"Achieving Healthy Communities
Through Collaboration with Libraries:
Why, What and How"

Thursday, September 7, 2017
A symposium presented by Healthier Middlesex & New Jersey Health Initiatives

It's time to turn the page & engage libraries as health partners.

A growing number of communities in New Jersey and across the nation are working with and through libraries to better serve community residents by providing accessible, understandable health information that will lead to building healthier communities.

To discuss this trend, New Jersey Health Initiatives has partnered with Zachary Taylor, MEd, CHES, Coordinator of Healthier Middlesex to host this symposium at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton. Together with Jag Vasudev, Director, New Americans Program, United Way of Central Jersey, and a team from across Middlesex County, Zachary will lead an agenda that includes speakers from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Middle Atlantic Region, the East Brunswick Public Library, the Free Library of Philadelphia, Berkeley College, the Newark Public Library and more.

Participants will gain an increased awareness of the role of libraries
in improving community health, including:

• Ideas to engage libraries, community health partners, and health professionals and organziations in fostering relationships to create healthy communities
• Ways in which libraries contribute to community health improvement, health literacy, clinical care and public health initiatives
• An exploration of how libraries are helping address access issues such as health care, transportation, accessibility and language or cultural barriers
  

• Community-based agencies
• Librarians (public, academic, or medical)
• Community health personnel
• Clinical students
• Public health representatives
  

Keynote Presenter: Andrew Pleasant, Ph.D.
Director of Canyon Ranch Institute and Global Health Literacy Research

Dr. Pleasant will speak on the importance of health literacy and the role of libraries in employing innovative health literacy programs. Read his full bio here