MLGSCA Link
Name: Lauren Carter
Institution: University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix (Phoenix, AZ)
Title: Library Services Associate
Brief description of what you do at your institution
I provide basic research assistance to students, staff, and faculty from a variety of health science programs at the Phoenix Bioscience Core. However, most of the time I'm working on projects like displays, passive programming activities, and recently, cataloging our new special collection (more on that later!).
Why is MLGSCA important to you?
As a recent MLIS graduate who is actively job hunting, MLGSCA is a great resource to meet other health science library professionals -- and to find out about job openings! :-)
Why did you become a librarian?
My mom, an academic librarian, encouraged me to work in my college library during undergrad, and I loved it. After graduating, I briefly worked in a corporate job (just three months!) before realizing it wasn’t for me. I missed working in the library, so I decided to pursue library work again. I worked in a public library for a while, and eventually landed at the College of Medicine-Phoenix where I decided to pursue my MLIS.
What was your first library job or professional position?
My first library job was as a student worker at Mesa Community College. Later, during my MLIS, I returned as an intern, and after graduating, I was invited back as an Adjunct Faculty Librarian. So I'm hugely thankful to MCC for being the place where I fell in love with library work, and now also being the first place I get to call myself a Librarian. :-)
What has been the most interesting project you have worked on?
As I mentioned before, I’ve been cataloging a large donation of antique and rare medical books from a local pediatric neurologist, with some texts dating back to the 1600s! It’s been fascinating to work with these historic books and to play a role in the planning and curatorial decisions for the new special collection.
What is something you have on your bucket list?
I would love to visit New Orleans! I love jazz and spooky vibes so it's been on my list for a while.
What do you do in your spare time for fun, or to relax?
For fun, I love going to concerts, traveling, and exploring art museums. My best friend works in the local arts, so she always takes me to the coolest new exhibitions! :~) To relax, I’m usually at home reading or watching TV with my partner and our cat.
What is the best thing you have read/watched/listened to recently?
Severance! I'm obsessed.
Join the Chapter Leadership Team! Open Officer Positions Now Available
Are you ready to take your professional involvement to the next level and help shape the future of MLGSCA? We’re excited to announce open officer positions on the Advisory Council (AC), and we encourage passionate and dedicated members like you to apply!
Below, you’ll find a brief overview of each position’s responsibilities. If you’re interested in any of these positions, reach out to the Nominating Chair to learn more or submit your nomination today!
Send nominations or self-nominations to the Nominating Committee chair, Angela at angelamurrell@arizona.edu by Feb 14, 2025.
Becoming a Chapter officer is a unique opportunity to:
Open Positions:
President-Elect (3-year term)
Prepare to lead while playing a vital role in MLGSCA’s strategic affairs. This individual assists the President in planning and organizing programs, including monthly Coffee Chats, and supports Chapter initiatives outlined in the Bylaws. Additionally, they act as President in their absence and take on special projects as assigned by the AC.
President *Special Position (2-year term)
Usually, the President-Elect steps up as President, but due to changes this year, we have a 2-year position of President/Immediate Past President position open. The President presides over all meetings, represents the Chapter, appoints an Archivist, and submits an Annual Report to MLA Headquarters. They also fulfill other responsibilities as outlined in the Bylaws. This position includes one year as President, followed by one year as Immediate Past President.
Secretary (1-year term)
Help keep MLGSCA organized and informed! This position is a great entry position for new librarians and/or new MLGSCA members. The Secretary notifies members of Business and Advisory Council (AC) meetings, records and distributes meeting minutes, and publishes an annual list of committee chairs and members. They may take on special projects as assigned by the AC.
Treasurer (2-year term)
The Treasurer is responsible for managing and safeguarding the chapter’s finances. Their duties include receiving and accounting for all funds, preparing quarterly financial reports, and serving as an ex-officio member of the Finance Committee. They also coordinate finances for the 2026 Joint Meeting, ensuring smooth financial planning for the event.
