This article is part of a new WiLS series, Products in Practice, in which we highlight how our members are using products they purchase through WiLS Cooperative Purchasing, with support from our vendor partners, to improve information service to their students, patrons, and community members.
This edition, authored by Andrea Bloom, Founder of ConnectWell, features Chilton Public Library’s quest to reduce technological barriers and mitigate information overload for Calumet County patrons seeking health information.
Libraries are free and accessible to everyone, which makes them a natural partner to scale health literacy, provide “techequity,” and improve health. Because public libraries are far more numerous than healthcare facilities, they provide wide accessibility to people in urban, suburban, and rural communities alike. Librarians are often asked to help find medical and health information, help patrons access patient portals, and make sense of the information. Furthermore, according to the Milken Institute Health Literacy Report, only 12% of U.S. adults have proficient health literacy, and 77 million Americans have difficulty attempting to use health services, obtain quality care, and maintain healthy behaviors because their health literacy is inadequate. Libraries are the ideal place to scale health literacy and engagement, and there is a growing movement to deliver health programs at libraries.
ConnectWell’s offering includes a Health & Wellness Database and Programming. The programs incorporate content from ConnectWell’s database, which serves as the expert. This enables library staff without healthcare backgrounds to effectively and confidently deliver ConnectWell’s ready-made suite of programs. ConnectWell’s digital resource and program elements form a robust offering that scales health literacy and puts healthy lifestyle practices into action.
To test the efficacy of ConnectWell’s Wellness Challenges, a free pilot of ConnectWell’s Healthy Eating Challenge was deployed with the support of Let’s Move in Libraries, the notable organization that focuses on fostering community-based health programs at public libraries. Chilton Public Library participated in the pilot in early 2025, which started with a 5-week train-the-trainer program.
A Wisconsin Librarian’s Perspective on Health at the Library Utilizing ConnectWell
After 2020, it was clear that health literacy and access to accurate and easy-to-understand health information was needed in many communities. As services and resources moved to online spaces, Rebbecca Barry, Director of Chilton Public Library, wanted to find ways to help bridge the divide of technological barriers and the information overload that existed for Calumet County patrons. However, with a small staff, a small budget, and a rural community, it is not always easy to find speakers or time to research and plan science and evidence-based programming. ConnectWell was a resource that could help with that specific need.
Utilizing ConnectWell, Rebbecca discovered ready-made programs that could be implemented as an in-house library program. The ConnectWell Healthy Eating Challenge provided a perfect springboard to learn how ConnectWell could be used from a patron and a staff perspective. Taking the information provided through ConnectWell and adding supporting activities, Rebbecca ran a five-week program that showcased science-based, hands-on, and discussion-based activities. This format encouraged attendees to have conversations, review ingredients that could be purchased locally, and make and taste dishes all while learning about nutrition options.
Chilton Library also livestreamed the program on its YouTube channel to allow increased accessibility to the program and the information.
After the ConnectWell Healthy Eating Challenge, Rebbecca felt that ConnectWell’s database would be a good fit for the library. “When evaluating a digital resource, I want something that will provide for both staff and patrons, is easy for people to use, and provides the information our community needs. ConnectWell has been able to check off those boxes for us. The ConnectWell offering includes ready-made health programs, which is a huge time saver for programming planning for the library. Being able to build a year’s worth of health literacy programming for my community is what put it over the top for me to invest in this digital resource.”
ConnectWell’s ready-made health programs contained all the information that Rebbecca needed to create a series of programs that explained and walked patrons through health topics using plain language, which allows health information to be easy to understand. These programs were straightforward and engaged participants in digital content. While building health literacy skills, patrons also gain knowledge of how to access and use one of the library’s digital resources.
Supporting Public Libraries as a Hub for Health Literacy and Engagement
Stories like Rebbecca’s reflect what many Wisconsin libraries have the capacity to do with the right resources. Wisconsin public librarians demonstrate remarkable innovation as they stretch limited staffing to create programs and services that truly connect with their communities’ needs. With ConnectWell’s offering, libraries can provide a database of curated consumer health information and deliver science-based hands-on health events that support community members to improve their health.
