On October 15, 2024, the annual business meeting was held via Zoom, showcasing the unwavering commitment of the chapter board members to foster a financially sound organization that supports its members' professional endeavors and actively preserves its rich history.
A highlight of the meeting was the introduction of Travis Nace as the new chair of the Archives Committee, reflecting the committee’s dedication to preserving the organization's history, as well as the chapter’s active exploration of investment opportunities to enhance its financial stability.
New ways for members to engage with the organization were discussed and opportunities to join specific task forces focused on committees, knowledge management, and policies and procedures were shared.
For those who missed it, a recording of the meeting and committee-specific annual reports are available here.
Thank you for your continued support and engagement!
On October 16, 2024, over 100-chapter members in-person at Rockefeller University and online gathered in New York City for the 2024 Annual Meeting, themed "Delivering Information that Makes an Impact." This year's focus emphasized the critical role of health sciences librarians in strategically aligning with their organizations’ goals to foster collaboration and showcase library strengths.
The event commenced with a warm welcome from our chair, Jaclyn Morales and Rockefeller University's, University Librarian, Matthew Covey. This was followed by an engaging keynote address from Stephanie Fendrick, Executive Vice President, and Chief Strategy Officer at Virtua Health, where attendees actively participated in building a strategic plan alongside their peers.
Stephanie Fendrick
Members then showcased their work during lightning talks, highlighting various librarian-led research and programming initiatives. New to this year’s meeting, was poster presentations with nine submissions, further showcasing the remarkable activities of our chapter members. The posters and lightning talks can be accessed here.
The afternoon session included a thought-provoking case study with Miriam Hoffman, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, and Chris Duffy, Associate Dean, VP Medical Library Services at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. Moderated by the Program Chair Allison Piazza, they discussed the vital role of librarians embedded in undergraduate medical education curriculum and the importance of library champions in fostering these key collaborations.
Chris Duffy & Miriam Hoffman
The meeting concluded with the Liberty Chapter's award ceremony, followed by a post-reception sponsored by VisualDx in the Rockefeller University Library.
To relive the event, check out the pictures here. Thank you to everyone who made this year’s meeting a success!
2024 Awards and Grants
Congratulations to the 2024 Chapter Award and Grant Recipients:
Chair’s Award Travis Nace Stacy Posillico
Outstanding Contribution by a Member Patricia Regenberg Lara Lasner-Frater
Outstanding Contribution by a New Member Elizabeth Blake
Linda Katz Award for first time AHIP application Laurel Scheinfeld
Liberty Chapter Research Grant Daniel Verbit Oliver Chang
Lifetime Achievement Award Barbara Reich
Welcome to the Board
The Chapter would like to Welcome the following new members to the Liberty Chapter Board:
Any Liberty Chapter members are welcome to have local events and get-togethers under the Liberty Chapter (we are calling these events Ad-Hoc Local Events).
If the event is being co-sponsored with another organization, it will be sent to the board for approval. It must not conflict with our 501c3 status as a non-profit organization and should align with the chapter’s values/mission statement. Board approval can be obtained asynchronously.
Guidelines and Policies are as follows:
· Events need to be submitted via the form at least six weeks in advance.
· Events must be marketed/promoted to the entire chapter at least four weeks before the event date. However, events are not required to have a virtual component.
· Events are cost neutral.
· The Liberty Chapter will not cover up-front costs for the event.
· If funds need to be collected, they will only be distributed to the event organizer in a reimbursement capacity after the event is completed. Reimbursement will be organized with the treasurer.
· A budget (Word document, PDF, Excel sheet) needs to be submitted when you propose the event.
· The chapter website can be used for registration of attendees and collection of any event funds. Event set up on the chapter website will be coordinated by the immediate past chair of the Liberty Chapter.
· The primary contact/organizer of the event must be an active Liberty Chapter member.
· Event participants do not need to be restricted to Liberty Chapter members. The organizer can choose to open registration to the public.
· Any leftover funds from the event will remain in the Liberty Chapter account.
· The Liberty Chapter will not reimburse more than the total amount collected for the event.
· Provide summary of the event to the immediate past chair of the Liberty Chapter within 4 weeks after the event date.
Please fill out this form to let us know about the event, so that the Liberty Chapter can assist you with planning and logistics.
Applications and nominations are now being accepted for the Liberty Chapter’s Professional Recognition Awards and Research Grant.
Nominations/Applications and supporting materials, as described in each of the award’s descriptions must be submitted no later than Friday, August 30,2024.
Please consider nominating yourself or recognizing a fellow member. For questions, please email the Helen-Ann Epstein, Chair, Professional Recognition Committee at hepstein@virtua.org.
Please submit your proposal for a lightning talk (8 slides in 8 minutes) or poster for the Fourth Annual Meeting of the MLA Liberty Chapter to be held Oct. 16, 2024.
o 8/11, deadline for submission o 8/16, acceptance announced o 10/11, submit final slides o 10/16, conference
o 8/11, deadline for submission
o 8/16, acceptance announced
o 10/11, submit final slides
o 10/16, conference
Submit your Lightning Talk and/or Poster Proposal Here!
Send comments and questions to Helen-Ann Brown Epstein at habepstein@gmail.com, Lara Lasner Frater at lara.lasner-frater@touro.edu, Gary Kaplan at Gary.Kaplan@jefferson.edu, and Mahnaz Tehrani at mtehrani@nyit.edu.