MLGSCA Nominating Committee (2-year term) 2 positions
Membership annually elects two representatives to join the Nominating Committee. They help shape the future of Chapter leadership by preparing the annual slate of nominees for open officer positions, managing the election process, and recommending a Voting Member for the MLA Nominating Committee.
Name: Becca Gates
Institution: University of California, Irvine
Title: Research Librarian for Health Sciences
Brief description of what you do/your responsibilities at your institution.
I serve as the liaison to the School of Nursing students, faculty, and staff as well as the UCI Medical Center Nurses. In this role I provide instruction, research support, reference services, collection development, and outreach for the subject area. I also work more generally in public services through undergraduate teaching and reference.
As a newer librarian to the health sciences field, MLGSCA has been incredibly helpful in my first year in my position. I have found it to be a great place to get support and find connection in the field!
As I am sure is the case for many of us, I have always been a big reader. After I received my degree in English from Cal Poly SLO, I briefly considered trying to get into publishing as an avenue to continue being around books, but quickly found it was not for me. Somewhat aimless after graduation, I was poking around looking for a somewhat English degree - adjacent field of work (that wasn't teaching!) and was shocked to find that you could get a Masters in Library and Information Science--I never looked back after that!
My first professional position was as a Research and Instruction Librarian at Teachers College, Columbia University. I miss living in New York City but had to make it back home to California!
What do you consider to be the most pressing issues or trends in librarianship?
I think information literacy—particularly teaching around and strengthening critical information literacy—is an essential issue and opportunity in our work. Access to information dictates much of our ability to create change within power structures across fields. We are uniquely positioned to influence how we as groups and individuals create, share, and evaluate information in an equitable way.
Mostly travel destinations! I try to do an international trip once a year and went to Japan in 2024—deciding on the 2025 location now, but its looking like I'll be heading to Norway for the first time to visit some cousins.
I have been slowly but surely learning to knit and crochet, which is at times relaxing and other times a little frustrating.
After having watched and loved the HBO show Station Eleven a couple years ago, I finally picked up the novel it was based on by Emily St. John Mandel and really enjoyed it—some differences from the book to show, but both great.
Hello everyone, and happy holidays!
We spoke about the available funds through the MLGSCA Awards committee, and encouraged applications since many times the funding may go unclaimed.
Library Grants, Scholarships, and Awards
Recommendations for MLGSCA Members
Academic
Association of Academic Health Sciences Librarians (AAHSL)
Association of College & Research Libraries Awards & Scholarships
Medical Libraries
Medical Library Association Grants, Scholarships, Fellowships
Medical Library Association Awards and Honors
National Network of Libraries of Medicine Funding Opportunities
Other & Meta-searches
American Library Association (ALA) Grants
Special Library Association Scholarships
Southern California Electronic Library Consortium (SCELC) Awards & Scholarships
Arizona State Library
California State Library Grants and Funding
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Grant Forward
Grants.gov
Do you have other sources for funding to recommend?
On December 5th, the Southern California members of the Medical Library Group of Southern California and Arizona (MLGSCA) gathered for their 2024 holiday social at the California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) in Lakewood Center Mall. The event brought together 14 attendees, including four library school students.
The evening’s festivities were made possible by the MLGSCA Membership Committee. Membership Committee Co-chair, Sunny McGowan, brought a Membership gift certificate and 2 bags of Starbucks coffee to give away. Jennifer Silverman decorated the tables, donated two coffee presses for the raffle, prepared the holiday goodie bags, and served as the evening’s master of ceremonies. Adding a festive touch, Judy Kraemer donated three beautiful poinsettias that enhanced the holiday décor. These poinsettias were later raffled off to lucky attendees, Becca Gates and Kay Lee. Emily Zimmermann was the winner of the free MLGSCA Membership gift certificate while Sunny McGowan and Ivan Portillo each won the coffee press with the holiday Starbucks coffee.
