A Chapter of the Medical Library Association

A.T. Still Memorial Library named Library Excellence in Access and Diversity Award recipient by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine

A.T. Still Memorial Library named Library Excellence in
Access and Diversity Award recipient by INSIGHT Into Diversity

A.T. Still University’s (ATSU) A.T. Still Memorial Library has been named a recipient of the 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award by INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.

The LEAD Award honors academic libraries’ programs and initiatives that encourage and support diversity, equity, and inclusion. These include, but are not limited to research, technology, accessibility, exhibitions, and community outreach. A.T. Still Memorial Library will be featured, along with 55 other recipients, in the March 2024 issue of Insight Into Diversity magazine.

“ATSU thanks Insight Into Diversity magazine for recognizing A.T. Still Memorial Library’s efforts in the areas of diversity and inclusion,” said ATSU President Craig Phelps, DO, ’84. “Congratulations to Library Director Hal Bright, MLS, AHIP, and our Missouri, Arizona, and California library staff on this achievement.”

Insight Into Diversity magazine selected A.T. Still Memorial Library because of the library’s multitude of projects in support of its diversity statement and action plan, including staff education initiatives on accessibility and cultural competency, diversity collections and exhibitions, and engagement with ATSU’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion, student organizations, University diversity initiatives, and committees.

“Diversity and serving the underserved, both of which are mentioned in our University's mission statement, are some of the strongest core values of ATSU,” Bright said. “I am proud of the work our team has performed in these areas and this award shines a light on the success we have had in the past year.”

A call for nominations for this award was announced in October 2023.

“We know that many academic libraries are not always recognized for their dedication to diversity, inclusion, and access” says Lenore Pearlstein, owner and publisher of Insight Into Diversity magazine. “We are proud to honor these college and university libraries as role models for other institutions of higher education.”

The LEAD Award is the latest Insight Into Diversity honor ATSU achieved. The University has been awarded the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award in each of the last seven years, and ATSU’s innovative Dreamline Pathways program has earned the magazine’s Inspiring Programs in STEM Award.

For more information about the 2024 Library Excellence in Access and Diversity (LEAD) Award, visit insightintodiversity.com.

Want to get more involved with MLGSCA? Have ideas for keeping our organization engaging for its members? 

The MLGSCA Nominating Committee wants to speak with you!

--Judy Kraemer, Chair with Lisa Marks, Andrea Harrow, Marcia Henry, David Bickford

We are seeking great candidates (YOU) for the following elected positions. 

• President Elect / President / Immediate Past President (3 year term, MLA membership required)
• Secretary (1 year term, MLA membership required)
• MLA Chapter Council Representative & Alternate (3 year term, MLA membership required)
• MLGSCA Nominating Committee (2 elected, 2 year term, MLA membership NOT required)
• MLA Nominating Committee Candidate (selected by the MLGSCA Advisory Council, MLGSCA candidate sent to MLA Chapter Council which will elect the members of the MLA Nominating Committee, MLA membership required)

Review the MLGSCA Bylaws and Advisory Council Manual and/or contact a Nominating Committee member for more information. 

• https://mlgsca.mlanet.org/bylaws2012.pdf 
• https://mlgsca.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/Current%20Documents/MLGSCA-AC-Manual_2012_update_APR_2015.pdf

Let us know if you want to run or to nominate a colleague preferably by January 19, next Friday.

Getting more involved with MLGSCA is the BEST thing I did for my career! Instant colleagues and friends!

Name: Karen O'Grady
Institution: University of San Diego, San Diego, CA
Title: Nursing Librarian

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

I am an embedded librarian at the Hahn School of Nursing, meaning my office is in the nursing building and not in the campus library. USD only has graduate nursing students, so I mostly help students and faculty with their research.

Why is MLGSCA important to you?

MLGSCA is important to me for friendship and networking.

Why did you become a librarian?

I had previously worked in publishing, and I worked with a lot of librarians. The more I learned about the profession, the more I saw it was a perfect fit for me.

What has been the most interesting project you have worked on?

My future dream project is to connect my nursing students with the hospital librarians at their clinical sites to help bridge the classroom-to-bedside gap. Many nursing students stop reading the nursing literature once they graduate. Oh, how this frustrates me.

What is your advice to someone new to medical librarianship?

Find your niche. Unlike public librarianship, medical librarianship positions vary widely in day-to-day duties. If you don't love what you are doing, look around and make a change. The perfect job awaits you!

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

I think the profession would benefit greatly if library students jumped into participating in professional organizations. Beyond that, I think AI has many people in academia worried.

