HIV/AIDS Community Information Services : Experiences in Serving Both At-Risk and HIV-Infected Populations

This guidebook is designed to help the reader become aware of the information and information services that are available for at-risk and HIV-infected individuals. HIV/AIDS Community Information Services examines the relationship between HIV/AIDS and the body of information concerning them; discusses currently available HIV/AIDS information services; explores information as a means for empowerment; and suggests future programs, potential collaborative efforts, and innovative services. The author includes a special section on Internet resource sites on HIV/AIDS information. This is a suitable book for individuals already affected by HIV or AIDS and professionals working with them as well as librarians, health educators, counselors, and members of community-based AIDS service organizations.

Information forms the basis for education, and currently education is the only weapon available to stem the spread of HIV/AIDS and to foster empathy toward individuals already affected by the disease. HIV/AIDS and Community Information Services provides readers with insight into the information construct within the AIDS arena and how that construct affects the provision of information services to the HIV/AIDS affected population. It will serve as an irreplaceable reference as the number of individuals with AIDS increases, creating a greater demand for information and making that information increasingly difficult to provide.

While directories exist to assist with practical approaches to accessing HIV/AIDS-related information, none had served as a comprehensive resource concerning the nature of that information or the provision of information services. HIV/AIDS Community Information Services fills that void. It fosters the enlightenment of the general public concerning the true nature of HIV/AIDS, guides readers in providing information services--both educational and recreational--to individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, and encourages the dissemination of instructional materials to those individuals at risk for infection. In doing so, contributors provide readers with information about:

• the relationship between AIDS and the body of information concerning the disease
• the complex nature of HIV/AIDS-related information
• available HIV/AIDS information services
• information as a means for empowerment
• suggestions for future programs, potential collaboration efforts, and innovative services
  
  An essential guide for information professionals, librarians, health educators, counselors, members of community-based AIDS service organizations, and individuals affected by HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS Community Information Services foster the creation, accession, collection, organization, dissemination, and sharing of information concerning the HIV/AIDS epidemic and promotes the provision of services to individuals already affected by HIV/AIDS.