A Chapter of the Medical Library Association

Name: Karina Kletscher
Institution: Creighton University, Phoenix, AZ
Title: Health Sciences Librarian

Brief description of what you do/your responsibilities at your institution.

I had the great pleasure -- and challenge -- of launching the Health Sciences Library here on Creighton University's Health Sciences Campus, a satellite campus of our Nebraska-based university. So I do a mix of access services and liaising to our professional programs both here in Phoenix and some in Omaha, Nebraska.

Why is MLGSCA important to you?

MLGSCA has been an important community for me to network with other medical and health sciences librarians. In this role, I started out as a semi-solo librarian (all my library colleagues were in Nebraska!) so it's been fun to learn from and just hang out with other librarians. I never thought I would be in this area of librarianship, so it's been such a great resource to find learning opportunities.

What was your first library job or professional position?

My first paid library gig was as a Research & Teaching Fellow when I was still in my LIS program. It was a training program that solidified my interest in academic librarianship where I learned the ins and outs of library pedagogy, reference and research support, and in-depth reflexive practice on the kind of librarian I wanted to be. I got to work with so many students on a variety coursework or research projects across so many disciplines - it was a ton of fun!

What is your advice to someone new to medical librarianship?

Don't be afraid of what you don't know and never feel silly for asking for help from colleagues in your workplace or associations like this! If you're someone like me who doesn't have a sciences background, starting out or even starting to work with a new discipline can be overwhelming. Librarians poke fun at our own amount of jargon and acronyms, but I think health sciences have us beat! It has been incredibly helpful to talk to other librarians to hear about their journeys, approaches, and resources as well as pay attention to listservs and LIS publications. Honestly, I also love to read other library's LibGuides and watch their YouTube tutorials -- I'm a learner, too!

What do you consider to be the most pressing issues or trends in librarianship?

Vocational awe is always on my mind; I might describe feeling "called" to this work, but I'm always trying to avoid the pitfalls of a helping profession that include scope creep, emotional labor, and burnout. I'm also usually thinking about the invisible labor in our profession, from the processes and labor required to make information and materials discoverable and accessible to health sciences' heavy teaching and/or performing complex searches. As much as I like being compared to a wizard, I have been squeezing in more education to faculty/staff/residents/students during interactions and have actually had some great conversations about it!

What is something you have on your bucket list?

My top two bucket list trips are to 1. backpack throughout New Zealand to visit my favorite fantasy production filming locations, take part in the adventure tourism, and visit their wineries and 2. reverse my immigrant ancestors footsteps to visit the cities and towns they came from along the Baltic Sea, starting in northern Germany and Poland and getting up to Denmark and Sweden.

What do you do in your spare time for fun, or to relax?

I love to read; I'm usually simultaneously reading fantasy and a non-fiction title in whatever has recently piqued my curiosity. I also love to explore vintage markets and have been very slowly teaching myself furniture restoration. I don't have a workshop or a dedicated garage space, so I really have to timeblock these projects and their inevitable messes.

What is the best thing you have read/watched/listened to recently?

I just finished listening to "Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams," by Matthew Walker, PhD. I'm fascinated by the neuroscience of sleep and dreams, and this book was an excellent deep dive into the historical and updated research. Walker's arguments and ideas for improving sleep hygiene are so compelling. I also loved his style of writing, which was approachable and a bit snarky. Highly recommend!