With the advent of the Internet, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities in the Pacific Northwest have new opportunities to access high quality and relevant health information. The Pacific Northwest Regional Medical Library (PNRML), regional headquarters of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, a program sponsored by the National Library of Medicine, sought to facilitate that access and worked with a selected group of sixteen tribes and native village consortia. The steps were: (1) work with AI/AN communities to arrive at mutually-agreeable health information connectivity objectives and long-term solutions, (2) provide funding to AI/AN communities to ensure Internet connectivity and the presence of Internet workstations for health workers and for the public, and (3) train in effective health information seeking. Community-based approaches helped the PNRML adjust policies and practice for improved information outreach to AI/AN communities in the region. The project participants, collaborating with our staff, successfully carried out many of the community goals and, at the same time, we gained insight about the variables that were barriers or facilitators of success. While we are coming at outreach from a library perspective, the policy and method lessons we learned could apply to a broad variety of outreach endeavors.

This chapter considers the transformation of U.S. National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) national network of libraries into an effective force for spreading awareness of NLM’s resources, services, and tools and increasing their use. Several examples of network programs and projects are recounted to illustrate the influence of NLM’s longest serving Director, Donald A.B. Lindberg M.D. on the development and evolution of NLM’s library network.

The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) includes eight Regional Medical Libraries and their Network members who are vital to the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) outreach efforts to health professionals and consumers. Evaluation is a key component of effective outreach projects. Recognizing the need for guidance about evaluation, an exploratory study was conducted by the Pacific Northwest Regional Medical Library in collaboration with NLM to identify and document evaluation best practices. There were several major outcomes from this study. One is a field manual for librarians, providing a step‐by‐step framework for integrating evaluation within a program. Another outcome is the Outreach Evaluation Resource Center at the Pacific Northwest Regional Medical Library, funded by the NLM to enhance and facilitate skilled and effective use of evaluation in health information outreach. Describes the evolution of these outcomes and lessons learned along the way.

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