Titles in the range will give staff and students at the College an opportunity to learn more about a variety of health issues including anxiety, grief, type 2 diabetes, coeliac disease and many other long-term conditions. The full collection will be available in the College libraries at the Ballymena, Magherafelt and Newtownabbey campuses. In addition, a selection of the titles will be in eBook format and accessible online 24/7.
Angela Dynes, Library Manager at Northern Regional College said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed working with The Northern Health and Social Care Trust to bring this initiative to our college community. Reading has many positive benefits and with access to this highly regarded collection, our staff and students can also discover new ways to keep well. By working in partnership with Hugh Nelson, (Head of Community Wellbeing) and Leah Glass, (Health and Wellbeing Locality Lead) with the Trust, I am delighted that we can also provide online access to a selection of these book titles in addition to this wonderful print collection.”
Welcoming the initiative, Hugh Nelson said the Northern Health and Social Care Trust is delighted to have worked closely with Northern Regional College to support the expansion of the Read Yourself Well scheme.
He said: “This new collection offers free access to a wide range of health and wellbeing information for people to take away and read at a time that suits them.”
The Read Yourself Well initiative is a tangible result of the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Northern Regional College and Northern Health and Social Care Trust. The MoU aims to promote greater co-operation and collaboration between the two organisations in areas of mutual importance and interest, such as education and health promotion.
Jenny Small, Northern Regional College’s Vice Principal for Performance and Development, said Read Yourself Well is an example of how the MoU can benefit both signatories.
“Both the College and the Trust have a rich pool of knowledge, talent and skills and we are committed to initiatives like Read Yourself Well that allow us to access and share resources.”