Francisca Goldsmith has worked in public and academic libraries across North America for more than 25 years before becoming a full-time library staff development consultant and instructor. Recently, her focus has been on supporting public library staff and administrators in responding to community needs for access to healthcare information and expanding librarian and educator awareness of multi-modal literacy needs in both youth and adult communities. Her library experience and consulting includes frontline reference work, collection management, branch services management, and teen services development and advocacy. She is the author of The Readers' Advisory Guide to Graphic Novels, Second Edition (ALA Editions, 2017).

Libraries and the Affordable Care Act: Helping the Community Understand Health-care Options—eEditions e-book
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Samples
- Description
- Table of Contents
- About the Author
- Reviews
Ever since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, public library staff throughout the country have been working hard to provide access to information about the law while educating their communities about how implementation affects them. But defining the expectations and limitations of libraries' roles regarding support of the new law remains a challenge. This important guide, the first written specifically for library staff, offers best practices, advice, and examples of library responses from the first open enrollment period (October 2013-March 2014). Offering clear and explicit guidance related to the ethical and legal aspects of Affordable Care Act policy support through local library services, this resource
- Analyzes the nearly 20 different state-level marketplace regulatory ecosystems to find common ground, then pathfinds the quickest routes to state-level information for each state
- Addresses the diverse needs of public library communities in both urban and rural settings, while examining staff capacities at various libraries
- Encourages a pragmatic approach through the inclusion of "to do" lists at the end of each chapter
- Provides strategies and tools for building community healthcare awareness
Published in advance of the second open enrollment period, this invaluable guide will encourage broader and more assured community support during this period of major policy changes to healthcare access and availability.
Chapter 1 To-Do List
Chapter 2 To-Do List
Chapter 3 To-Do List
Chapter 4 To-Do List
Chapter 5 To-Do List
Chapter 6 To-Do List
Chapter 7 To-Do List
Chapter 8 To-Do List
Chapter 9 To-Do List
Government RegulationsGovernment Sponsored Access AssistanceTools for Plain Language CommunicationTools for Exploring Community Needs and AssetsFoundations, Nonprofits, and Other Agencies Active in Affordable Health AccessSocial Media Resources
"A concise handbook that helps library staff make sense of the complicated new reality of health care reform … Even though the second enrollment period of the ACA has nearly concluded, librarians shouldn't let the ACA fall off their radar. Even though they may not see as much activity until next fall, this book provides a good reference in general, and it will serve librarians well as they plan for services and programming for the next enrollment period."
— Newsletter for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Pacific Southwest Region
"Informed, informative, up-to-date, practical, exceptionally well written and organized … should be in the reference collection of every community and academic library throughout the country."
— Midwest Book Review
"This slender volume has got the goods and purchase is a must for any library that wishes to help its patrons answer questions about the new healthcare law."
— Catholic Library World