About the Author
Clarisse Lima works at MIDIRS as an administrator, handling all of our customer service queries and subscriber logistics. She has an academic background in Heritage and worked for five years in public libraries as a Library Assistant and later as a Library Supervisor.
"Everything changes when you read: libraries and reading to support your health and wellbeing"
Before working for MIDIRS at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), I worked in public libraries for five years. Although these roles are very different, they have an unexpected crossover in the Books on Prescription scheme, which the RCM will have a webinar about on the 24th February.
Reading can be beneficial for mental wellbeing at all ages and healthcare professionals, like midwives, are well positioned in the community to promote this to women and their families.
The Reading Agency
The Reading Agency is a brilliant charity aiming to improve literacy and empower people of all ages to read, often by supporting organisations to engage with their local communities through different resources. One of these is the Reading Well collections (also known as Books on Prescription), which recommends books chosen by professionals on issues of physical and mental health and cover subjects which can be hard to discuss, from postnatal depression to anxiety or grief. For example, Reading Well for Children/Teens has age-appropriate content for managing emotions, bullying, eating disorders and mental health conditions, amongst other subjects.
The benefits of Books on Prescription
One of the main benefits of prescribing these books is that patients don’t have to worry about having the disposable income to purchase them, as they must be available in public libraries and there are no charges associated with borrowing or reserving these items. Library services often hold more than one copy of these books, which also have an extended loan time.
Another benefit of recommending these books is that libraries often have other free resources available to families. For instance, health visitors often recommend that new parents visit libraries as various councils provide baby books for free.
Furthermore, libraries are community spaces and often host events that benefit both children and guardians, by helping new parents socialise with others – rhyme time or baby bounce sessions generally happen weekly.
Some of the best interactions I witnessed while working in public libraries came from watching these groups, observing parents build friendships and a community of support, and ‘growing their village’.
Learn more
To learn more about books on prescription and other resources available to health professionals, please visit the Reading Agency website and sign up to the RCM’s webinar happening next month.
