Library’s Healthy, Wealthy and Wise program will transform the community, help library thrive, in face of many challenges
http://rusa.ala.org/blog/2012/12/03/healthy-wealthy-wise-naperville-public-library-illinois/

Excerpt: "The Naperville (Ill.) Public Library will soon launch Healthy, Wealthy and Wise, a yearlong initiative that aims to improve the financial and physical health of the residents of Naperville, while transforming the library into an indispensable center of unbiased health and financial information for the entire community... The idea for this program came about through Alice Wood, Founder and President of Wealth Watchers ® International. Looking at long-term historical data and research, Wood noticed that personal debt levels and obesity rates have both been on a steady rise for several decades, while the rate of personal savings has rapidly declined. “With access to unbiased information, members of the community can make better choices,” said Wood. “This is the common thread that joins issues of personal health and personal finance. The library has an important role to play in providing access to that information.” According to circulation statistics, the two top non-fiction areas for the library are the 300s (personal finance) and 600s (health), suggesting that library users are already relying on the library for this information. Healthy, Wealthy and Wise puts a credible and marketable brand on this information, and creates other opportunities for programming and resources that tie into this theme..."


Beth St. Jean, Assistant Professor
College of Information Studies - "Maryland's iSchool"
Room 4117K Hornbake Bldg., South Wing
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 405-6573