Open since 1989, PlaneTree Health Library moved from San Jose to Los Gatos in 2003. We hope you will visit our pleasant location soon. Our exceptionally knowledgeable and helpful staff can help you find the health information you want and need.
PlaneTree Health Library extensive collection of current, useful health information is provided in a variety of formats. Resources range from easy-to-understand materials to the technical, professional literature. Our computer services feature Internet access, including health sites not publicly available, and help with online searching.
PlaneTree covers both conventional and complementary (alternative) therapies. Some books, articles, and videos are available in Spanish with bi-lingual assistance available.
Library Services
Reference
PlaneTree staff is always available during open hours to help you assess what type of information you are looking for, to help you understand the different information resources available to you within the library and how to access further resources beyond the library, and to help you to decide the further steps in obtaining the information you need.
Article Files
Much of the most current and relevant information at PlaneTree Health Resource Center is located among over 800 topic files of articles and clippings. We review major medical journals, health newsletters, and major newspapers and make selections for the files which cover medical conditions, mental health concerns, diagnostic tests and procedures, complementary therapies and many other areas of consumer health interest.
Book and Audio-Visual Collection
Medical textbooks and dictionaries, popular health books, guides to pharmaceutical drugs and easy-to-understand materials are all part of the over 2,000 books in PlaneTree library's current, relevant, and in-depth book collection. The PlaneTree library offers information on many medical topics in audiocassette and videotape formats.
Journal Collection
We carry up to five years of back issues of major medical journals, popular health magazines & newsletters, publications which focus on specific medical concerns or topics, and titles that cover complementary (alternative) therapies.
Computers
Computer services include DSL access to the internet, including access to many licensed databases, searches of the National Library of Medicine database (Pubmed) that staff or patrons perform; and three Internet work stations available to the public for health and medical searching at no charge. PlaneTree staff is available to help people who are not yet comfortable with computers to use them to find health and medical information.
Multicultural Resouces
Health care professionals, students, and others serving diverse communities can find information on increasing their cultural competence in the health care setting at the PlaneTree library.
Support Groups
Directories (found as both books and Internet websites) at PlaneTree San José provide local and national listings for established support groups plus guidelines to assist you in forming a new group.
Children's Area
Children are welcome at PlaneTree library! We have a special corner with a kid-sized table and chairs, teddy bears, crayons and coloring books, and many wonderful children's books for all ages.
Bookstore
The health bookstore at PlaneTree Health Library offers staff and patron favorites as well as book, audio and video titles not easily found in other retail stores. Special orders for health and medical titles in print is available at no extra charge.
