Little Free Libraries in East TN: Improving Access to Health Information Book by Book

UTMC serves many rural counties thatrequire patients to commute, making patientshesitant about checking out the health books due tothe nature of having to return them. Even thosepatients that are in Knox County, where UTMC islocated, are unsure about having reliabletransportation to return the checked-out books. Inorder to bring health books and access to healthinformation to Knox County and the surroundingrural counties, the HIC proposes buying healthbooks and placing them in already establishedLittle Free Libraries throughout the community.Little Free Libraries are free book-sharing boxesin which participants can leave a book or share abook. Books will be selected to include all agedemographics and topics identified as particularlyrelevant to each location. Furthermore, the projectwould include building a new Little Free Libraryfor Oliver Springs, TN, which is a primarily ruraltown outside of Oak Ridge, TN. Each book wouldinclude a stamp that referred to the HIC andcontact information in case they were interested inmore health information.

Awardee

Lead Organization: Preston Medical Library and Health Information Center
Project Lead: Preston Medical Library and Health Information Center
Project Lead: Kelsey Grabeel

Demographics

Age Group: Children (0-12 yrs.), Teens (13-18 yrs.), Adults (19-64 yrs.), Seniors (65+ yrs.)
Geographic Type: Medically Underserved Areas/Populations, Rural, Suburban
Race & Ethnicity: Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latin Americans
Roles of Participants Project is Intended to Serve: General Public

Award Details

Funding Source: Region 2
Project Category: Outreach
Period of Performance: Nov 1, 2021 - Apr 30, 2022
Project Status: Completed

Project Funding

Federal Fiscal Year 2021: $12,535