Seniors connect: a partnership for training between health care and public libraries

Kaleida Health Libraries, in partnership with the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, presented "Seniors Connect: A Health Information Project." The program was funded by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and the Kaleida Health Foundation. The purpose of the project was to teach African-American and Hispanic senior citizens or their caregivers residing in the city of Buffalo how to search the Internet to find quality, accurate, understandable health information. Attendees were taught to distinguish quality information from inaccurate, misleading, and fraudulent material. A total of fourteen training sessions were offered. The Seniors Connect program was initiated with health fair at each branch library, conducted by Kaleida Health staff, to provide an opportunity for participants to learn about health care services available in their community; observe demonstrations of health information searches on the Internet; learn about new treatment modalities for diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, thyroid abnormalities, and hypertension; and interact with area health care providers and library staff. The sessions were highly rated by attendees and many participants expressed their gratitude for a program geared specifically toward seniors.     

The use of ideal types in comparative education: a personal reflection

This essay focuses on the use of ideal types within different theoretical frameworks for the comparative analysis of culture and values. It emphasizes the importance of cultural agency, and the potential for enhanced understanding and the anticipation of future developments through exploring deep‐level cultural patterns. The essay is written as a personal narrative, illustrating the way the author has used ideal types in three distinct phases of her work, and the insights that have resulted. It closes with an example of the use of ideal types for envisaging preferred futures in the context of globalization.     

Type of search by type of library

This is a summary of the literature on users studies from a particular point of view that is convenient for specialists to refer to, and informative for non-specialists. Variation in type of search may be considered central to providing a rational explanation and justification of the variations in resource allocation in different types of libraries.