question: “What are the key challenges, opportunities, and goals in the History of Christianity classroom today and how best should teachers respond to them?” Beginning with brief sketches of institutional context and identification of one or more pivotal choices each makes in the course they teach, the panelists explored critical themes and issues that arise in teaching the history of Christianity, first with each other and then through interchange with the audience.