Libraries and the Affordable Care Act: Helping the Community Understand Health-Care Options

by American Library Association

Overview

This important guide, the first written specifically for library staff, offers best practices, advice, and examples of library responses from the first open enrollment period (October 2013-March 2014).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780838912881
Publisher:	American Library Association
Publication date:	01/06/2015
Pages:	112
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.24(d)

About the Author

Francisca Goldsmith worked in public and academic libraries, both in the United States and Canada, for more than 25 years, before moving into full-time library staff development consulting and instruction, much of which through California's IMLS-funded Infopeople Project. Most recently, that instructional work has focused on supporting public library staff and administrators in responding to community needs for access to health-care information, both related to Affordable Care Act policies and the changing technology landscape of health-care delivery in rural, immigrant, and other socially isolated communities. Her library experience and consulting includes frontline reference work, collection management, branch services management, and teen services development and advocacy. She has given many presentations on multiple literacies, serving underserved communities, and social media use for community and staff development. She earned an MS in Library and Information Sciences at Simmons College and has had a variety of advanced education experiences in support of her knowledge management and community advocacy work. This is her third book for ALA Editions.

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2015
The Affordable Care Act was signed into law in 2010. Since then, public libraries have been called upon to inform community members seeking to understand its impact on their personal health and well-being and provide computer access to relevant government resources and insurance applications. Goldsmith (The Readers' Advisory Guide to Graphic Novels) explains clearly the state and federal marketplaces, employer mandates, and the connection to Medicaid that are only a few of the areas that libraries can provide information on in their communities. There is no index; the content-rich table of contents and question-based chapter guide will allow for frequent revisions as the decade-long rollout progresses and links to resources change. Useful in conjunction with printed material from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, this guide addresses best practices of public libraries from the initial enrollment period and recommends tactics for effective local programs and partnerships. VERDICT Expanding on Gruber's Health Care Reform, this is a useful tool for frontline staff to consult when working with patrons and for administrators to look to when planning for services.—Barbara Ferrara, Chesterfield Cty. P.L., VA

Library Journal