Name: Stefanie Vartabedian
Institution: Phoenix Children’s Hospital
Title: Medical Library Manager
Brief description of what you do/your responsibilities at your institution.
Assist all medical staff (including fellows and residents) with research needs such as article retrieval, literature searches and training on how to conduct effective searches. I am also actively working on our online library resources such as a new discovery platform and research guides.
Why is MLGSCA important to you?
I’m a very new solo hospital librarian (was a law/federal court librarian for 6.5 years) and having a network of colleagues is very important for professional growth and development as well as navigating in this complex era for hospitals/medical institutions.
Why did you become a librarian?
I knew from a young age that I really liked libraries and always saw working in one as a dream job. Also, since knowledge is power, I sensed becoming a librarian would be a perfect fit for my skills and interests as I love empowering people to gain knowledge and take that knowledge to improve the world we live in.
What was your first library job or professional position?
I volunteered 2 summers while in college to do a substantial backlog of loose leaf filings in a law library. Actual first professional job though was as an HR investigator after graduating from law school.
What is your advice to someone new to medical librarianship?
I am new to medical librarianship but having worked in the library profession, I would generally say give yourself grace and understand it is perfectly ok to not always have “the answer” or be able to reply instantaneously. It can be good to gain perspective or seek out help/collaborate with colleagues if time allows. There’s always something to learn.
What do you consider to be the most pressing issues or trends in librarianship?
Money and space and justifying why librarians are still needed in the AI era.
What is something you have on your bucket list?
Write a song
What do you do in your spare time for fun, or to relax?
Listen to music, doing something active outside (when the weather permits) or restorative yoga lately.
What is the best thing you have read/watched/listened to recently?
The 4 Agreements (read); The Olympics - US Team’s synchronized swimming routine to Smooth Criminal was incredible (watched) ; the new album by Badbadnotgood - Mid Spiral (listened)
Describe yourself in five words.
Curious, creative, compassionate, courageous and committed (all Cs)
Is there anything about you that others would be surprised to know?
I am a twin (fraternal) and my twin is 7 inches taller than me!
What are you most proud of?
Nothing specific. Just being a trusted friend and having integrity.
