Health & Wellness
Contact: Adult Service Desk 203-438-2282 x12004 or email the Reference Desk
The Ridgefield Library maintains a comprehensive collection of consumer health resources that provide our patrons with authoritative, up-to-date information on a wide range of topics that include healthy lifestyles, nutrition, fitness, mindfulness, medical conditions and treatments, drugs, laboratory and diagnostic tests, complementary therapies, and much more.
COVID-19 and COVID-19 Vaccine Information
Online Resources
Subscription Databases
Over 4,600 academic journals on a wide variety of topics, including science, medicine, and psychology.
Provides information from magazines, reference books, and primary source material. Includes Consumer Reports.
Recommended Websites
Comprehensive, authoritative, up-to-date health information from the National Library of Medicine.
Comprises more than 28 million citations for biomedical literature from Medline, life science journals, and online books.
More than 3,300 physicians, scientists, and researchers share their expertise in a consumer-friendly format.
Excellent resource on women’s health from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The most visited site for information about health, behavior, and development from before birth through the teen years.
A public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging connecting users to services for older adults and their families.
Focuses on the health issues of older adults and their caregivers.
An award-winning site maintained by oncology professionals who understand the needs of patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals.
National Cancer Institute
The central website for the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. government’s principal agency for cancer research.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
Trustworthy source from the National Institutes of Health.
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
A patient advocacy organization dedicated to individuals with rare diseases and the organizations that serve them.
Provides comprehensive information on every licensed physician in the United States.
UConn Health Sciences Library: Consumer Health Resources
Wellness Through Answers (WTA)
Provides access to reliable health and wellness information.
WTA is the consumer health service of the UConn Health Sciences Library. Their mission is to connect Connecticut residents to the reliable medical information they need to manage their health and wellness.
From WTA and UConn Health’s Consumer Health Resources guide you can easily:
- -browse reliable health websites by topic,
- -locate health professionals and facilities
- -find tools to help decipher health news stories, medical studies, or lab results
- -read the latest issue of our bimonthly newsletter or access earlier issues
- -ask for help researching a health topic
Contact WTA at: 860-679-4500, [email protected] WTA is staffed Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Additional State and Local Resources
211.org phone contact: dial 2-1-1
Connecticut Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services
Greenwich Hospital Medical Library
Consumer Health Librarian, Phone: 203-863-3286
Dr. Steven Mickley Community Health Resource Section of the Greenwich Hospital Medical Library
Additional Health Resources and Organizations
Associations such as American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association
Connecticut State Library, Health Literacy: Health Resources
Merck Manual Consumer Version
MyPlate (U.S.Department of Agriculture)
Nutrition.gov (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Library Materials
Circulating nonfiction books covering heath and medical topics are shelved in the stacks in Adult Services. (Look for a shelf guide on the endcap of the 600’s book shelf to guide to you specific call numbers for medical and mental health topics.)
Reference books and health newsletters are located in the Medical Reference section near the Adult Services Desk.
Print magazines are on display in the Friends of the Library Reading Room.
Digital magazines are available through OverDrive and the Libby by OverDrive app.
Audiobooks and nonfiction DVDs are shelved separately.
Core Medical Reference Collection
- Dictionaries
- Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary
- Encyclopedias
- The 5-Minute Clinical Consult
- Conn’s Current Therapy
- Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment
- The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine
- Salem Health Cancer
- Human Anatomy
- Atlas of Human Anatomy
- The Complete Human Body
- Gray’s Anatomy
- Medical Tests
- Fischbach’s Manual of Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests
- Merck Manual Go-To Home Guide for Symptoms
- Mental Health
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5
- Mental Health and Mental Disorders
- Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Pediatrics
- Current Diagnosis and Treatment: Pediatrics
- Prescription Drugs
- Complete Guide to Prescription and Nonprescription Drugs
Magazines/Newspapers
- Clean Eating**
- Eating Well**
- Men’s Fitness**
- Men’s Health*
- Prevention*
- Psychology Today
- Runner’s World*
- Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter
- Women’s Health*
- Yoga Journal*
*Indicates title is also available for download on OverDrive and the Libby app
**Indicates title is only available through OverDrive and the Libby app
Library Programs
The Library regularly offers programs for adults on a wide variety of health and wellness topics. Many of these programs are supported by the Noreen Papa: Mothers Live Your Life Fund.
Check our upcoming events for a full listing of programs and locations, or download our printable newsletter.
Many Library programs are recorded. Check out the Adult Programs playlist on our YouTube channel or view selected recordings here:
COVID-19 Vaccination Program – February 26, 2021