key: cord-0067075-8pul2t0x
authors: Khan, Omar A.; Gibbs, Timothy E.
title: In this Issue
date: 2020-09-28
journal: Dela J Public Health
DOI: 10.32481/djph.2020.09.001
sha: 6656c117de012a1fdbc6141a36d7104ac4c9a38d
doc_id: 67075
cord_uid: 8pul2t0x

nan

We are fully and firmly in the information age, and in fact have transitioned to a time where there may be too much of it. The well-known hierarchy of Data → Information → Knowledge → Wisdom (DIKW) is a theoretical framework that can only lead to meaningful public health impact if each element is appropriately curated and presented. This is where libraries come in: as real and virtual portals to DIK (and therefore, W), they and those that run them are indispensable in our current times. Delaware is fortunate to have fifteen public libraries in New Castle County, six public libraries in Kent County, and fourteen public libraries in Sussex County. As participants in the statewide Delaware Library Consortium, these public libraries provide full services which are available to all Delawareans, and act as an access gateway to other essential services as shown in Figure 1 below. As you look at this chart, you can quickly appreciate the depth and breadth of services that can be accessed via the state library system. Add to that the multitude of programs that libraries operate for the betterment of our community including the new Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, STEM program, and a wide variety of virtual events which were enhanced as a result of COVID-19, and you can see how important libraries are.

The key to Delaware's Public Libraries full resources is simple: obtain a free library card. Even without a library card, there is still much that can be accessed.

At all times, and especially during these tumultuous times of world-wide pandemic and social strife, our public libraries continue to play a critical role on behalf of our publics' health and wellbeing. We applaud the critical role of libraries in taking us on the arc from Data to Wisdom, ultimately to improved health for all Delawareans.

Public libraries as partners for health

Services and Partners

Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License