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

I am listening to John Green books. I finished Looking for Alaska, and now I am listening to Turtles All the Way Down. That guy can really write!

Is there anything about you that others would be surprised to know?

I have a Secret government clearance because of my previous position at a submarine base.

What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of completing the Alcatraz swim in San Francisco.

On a nice, crisp December evening, the MLGSCA Membership Committee hosted the “Librarian Holiday Get-together” at the CPK restaurant in the Irvine Spectrum.  Like last year’s holiday event, the committee sent the invitation out to library school students, and all types of librarians including, public, law, and academic librarians from other disciplines.  We were so thrilled to have had a law librarian and a liberal arts college librarian join us so we can share our work experiences and network.

 

As guests trickled in, we offered each a raffle ticket so they could participate in the event's prize drawing.  We invited everyone to mix and mingle and to enjoy some delicious appetizers, salads, and pizzas.  

 

 

 

When most have finished up their meals, we started the White Elephant gift exchange – which was the most exciting part of the evening.  It was fun to see participants strategize which present to choose, shaking the wrapped boxes and gift bags, getting a feel for the weight of the mystery gift, and of course, the swapping of other people’s gifts! 

 

  

 

  

Afterwards we performed the raffle drawing and the prizes were donated by our wonderful library vendors.  Ebsco donated two $50 Amazon gift cards, Ovid/Wolters Kluwer donated a Starbucks holiday gift basket, and McGraw-Hill donated $100 CPK gift card to pitch in for the food.  Also, MLGSCA donated a free 2024 membership certificate and a surprise gift (which was a Harry Potter-themed card game).   

 

To finish off the lovely evening, as our guests prepared to depart, some were gracious enough to share with us that they were glad MLGSCA had organized the event.  Which signaled to us that our colleagues have longed to socialize in-person.  We had librarians come from all over Orange County, Riverside, LA, and San Diego to attend the get-together.  One member even said that he is going to renew his membership with MLGSCA even though he’s retired from library service.  It was wonderful time had by all and a perfect way to ring in the holiday season!

Happy Holidays from the MLGSCA Membership Committee!

Sunny McGowan (Co-chair)

Karen O’Grady (Co-chair)

Elisa Cortez

Jennifer Silverman

by Deborah Farber

If you want to develop new self-care practices, there's a resource for you. Created in 2022, the Be Well Community within MLA is a forum for librarians and staff to learn about personal and workplace wellness strategies. The Community hosts an hour-long panel discussion on a different topic each month. The sessions are scheduled from September to April, with a culminating event held at the MLA Annual Meeting.

In September, "Pens, Planners, and Productivity" focused on getting organized for work and school. Fellow MLGSCA Member Elisa Cortez was one of the panelists. Though preferred methods varied, all panelists emphasized picking a planning method that works for you. Planning can become part of self-care by incorporating reflection into the planning process.

The October session was all about "Preparing Plants for Changing Seasons." One of the panelists suggested, “Let nature do the work." The panelist allows seeds to fall to the ground and sprout when the conditions are right. Another panelist provided tips for gardening by season. For the third panelist, gardening is therapy.

The November topic was "Gifts and Gratitude: Sharing the Gift of Creativity." During the one-hour session, panelists provided ideas for incorporating creativity into gratitude practices. One suggested practice was visual journaling, a combination of words and art.

The next session, "Recipe for Resilience," will occur on December 13^th at 1:00 pm CST. There is no cost to register for the session. To attend, join the Be Well Community. As a community member, you'll have access to previous session recordings and resources mentioned during each session.

Name: Adorée Hatton
Institution: Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California
Title: Research and Instruction Librarian

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

I provide reference services for healthcare students and support faculty with information literacy instruction.

Why is MLGSCA important to you?

It's been a wonderful way to get to know semi-local health librarians and further develop my health librarianship skills.

Why did you become a librarian?

I always loved libraries - I had even written a paper in high school about "The Fellowship of the Library!" I had started considering it as a career when I did some in-depth aptitude testing; I asked the person who reviewed my test results if being a librarian would be a good fit, and they said it would be an excellent fit.

What was your first library job or professional position?

My first library job was a student position in the library at the small liberal arts university I attended. Both of the librarians knew I wanted to become a librarian, so they gave me the opportunity to work on projects not usually worked on by students, like overseeing sending periodicals for binding. I loved it!

What is your advice to someone new to medical librarianship?