And we would also like to thank our sponsors for the raffle prize donations: EBSCO contributed two Amazon gift cards, and Ovid provided a festive holiday gift basket. Danielle Linden won the holiday gift basket whereas Adorée Makusztak and her husband were the lucky winners of the two Amazon gift cards!
The event was a great way to celebrate the season, connect with peers, and welcome the next generation of library professionals. Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to making the 2024 MLGSCA holiday social a fun and joyful occasion!
On December 5th, Arizona members of MLGSCA held a long-awaited in-person holiday social at the Culinary Dropout in Tempe. We had decorations, candy, giveaways, and of course good food and conversations.
Enjoy these photos from the night.
We went all out decorating the table, and provided swag, icebreakers, and candy!
(left to right) MGLSCA members Victoria Caine, Stephanie Vartabedian, CJ Garcia
(left to right) MLGSCA members Sydni Abrahamsen, Kevin Pardon, and Melissa Wagner
Our raffle winners: Stephania Vartabedian, Victoria Caine, David Bickford, and Kevin Pardon. Prizes included a free MLGSCA membership, Amazon gift cards (courtesy of EBSCO), and a gift basket (courtesy of Ovid).
We hope to see you next year! Keep an eye out for upcoming AZ social events.
Thanks to MLGSCA Membership Committee members Victoria Caine and Melissa Wagner for their help in putting this all together.
Name: Emily Zimmermann
Institution: Marshall B Ketchum University (Fullerton, CA)
Title: Health Sciences Librarian
I support the research, instructional, and informational goals of MBKU students, faculty, and residents in their pursuit of life-long learning. I am the liaison to the PA program but also work closely with the optometry and pharmacy programs. I have taught evidence-based medicine sessions, information literacy searches, provided advanced searching tutorials and have been an active research partner with faculty. I also manage a team of 18 student workers.
I care deeply about my profession, and I am brand new here! I want to be a little sponge and learn as much as I can from the incredible librarians in Southern California, Arizona, and beyond!
I was recently invited to be the Chair of the DEI-A Task Force, and I am honored to have an opportunity to put my priorities of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility into action. I would like to invite anyone who is interested in working with me towards my goal of filling the DEI-A Taskforce section of the MLGSCA website with highlights from librarians all over our chapter about what they are doing in their libraries. By highlighting the work of others, this allows us to brainstorm for future initiatives in our own libraries and appreciate the excellent work being done around the chapter. Please feel free to email me at ezimmermann@ketchum.edu if you would like to work together or have a conversation about what work you are doing in your library that you would like the chance to highlight!
I went to undergrad at the University of Toronto to become an architect. I soon learned that I was absolutely terrible at building models and creating architectural drawings using code. Luckily, there were many other course options available to me within the architecture school: Indigenous studies, urban planning, material culture, forestry, and more. In all of these diverse classes, I unlocked a new sense of intellectual curiosity and found myself exploring as many of the 44 libraries on campus as I could. I knew by my 3rd year that I wanted to be a librarian to help students, dive deeper into the world of academia, and have a job that allowed me to be a lifelong learner.
I applied to just about every position I could and finally landed a position at North Carolina State University Archives as a digitization assistant. I did not enjoy the dusty basement without any human interaction, but I learned a lot!
I recently wrote my thesis about ChatGPT and consumer health information. I wanted to know what medical professionals across disciplines thought about ChatGPT's responses to common patient queries. To my surprise, the sentiment was very positive! Generative AI is extremely fascinating. I am committed to learning about how our students use it and how it might affect their futures as healthcare leaders.
I love to paint! I love art and lots of color. My paintings are usually big landscapes and floral paintings using acrylic paint. I also paint pet portraits! I love animals.
Describe yourself in five words
happy, colorful, & artsy cat lady!
What are you most proud of?
My immediate family members who have all committed their careers to helping people: my mom who is a lactation consultant and childbirth educator, my dad who was previously a police detective and is now an investigator for the public defender's office, my sister who is in nursing school, and my partner who is a pilot in the Navy. They all keep me going and inspire me daily.
