Accessing Library Resources for Public Health

January 08, 2024 | ASTHO Staff

Public health agencies at all levels benefit significantly from having access to evidence-based research. These resources provide a foundation for informed decision-making, effective public health interventions and policy development, and justification for funding and other resource allocations.

Resources for Evidence-based Literature

The Public Health Digital Library (PHDL) contains one of the most comprehensive collections of public health journals, e-books, e-journals, and databases for public health agencies. Members can access over 290 journals, 80+ e-books, multiple databases, and educational materials to get the most out of PHDL. Check to see if your organization or local library system is a member of PHDL.

If PHDL is not currently an option for your agency, here are some alternative resources and strategies for accessing evidence-based literature.

• The National Library of Medicine provides free access to dozens of guides and resources for public health, such as:
  • PubMed Central, a digital repository offering access to full-text articles from journals such as JAMA and The New England Journal of Medicine, which are also available through the PHDL. Over eight million full-text articles are free, and others are made available following an embargo period. For those journals and articles that have copyright protection, health agencies could purchase an article they are interested in viewing for around $35-$40 each.
  • LitCOVID, a curated literature hub for up-to-date scientific information about COVID-19 and features daily updated articles.
  • Links to over a dozen Open Access Journals, including Annual Review of Public Health, Frontiers in Public Health, and Health Equity.
• The American Journal of Public Health is free with a membership to the American Public Health Association.
• Google Scholar is a freely accessible search engine that provides access to full-text articles or abstracts. Articles purchased off Google Scholar seem to be in a similar price range as PubMed Central at $35-$40.
• CDC Science Clips is an online, continuously updated, searchable scientific literature database published by CDC authors.

A more cost-effective strategy than purchasing single articles is to buy subscriptions to journals of interest to your team or health agency. For example, the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice (JPHMP) is currently $145 for one year of online access.

Additional Strategies for Accessing Research Literature

Other strategies for accessing research literature may be hiding behind a paywall. Health agencies could:

• Utilize partnership agreements with local or state universities to support the health agency’s academic health department models and receive access to research and library resources through the university.
• If a health department has staff serving as faculty members at a university or college, access could be obtained through them, or they could help initiate the health department’s connection with a local or state higher education institution.
• Partner with local library systems for access to online journals. Access through libraries would likely be low or no cost, especially if the city or county also operates the library.