The Chapter Nominating Committee is delighted to announce this year’s candidates for Chapter offices. The link to vote is HERE.
Chair-Elect
Gary M. Childs, MS is the Engineering (STEM-H) Librarian at West Chester University. Alongside his subject area responsibilities, he is a member of faculty senate and the University Libraries’ electronic resources committee. He has been a member of the Philadelphia Regional Chapter of the Medical Library Association since 2000, where he served as Membership Chair from 2002-2007, Treasurer from 2012-2016, and Program Chair/Chair Elect 2020-2021. Gary also participated in the 2020 Annual Planning Committee. He is currently Co-Chairing the 2021 Annual Planning Committee for the inaugural Annual Meeting of the MLA Liberty Chapter and a member of the transition team helping to shape our emerging chapter. Gary obtained his master’s degree in library science from Drexel University in 2000 and he’s currently enrolled in the non-profit track of the public administration master’s program at West Chester University.
Executive Board
Abby L. Adamczyk, MLIS, AHIP is the Graduate Medical Education Librarian at Thomas Jefferson University's Scott Memorial Library in Philadelphia. As the GME Librarian, she provides education and research support to residents and fellows.
Abby has been the Treasurer of the Philadelphia Regional Chapter of MLA since 2016 and continues to manage the Philadelphia Regional Chapter finances through our merger into the Liberty Chapter. She participated in the Merger Steering Committee as a non-voting member to advise on financial aspects of the merger, is currently on the 2021 Liberty Chapter Annual Meeting planning committee, and worked on the planning committee for the 2020 Philadelphia Regional Chapter Annual Meeting. Abby also serves as Chair of the Research Caucus of the Medical Library Association and is a member of the Credentialing Committee.
Amanda Adams, MLS is honored to be a candidate for the Medical Libraries Association Regional Liberty Chapter inaugural board. As previous Chair of the Philadelphia Chapter, she has been very active in working on the merger process. You have probably received one or two announcements from her! She is really looking forward to our new Liberty Chapter, especially the many new connections and professional development opportunities. Prior to her role as Chair and Program Chair (2019-2020), she served as Continuing Education Committee (CE) Chair, during which she planned CE courses and events. Since 2016, she has held the position of Reference & Instruction Librarian at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, New Jersey. Prior, she was active in the Special Libraries Association when she worked for a pharmaceutical library. The start of the Liberty Chapter is a very exciting time, and she will continue to strengthen the formation of the chapter, including building up new relationships. Amanda holds a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Muhlenberg College.
Betsy Judge, MSLS, AHIP is the Medical Librarian at Tower Health Reading Hospital. At Reading Hospital, she leads outreach initiatives and information literacy education with the Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences, cultivates relationships with faculty and program directors, advocates for information and copyright literacy, and assists in the management of library operations.
Betsy graduated with her Master of Science in Library Science in 2012 from Catholic the University of America. Since then, she was the solo librarian for a law firm for five years and has been a medical librarian at Tower Health Reading Hospital for the past five years. She is a member of AHIP and has served as Secretary of the Special Library Association Maryland Chapter from 2014-2015.
Daniel Verbit, AHIP is the Scholarly Communications and Digital Initiatives Librarian at the Paul J. Gutman Library at Thomas Jefferson University. He serves as librarian liaison to the Applied Research program, the East Falls College of Rehabilitation Sciences, and Jefferson Health Design Lab. Daniel obtained his Master's degree from The University of Alabama. He has been a member of MLA since 2014. He served as the 2017-2018 program chair of the Philadelphia Chapter, 2018-2019 chapter chairperson, and was on the nomination committee from 2019 until the formation of the Liberty Chapter.
Chapter Council Representative
Natalie Tagge, MLIS is the Head, Podiatry Library at Temple University. She has a Master’s Degree in Library & Information Science from the University of Illinois and a Master of Public Health from Temple. She previously worked at the Claremont Colleges Library where she was part of a team that won the ACRL Innovation in Instruction Award. She recently co-led an NNLM funded virtual mentoring program for LIS students and early-career librarians interested in health sciences librarianship. Her favorite things are dogs, making people laugh and traveling to new places.
Nominating Committee
Larissa Gordon, MS, MEd, MA currently works as the Scholarly Communications Librarian at Thomas Jefferson University. She became a medical librarian two years ago, having transitioned to this position from a much smaller liberal arts school. After adjusting to her new role, she is looking to get more involved with her local professional development organization.
Larissa has served as a member and officer in many professional development groups over the years, including the American Library Association (ALA), the local and national branches of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACLR), the Tri-State College Library Cooperative (TCLC), and the College & Research Division of the Pennsylvania Library Association (PaLA-CRD), where she notably served as Chair of the group in 2015. Other notable positions include her work as the chair of the Coalition Building Committee for ALA's Intellectual Freedom Roundtable, her role as coordinator of the mentoring program for the Delaware Valley Chapter of ACRL, and her time as co-chair of the Reference Services Interest Group for TCLC. She has also worked as an editor on PaLA-CRD's online journal, Pennsylvania Libraries Research & Practice, and as editor of the It's Academic Column of the PaLA Bulletin.
Benjamin Hoover, MLIS is the Associate Director, Coordinator for Innovative Technology Services at Harrell Health Sciences Library: Research and Learning Commons. He holds a masters in Library Information Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh and has been a librarian for 6 years. His background includes American studies, Cultural and Public History, archives and as a librarian he has focused on access services, instruction and emerging technologies in the library. Ben’s research focus is the intersections between culture and technology in the academy. His hobbies include hiking, brewing beer and 3d printing.
