A Chapter of the Medical Library Association

Written by Becca Gates; photos by Sunny McGowan

L-R: Stephen Clancy (retired, UCI), Becca Gates (UCI), Rachel Maggio (Chapman), Ivan Portillo (Chapman), Beth Autin (Sharp), Sunny McGowan (Scripps), Emily Zimmermann (Ketchum), Dot Winslow (ATSU), Carol Schechter (Providence)  

A group of MLGSCA members gathered on Thursday, March 27^th for a tour of the Health Sciences Library at Chapman University Rinker Health Sciences campus guided by Library Director, Ivan Portillo. Ivan was supported during the tour by his colleagues in the library in providing the group with information about the development of the library spaces and initiatives.

The tour began in the entrance to the library area—also called the Health Sciences Study Commons—with Ivan providing context for the space’s history and development.

Tour attendees were particularly interested in the large study rooms and spaces all equipped with Apple TVs available for the students to use. The library also displays QR codes for their digital collections and profiles recent faculty publications and achievements.

We were particularly excited about a kiosk that dispenses short stories for users at the click of a button. The kiosk sits in a large study area of the library alongside nice couches, desks, and study carrels. 

After exploring the library space, we ventured over to the campus center where the library has a desk and office area for students to ask questions and get support. The tour also walked around and admired the bright and well decorated campus center. We ended the experience in a larger classroom that the library uses for instruction/workshops.

As the tour wrapped up, many of us came away inspired by the Chapman health sciences library spaces and considering how we might integrate ideas from the space in our own institutions.

To keep the fun going, we made our way over to Brio Italian Grille at the Irvine Spectrum Center for a post-tour social. We enjoyed the afternoon while sitting on the patio at the restaurant with good food, drinks, weather, and conversations!

L-R: Ivan, Sunny, Carol, Becca, Emily, Dot, Rae, Beth, Stephen, and Zem Ngow (UCSD)