Don't be scared of all the medical terminology - it will quickly become familiar. And - you're a librarian, you can always look it up! Don't be afraid to tell someone that you don't know the answer, but that you'll try to find it.

What is something you have on your bucket list?

I want to live/work in Austria or Germany at least long enough to become fluent in German.

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

A Discovery of Witches book series.

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

I spend time with my husband, we both love to travel. We also have nine cats to take care of! And when I have any extra time, I spend it in my garden.

MLGSCA is pleased to issue the 2023 Library Staff Excellence Award to two dedicated employees of health science libraries in the region. This year’s recipients are Cynthia Heltne of the Mayo Clinic and Mike Bates of the University of Arizona. Cynthia has worked for over 18 years at Mayo where she has demonstrated a consistent commitment to customer service, patient education, and lifelong learning. Mikel was selected for her outstanding work in managing grants, supervising staff, and coordinating the Arizona Health Information Network. Both were presented with their awards at staff events at their respective libraries.

Gotschall, T., Spencer, A., Hoogland, M., Cortez, E., & Irish, E. (2023). Journals accepting case reports. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 111(4), 819–822. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2023.1747

Name: Zemirah G. (Lee) Ngow, MLIS, AHIP
Institution: University of California, San Diego
Title: Collection Strategist for Life & Health Sciences & Liaison Librarian

I’m responsible for collections in the life & health sciences at UCSD Library. I also currently liaise with our new PA Program, Psychiatry, and Bioinformatics, and assist with our systematic review service.

Why is MLGSCA important to you?

I’ve always felt the importance of developing and contributing to a community of like-minded professionals who can share common challenges, triumphs, and to be able to discuss pressing issues that immediately affect the work we do. The first half of my career I focused heavily on instruction, but have reached a stage in my professional life where I find myself really wanting to get deeper into the issues that affect medical/health information–teaching, learning, and scholarship. I feel so lucky to have found my life’s calling as a librarian focused on issues in the life and health sciences and am very thankful to have found this group. I find that the many varied opportunities for networking and continuing education here have been most valuable to my professional growth, and I embrace the cares and concerns we bring forward that are so unique to our profession.

Why did you become a librarian?

My mom was a thesis shy of graduating to become a full-fledged librarian in the Philippines before she decided to marry my dad and move here back in the 70s. She always told me I should become a Librarian, but because mom told me to do it, it automatically was NOT cool, although I always had it in the back of my mind. I used to work for the County of San Diego and would see the postings for County Librarian positions and took a leap of faith one day and decided to just go back to school… libraries have always been a safe space for my three kids and I when I was a stay at home mom. So originally, I went to school to go into Youth Librarianship in Public Libraries before falling in love with the instruction, reference, research, and outreach component of Academic Libraries… et viola–The rest is history!

What is your advice to someone new to medical librarianship?

Whether you’re a solo hospital librarian or lost-in-the-crowd at a larger academic institution or find yourself in someplace between–no one else will really ever understand the unique challenges we face in our little specialty area of librarianship BUT another medical librarian. Find a professional group (like MLGSCA!) to get the help, support, advice, and network you’ll need to arrive and thrive in your new roles. Volunteer for everything you have time for and be open to exploring all the new opportunities that come your way because they will open doors to many other exciting adventures.

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

I have transformative agreements and the hidden gatchas involving open-access agreements on my mind because that seems like all I seem to be working on these days. Today, my answer to this question involves the whole of availability of scholarship and information-seeking behavior in the users who consume this information. Our scholars, researchers, and librarians are facing real challenges in curating, managing, collecting, and disseminating vetted evidence-based knowledge/information. Librarians these days, especially in health for medical/clinical settings, have evolved from bibliographers to having to become jacks and janes of all things with regard to the information we collect, curate, and organize to the teaching of finding and using of potentially complicated resources, to working with our researchers and authors to move our knowledge markers forward.

What is something you have on your bucket list?

To vacation in a resort where I can stay in an overwater bungalow!

Describe yourself in five words.

Grounded, Compassionate, Family-Oriented, Ambivert

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

I play video games–depending on my mood, I’ll farm crops, or level up skill trees in a survival landscape, or mow down disease ridden zombies and renegade factions! I also love to bake and dig around yard sales or thrift stores for those hidden treasures I didn’t know I needed to have!

What are you most proud of?

I’m most proud of my kids. Despite the challenges we’ve all had as a family over the last decade or so, they’ve all grown into beautiful, compassionate, skilled, and intelligent people I’m so blessed to get to have in my life. I can’t wait to see how their lives continue to develop and the wonderful people they’re going to grow up to become.