Keydi Boss O'Hagan, MLS, AHIP has been medical librarian for just under 20 years. She began her librarianship at Holy Name Medical Center until her position was eliminated. She then joined Jersey College and have been there for 4 years on the Teterboro, NJ Campus. Most do not know about Jersey College. Jersey College is a nursing school with students enrolled in LPN, RN, LPN-to-RN Bridge, and Nurse Residency programs. Jersey College has 7 campuses and is growing. Her 20-year experience as a professional librarian has given her experience in helping nursing students become nurses, medical students become physicians, nurses who have not been in school for many years become successful students, physicians get the information they need to make a proper and evidence-based diagnosis. she has been involved in HSLANJ, NY/NJ MLA, and MLA as well as several caucuses (sections) since getting her degree. She is currently on the Credentialing Committee and has been the chair for the committee. As a librarian, she believes we are the unsung support for the professional heroes.
Chapter Candidate for the MLA Nominating Committee
Helen-Ann Brown Epstein, MLS MS AHIP FMLA has been a member of MLA before some of our Liberty Chapter members have been born! She has served on the nominating committee before and has advanced names of candidates from our area and throughout MLA that have been nominated and elected! Also, as you know she has been active in MLA at the national level as a MLA Fellow, member of the MLA Futures Task Force, and holding domain hub, caucus and committee memberships and at times leading responsibilities. For our chapter, she has been the Chair twice, and currently serves on committees and Task Forces. Helen-Ann is the Informationist for Virtua Health, a 5 hospital community health system in southern New Jersey. She is honored by your consideration for her to represent the Chapter on the MLA Nominating Committee.
Bridget Jivanelli, MLIS is the Medical Librarian at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. She received her MLIS from Queens College, City University of New York, a graduate certificate in Digital Asset Management from Rutgers University, and her BA in history from Loyola University Maryland. She has been working in health care for 10 years and in medical libraries for 7 years. As a solo hospital librarian, she is able to be involved in many aspects of medical librarianship. Bridget is a column editor for Journal of Hospital Librarianship and Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet. She has been a member of MLA and the NY/NJ Chapter since 2015, is the Information Services Domain Hub Delegate for the Complementary and Integrative Health Caucus, and earned a Consumer Health Specialization Level II. She has presented posters & lightning talks at MLA at both regional and national levels, and is excited to represent the new Liberty Chapter.
Robert T Mackes, MLS is the Executive Director of the Health Sciences Library Association of New Jersey, and has been project manager for the HSLANJ Group Licensing Initiative since 2010. Robb holds a Masters Degree in Library Science from Kutztown University, Pennsylvania, is a distinguished member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals, and has been a medical librarian in New Jersey and Delaware for over 25 years. Prior to managing the HSLANJ GLI, he was project manager for the Delaware Medical Information Resources Alliance, an initiative of the Delaware Academy of Medicine, and managed several health sciences libraries in hospitals in New Jersey. Robb has been involved in HSLANJ, MLA, Hospital Libraries Section, the Relevant Issues Section, the LGBTQ SIG, and the NYNJ and Philadelphia Chapters for many years. Among Robb’s achievements are the Medical Library Association’s Thomson Reuters Frank Bradway Rogers Information Advancement Award, the Health Sciences Library Association of New Jersey Librarian of the Year, and the Hospital Libraries Section Leadership Award. Most recently, he served as co-chair of the New York/New Jersey and Philadelphia Chapter Merger Steering Committee and the 2022 MLA National Program Committee.
Jaclyn Vialet, MLS, AHIP has been a medical librarian for over 10 years and is currently the senior librarian at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, NY, part of the Northwell Health System. She is responsible for collaborating with various programs and departments to develop and execute educational programs that meet its strategic goals and initiatives. She also provides research support services to residents, researchers, and administration in the form of literature searching, bibliographic management, and scholarly activities. As part of the Northwell librarians’ team, she assists with technical questions regarding mobile applications and access to the electronic resources and chairs their Marketing and Outreach committee. Jaclyn is an active contributor on several systematic reviews and is currently a collaborator on a Delphi study exploring the best practices to successfully integrate library services during a hospital merger or acquisition, of which was presented at MLA’21. Jaclyn is a member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals and is an active member of Medical Library Association. Jaclyn was recognized as a Rising Star by the Hospital Librarians Caucus in 2019 and completed a three-year term as a member, chair, and past chair of the Professional Recruitment & Retention Committee in 2021. She is also an active member of the NY/NJ Chapter of MLA, now known as the Liberty chapter, where she has served as the co-chair of the Programing Committee in 2019, and is actively on the Continuing Education, Website, and Annual Meeting Planning Committees.
Elaine Wells, MLIS has been the Director of the Harold Kohn Vision Science Library at the SUNY College of Optometry since 2000. Within the overall context of management, her professional priorities have included promoting access to state of the art health information, developing innovative methods of pro-active information delivery, and envisioning and creating a library that is a welcoming physical space while providing 24/7 remote access. Prior to being a member of the Liberty Chapter of MLA, she was active for over 20 years in the MLA NY-NJ Chapter, holding various offices including chair and treasurer for two separate terms, and receiving the Outstanding Contribution by a New Member Award in 2000. She has also served on the Annual Meeting Planning Committee and as chair of the Strategic Planning Committee. In 2018, she received the Outstanding Contribution by a Member Award for work on the Finance and Program Committee. She was also named SUNY Distinguished Librarian in 2019.
She is honored to be considered for a position on the MLA Nominating Committee, and would be happy to serve the newly created Liberty Chapter of MLA and get to know her new colleagues.
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The link to vote is HERE.
