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Information for Librarians and Trainers

The goal of MedlinePlus is to bring appropriate, authoritative health information to those who need it. We appreciate your efforts in training people on how to use MedlinePlus. Here are some training resources which might help you with your classes and health fairs:

Instructional Materials

• Tour – a narrated animated tour of the main features of MedlinePlus. It runs about 8 minutes and requires a Flash plug-in (version 6 or above).
• NLM Tutorial (Hepatitis B Foundation) – guides users through NLM's resources including MedlinePlus, ClinicalTrials.gov and MEDLINE/PubMed. HTML and Flash versions are available.
• Sample Interactive Health Tutorials – sample tutorials (one English and one Spanish) are for demonstration purposes only and can be downloaded and viewed when no Internet connection is available. The files have been limited to a manageable size, therefore some content may not be included.
• Tri-fold Brochure – PDF brochure in English (updated March 2003) or Spanish (updated March 2003) from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine.
• Guide to Healthy Web Surfing – information for the public on how to evaluate the quality of health information on web sites.
• How to Write Easy to Read Health Materials

Additional Resources

• Evaluating Health Information – MedlinePlus page with links on evaluating health information.
• FAQs – answers to frequently asked questions about MedlinePlus.
• Selection Guidelines – explanation of how material is chosen for MedlinePlus.
• E-mail Announcement Lists – e-mail lists from MedlinePlus; sign up to receive e-mails containing links to new topics, new sites, and health news.
• Public Libraries and Community Partners (from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine)

Articles about MedlinePlus

• Miller, N., Lacroix, E., Backus, J., The Making of MedlinePlus, Public Libraries 2001 Mar-Apr; 40(2):111-3.
• Miller, N., Lacroix, E., Backus, J., MedlinePlus: building and maintaining the National Library of Medicine's consumer health Web service, Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 2000 January; 88(1):0011-0017.

Have you created a brochure, bookmark, or handout you would like to share with other trainers? If so, please contact us.