Developing a State Tobacco Resource Center – 4/14/05

Q: If you have developed or are currently in the process of developing a state tobacco resource center, what recommendations do you have for identifying content to be included and for options on ways to organize this information (pros and cons)? Also, how did you decide what was the best option for your state?

A:

  1. Alaska: we have a very limited state resource center comprised mostly of educational pamphlets and some training materials and curricula. Funding is what is really limiting us from expanding our resource center.
     
  2. California: I am the librarian at TCS in California. Below is a part from our lengthy Collection Development Policy that helps to answer some of the question below (entire document is on its way). We also have another Clearinghouse Library which is not addressed in the text below.
     
    The TCS Resource Library provides library services for the CDHS/TCS staff, as well as state government, other states and the federal government. The collection includes program and research resources for CDHS/TCS staff to use in the development of RFAs/RFPs, guidelines, Bill Analysis, defining priority areas and in providing training and technical assistance for the state's funded programs.
     
    The TCS collections include several defined areas:
     
    1. Resource Library with reference materials that support the CDHS/TCS priority areas, selected TCS funded materials and other CDHS/TCS areas of interest. Materials are arranged and categorized as follows: Reference, which includes general, national, international resources; California, whose materials are produced by CDHS/TCS, the Tobacco Education Media Campaign and statewide projects; materials about tobacco control in California and the California Tobacco Control Program; Other States materials which include tobacco control program materials from other U.S. states; the Vertical File which contains journal articles; and the "Best" category containing "best" educational materials produced by the local funded projects, including all materials distributed through the TECC Catalog of Tobacco Education Materials.
       
    2. The I-area with brochures, reports, articles and other program materials for distribution in response to requests from outside agencies and the general public.
       
    3. Case Studies - project evaluation case studies are catalogued and made accessible through the library database.

      The TCS collection is cataloged and made accessible through a library software database from the company InMagic. Library staff members use this software to create new bibliographic records, produce reports, and create bibliographies. The full database is also made directly accessible to CDHS/TCS staff for searching. The I-area materials are categorized by topic and made accessible to TCS staff via a hard copy index and directional signage.

    Major subject areas collected:

    • Counter pro-tobacco influences in the community (advocacy, alternative sponsorship, transnational tobacco industry marketing, etc.)
    • Reduce exposure to secondhand smoke
    • Reduce availability to tobacco products (youth access, licensing, etc.)
    • Increase availability of cessation services
    • Chew/dip, cigars, bidis and other tobacco products
    • Harm Reduction
    • Major research studies

    Secondary subject areas collected:

    • Advocacy, community development
    • Evaluation and research techniques
    • Materials development
    • Selected representative materials produced by the tobacco industry.
    • Program management tools

    Priorities for new subjects to be collected are determined by CDHS/TCS based on need and budget. In addition, the TCS Resource Library comprehensively collects and houses all participant binders and proceedings from CDHS/TCS sponsored national, state or regional meetings/conferences/trainings or with CDHS/TCS staff participation.

  3. Guam: we have been looking to establish a full tobacco use prevention and control center which would include an online link to our local RADAR center in our Dept. of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, which is a separate agency from our health department where we are located. We are also looking to include information/materials/resources, at a minimum, from our WIC and chronic disease and clinic related programs. Then if room is available, have information from other programs like the communicable disease areas and then if more space is available, include the information for the environmental health and human service (vector control, sanitary permit, food stamps,medicaid, child protective services,etc.) program areas. Such a one-stop type of health and human service information center would enable widely disbursed state-wide programs to have one or a few strategic locations where information would be available to the general public, on-line (the sooner the better) and structurally.
     
  4. Michigan: Michigan has a health promotion clearinghouse with an 800 number where we house self-help quit kits, secondhand smoke information, smoking around children, talking to your kids about tobacco, posters, etc. We send out a high quantity of material each month. My staff analyzes the monthly clearinghouse reports we receive to determine demand for items and inventory levels. We frequently discuss whether we should reprint existing items, develop new ones, or purchase items from other sources. These types of decisions are based on demand and budget. We distribute a listing/order form of clearinghouse materials to our local and statewide contacts. Orders can be faxed, e-mailed or phoned in.
     
  5. Nebraska: The Tobacco Free Nebraska (TFN) Program maintains a Resource Library. Materials are available on a free-loan basis for a 5-7 day period. The
    Resource Library is accessible through the TFN website and through the TFN
    Resource Catalog which is made available to groups at presentations,
    conferences and exhibits. Additional TFN reports, evaluations and case
    studies are available via the TFN website.
     
  6. New Hampshire: Currently following national protocol, NH has an Alcohol, and Other Drug Abuse Prevention "Clearing House." The NH TPCP is working with AODAP to include relevant tobacco resources (used by us/nationally.)
     
  7. Washington: The Washington State Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Control Program has created a resource center that we call the Tobacco Prevention Resource Center (TPRC). We have contracted to have technical assistance, training and information services be provided by this center. They have created a web site, http://www.tobaccoprc.org, that describes the services provided as well as housing online registration for training and applications for technical assistance. Browsing this site will be the most effective way to see what services are provided. One service not noted on the web site is the pre-screening of materials for our state clearinghouse so that we are able to make decisions on what items to stock.
     
    TPRC has functioned for our state tobacco program since 2002 and, in that time, we have refined the scope of services provided by the center. We initially had TPRC provide a list of speakers that people throughout the state could use to provide presentations for tobacco prevention. We have discontinued that service, finding that it is difficult to assure people on the list are appropriate. We will be narrowing the focus further in the coming year to discontinue TPRC's creation of power point presentations and limit the amount of literature search provided. These decisions have been made on a cost - benefit analysis of previous years' deliverable reports.
     
     
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