In January, the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) announced the dedication of the NHF/Novo Nordisk HANDI Library with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its headquarters in New York City. Support from Novo Nordisk enabled NHF to digitize its collection of education resources about all aspects of bleeding disorders, which are accessible through requests from HANDI.
In 1991, HANDI began systematically cataloguing articles relating to bleeding disorders culled from medical journals, newspapers, trade and consumer magazines, chapter newsletters, and internal and external organization publications. Prior to digitization, the library of more than 13,000 items was stored at the NHF office—the largest single collection of materials on bleeding disorders in the US. With digitization, the physical copies have been replaced by digital files and stored on a computer capable of housing large amounts of data, which saves both physical space and time needed to fulfill requests for information.
“Having the library digitized is something that was absolutely necessary for us to serve the bleeding disorders community now and to safeguard these resources for future generations,” says Neil Frick, NHF VP for research and medical information.
Information specialists from the NHF/Novo Nordisk HANDI Library receive approximately 4,000 requests for information and resources each year.
If you have a question related to bleeding disorders, contact an information specialist: [email protected] or call 1.800.42.HANDI.