The Programming Committee is pleased to announce the 4th Annual Liberty Chapter Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, from 10:00am-4:00pm at The Great Hall at The Rockefeller University; 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065. The meeting will be held in-person and virtually.
The programming committee is actively meeting to create an engaging program for all our attendees. The theme for this year's meeting is “Making an Impact.”
Please join us for this event!
Drexel University is hosting the NLM traveling exhibit this winter from February 12th – March 23, 2024.
This year the exhibit is entitled Aids, posters, and stories of global health: A people’s history of the pandemic. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
A detailed description is available here: https://libcal.library.drexel.edu/event/11526534
The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee of the Liberty Chapter of the Medical Library Association would like to invite you to take part in an online Racial Equity Training Series, offered by Health Resources in Action.
This series is offered in three sessions. We recommend signing up only if you can attend all three sessions as the training is interactive and builds upon the last one.
Here is a full description of each training session.
Cost is $75 per participant (for Liberty Chapter MLA members) for all 3 sessions. Registration will be open until Friday, Nov 17.
If the cost of the program is a potential barrier for you, consider applying for one of three full scholarships for the training series. The application is due by Wednesday, Nov 15. Scholarship recipients will be notified by Friday, Nov 24, and a full invoice waiver will be set up for them.
If you have any questions about this training, please reach out to Sarah Jewell, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chair at stj4006@med.cornell.edu
We are excited to announce that our chapter member, Kristine Alpi, Associate Dean for Libraries and Information Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, will showcase our beloved profession, Health Sciences Librarianship, in the event hosted by the Special Library Association’s New York Community (SLA-NY)!!
Please register to attend and/or forward this invitation to library students and/or other librarians who may be interested in learning more about Health Sciences Librarianship!
Event: SLA NY and MLA Liberty Chapter - Basics of Health Sciences Librarianship
The presentation will explore the contexts and impacts of health information professional work on
For more information: Please visit https://connect.sla.org/newyork/home
On behalf of the Liberty Chapter Board and the Programming Committee, I’d like to invite you to our Business Meeting and Continuing Education program, which will take place on Wednesday, October 4 from 10:00am to 3:00pm.
The 2023 Business Meeting is free to attend for all chapter members. After NNLM and MLA updates, we will have the Liberty Chapter Business Meeting, followed by a CE event led by Liberty Chapter member, Jordan Correia, titled, “Trans Competency, MedEd, & MedLib: What We Know and What We Can Do.” Please see the schedule below for further details.
Register for the Business Meeting (Virtual) Here
Are you still deciding whether to attend our Annual Meeting on Wednesday, October 11 in-person or virtually? We’re a little over a month out from the event, so register soon! Check out our website for Schedule, Speaker, and Hotel & Transportation information.
Register for the Annual Meeting (Hybrid) Here
October 4 Business Meeting Schedule:
10:00am – 10:10am Welcome and Introduction
10:10am – 10:40am NNLM Region 1& 7 Update (Speakers: Tony Nguyen, Region 1, NNLM & Jessica Kilham, Region 7, NNLM)
10:40am – 10:45am Participant break/tech set-up
10:45am – 11:15am MLA Update (Speaker: Amy Blevins, President, Medical Library Association)
11:15am – 11:20am Participant break/tech set-up
11:20am – 1:00pm Liberty Chapter Business Meeting (Led by: Gary Childs & Yingting Zhang, Co-Chairs, Liberty Chapter)
1:00pm – 1:30pm Lunch Break
1:30pm – 3:00pm Continuing Education program:
"Trans Competency, MedEd, & MedLib: What We Know and What We Can Do." (Speaker: Jordan Correia)
LGBTQ+ competency is an increasing topic of interest for healthcare professionals, particularly those who want to support and care for their transgender patients. Medical libraries and their institutions can play a role in supporting LGBTQ+ competency within medical education and help address the needs of transgender patients.
Objectives: Understanding the role medical librarians play in LGBTQ+ competency for healthcare professionals and what barriers exist to help support this education; understanding what topics about LGBTQ+ competency are taught; discussing how to further support transgender patients and what gaps about LGBTQ+ competency exist
Reminders!
We are pleased to announce the 3rd Annual Liberty Chapter Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, from 9:00am-4:00pm at the The Eakins Lounge at Thomas Jefferson University (1020 Locust Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19107). The meeting will be held in-person and virtually. Registration is now open! The programming committee has been actively meeting to create an engaging program for all our attendees focusing on the suggestions you provided in a survey many of you answered earlier this year. These suggestions are captured in our theme: “Raising Our Voices.” With the assistance of our keynote speaker, Kathy Dempsey (author, The Accidental Library Marketer), we will learn and share practical advice for communicating to and for various stakeholders: deans/chairs in academia, c-suite executives and program directors in hospitals, medical and allied health students, people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, etc. We are beyond excited to share this with you. Please join us for this important event!
Note: SAVE THE DATE! The Liberty Chapter Business Meeting will be taking place the week before our Annual Meeting on Wednesday, October 4. Registration information will follow shortly for this virtual meeting. Sincerely,
Allison Piazza, Programming Committee, Chair
Gary M. Childs, Advisor Yingting Zhang, Advisor Marie Ascher
Helen-Ann Epstein Mina Ghajar
Rie Goto Ben Hoover
Gary Kaplan Janice Lester
Lara Lasner-Frater Janice Masud-Paul
Jaclyn Morales Ryan Norman
Stacy Posillico Theresa Rienzo
Mahnaz Tehrani Daniel Verbit
