Innovative Resource and Learning Center Offers Valuable Materials to Patients and the Community

Newswise — New Brunswick, N.J., April 11, 2013 –The Cancer Institute of New Jersey joins communities, schools and other institutions across the nation in recognizing National Library Week (April 14 - 20). Sponsored by the American Library Association, this celebration aims to remind everyone that libraries serve as knowledge centers and a readily-available resource for all.

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey houses its own library known as the Resource and Learning Center (RLC), which provides a source of comfort and information for many patients and family members unfamiliar with the many aspects of cancer. Here, educational materials such as books (for both children and adults), health magazines, videos, DVDs, and CD-ROMs can be accessed to provide information on a variety of cancer topics, such as prevention, treatment, research, and nutrition. Information in the library’s database is also accessible through the center’s website: www.cinj.org/rlc. Keeping up with the latest technology, the RLC contains Apple iPads and Barnes & Noble NOOK™ electronic readers in its information arsenal, allowing users additional outlets for both education and entertainment.

While the RLC welcomes patients and loved ones, this year’s national theme of “Communities Matter @ Your Library” is a reminder that the RLC is also open to members of the general public. The RLC is located on the second floor at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Cancer Institute of New Jersey – a Center of Excellence at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School – is one of only a handful of the nation’s 41 Comprehensive Cancer Centers that have a resource library for patients on site. CINJ is New Jersey’s only cancer center to receive the Comprehensive Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute, based on numerous components including patient education.

CINJ experts available for comment include:

Janet Lasin, MLS, BS, is the medical librarian at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey’s RLC. She plays an essential role in reviewing and selecting all multi-media materials for the RLC and assists patients, family members, and members of the community in selecting appropriate cancer-related materials tailored to their individual needs. Lasin also helps patients navigate health-related websites and can discuss the important role the Internet and web-based information now play in a patient’s journey through cancer.

Leah Scaramuzzo, MSN, RN-BC, AOCN, is the associate director of Nursing and Patient Education at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the chair of the Patient Education Committee. Scaramuzzo oversees -- and has been instrumental in building -- the RLC, and can discuss the importance of a wide variety of educational and resource materials being made readily available to cancer patients, especially after diagnosis.