Name: Dot WinslowDot Winslow
Institution: A.T. Still University of Health Sciences College for Healthy Communities
Title: Library Assistant
I am a solo library assistant (or Library Assistant PLUS, as our director likes to say,) and I have a blend of assistant and liaison duties that include inter library loan, circulation desk activities, building the library relationship with the Central Coast Physician Assistant Program, and acting as chair of the Diversity in Education Committee California.
MLGSCA is important to me because I am able to connect to other librarians and build community and network within the profession. I love connecting and learning from others.
I became a librarian because I have a passion for helping others and enjoy doing so from the library setting.
This is my first library job!
What is your advice to someone new to medical librarianship?
Most of what you do on a daily basis is learned on the job, so I encourage those new to the field to ask for help.
As the chair of the DECC, I worked with a local non-profit and with the dean of our college to bring training to the CCPA program on the indigenous mixtec people of Mexico who have immigrated to our part of the central coast of California. I learned so much in that process and from attending that training and I am honored that I get to be a part of helping students of the medical profession learn how to help serve our most underserved communities.
I love to play with my cat Calliope, read, geocache, go to concerts, and do jigsaw puzzle nights with my friends.
All About Love by bell hooks and polysecure by Jessica Fern
Describe yourself in five words.
content, magic, fun, tired, listener
Is there anything about you that others would be surprised to know?
I acted in school plays in 8th grade through college, and just started acting in community theater this autumn.
I am most proud of how far I have come in becoming myself and truly investing in myself over the past year.
On October 23rd, a group of MLGSCA members traveled to USC’s Doheny Library to celebrate the opening of their new Visions & Voices exhibition, Spectral Science: Visions of the World Beyond. The exhibit explores the surprising intersections of science, illusion, and spiritualism with items from the collections of the USC Libraries and The Academy of Magical Arts.
Enjoy these photos from the opening reception and the Spectral Science exhibit.
Learn more about the exhibit by viewing the Spectral Science Theme Guide.
The evening began with some fun card tricks from student members of the USC Magic Association (with audience participation).
Attendees enjoyed a panel discussion featuring (from L-R) marketing research and insights innovator Ted Skidmore of USC Annenberg, Magic Lanternist Melissa Ferrari, USC Provost Professor of Art History and English Kate Flint, and USC Libraries Carrollian Fellow Franziska Kohlt. They discussed the shared histories of scientific inquiry and spiritualism as a form of technological spectacle.
Next, MLGSCA members Andrea Harrow, Erin Robinson, and Jennifer Silverman were excited to explore the exhibit.
There were books on display written about spirits and the mystic arts. It included work from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and a book from J. Malcolm Bird on “Margery the Medium,” featuring a photo taken by Houdini.
The exhibit displayed the history of magic and illusion as a form of entertainment by including large posters advertising shows featuring Houdini and Kellar.
There was plenty of content on the history of Magic Lanterns. Books discussing its early days and a sample lantern were featured.
Overall, the exhibit showed how there is a lot of evidence that blurs the lines between the logical and illogical and the natural and supernatural. Nothing exemplified this more than this eerie photo of a very real looking fossil of a pixie that was found a few years ago.
It was a spooky good time!
Olivia Carreon of the Wilson Dental Library at the University of Southern California is this year’s recipient of the MLGSCA Staff Excellence Award. Olivia has been with the library since 2016 and was promoted to Library Supervisor in 2019. She was nominated by her director, Hannah Schilperoort. Olivia was recognized not only for her excellent customer service skills, professional advancement, and staff supervision, but also for the critical role she played during a temporary closure and reopening of the library space. In the photo, Hannah in on the left, and Olivia is on the right.
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Southern California and Arizona
The Medical Library Association and Chapters are a 501(c)(3) educational organization.
A Chapter of the Medical Library Association