Health & Wellness

The Portland Public Teen Library is committed to helping our teen patrons find reliable and safe health information and services. This page contains trusted resources for local teens searching for health care and support in the Southern Maine and Greater Portland areas.

Death Cafes are not grief sessions or bereavement groups, but rather interesting and inviting gatherings held around the world to increase awareness of the importance of making the most of this life as we ponder what we know of death. 

Our health resources are meant to aid in your online research and learning. To access our online resources, you will need your library card number. If you have trouble logging in, please contact the reference department at 871-1700 x725.

The results are in for HeLPURS, the first ever research study into the relationship between public library use and public health, a partnership between Portland physician Dr. Sam Zager and the Portland Public Library. The results provide evidence that public library use has quantifiable associations with health, particularly in the areas of substance abuse and depression-anxiety disorders. The most dramatic finding is that moderate or higher use of public libraries is associated with tobacco cessation. Individuals who have ever been smokers and who used the library at least moderately – seven or more items checked out per active year – were more than two times more likely to have successfully quit smoking, compared with smokers who used the library less.

Listen to Dr. Lisa Belisle’s November 14, 2014 interview with Dr. Sam Zager and PPL Executive Director Steve Podgajny.

updated: November 26, 2014

Learn more >>

[ See our original October 2013 post about the launch of the study. ]

There’s a wealth of health information out there – resources on healthy eating, lifestyle, aging, living with disabilities, and dealing with life’s medical detours and trajectories.  We’ve put together sources and resources to provide you with the help you need and authoritative advice you can use for a healthy you and a healthy community.