Welcome to the Liberty Chapter Newsletter, a quarterly blog post that will highlight chapter initiatives, committee activities and the achievements of our members.
Time to Renew Your 2025 Chapter Membership
Be on the lookout in your email in late January for your membership renewal reminder for 2025.
Membership dues are due on February 1, 2025. To become a new member, please click here.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Trina Keith, the Chair of the Membership Committee, or e-mail us at support@libertymla.org
Thank you for your continued support of the Liberty Chapter!
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee Update
Marlowe Bogino, EDI Committee Chair
The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion subcommittee was formed in 2022 by members Diana Delgado, Michael Wood, Will Dean, Yingting Zhang, and led by our previous chair Sarah Jewell. Our focus was to bring together Liberty Chapter members on common ground in learning Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion principles through training, education, and shared experiences.
We discussed the importance of creating an environment of acceptance and of the inherent value of each individual viewpoint of all members. This understanding helped us have open discussions during our meetings as we tackled tough conversations such as inequality, racism, injustices, and bias within our society, communities and within our libraries. These conversations helped us create our defining statements, mission statements, and goals.
Proudly, the committee was able to conduct an engagement survey which garnered a 34% response rate, helping lead our efforts to provide training on health equity. From this survey we learned of other areas of interest of our members such as living land acknowledgments, neurodivergence basics, diversity audits, LGBTQIA inclusion, and social determinants of health. Last year we were able, with the support of the Liberty Chapter board, to offer our members training focused on health equity given by the Health Resources in Action training group.
We also discovered that some of our members felt they had reached a point of educational training burnout and needed “a break.” This prompted discussions surrounding wellness as well.
Creating a safe environment where all individuals feel a sense of acceptance and individual value is another aspect of equity, diversity, and inclusion and is known as a sense of belonging within a workspace or working group1.
Today we continue with our belief in diversity, recognizing social injustices currently exist, we continue with our belief in the importance of diversity initiatives and welcome continued discussion and feedback from our all members, partners, and interested parties. The committee is actively planning events for our Liberty Chapter members slated for winter and spring 2025. We look forward to everyone’s participation and our subcommittee’s continued growth.
Defining statements
We believe in diversity in the broadest sense including differences in race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, ability, religious practices, socioeconomic class, citizenship, life experiences, and other important aspects of human life.
We recognize the present social injustices and racism that exist within our nation and embrace the rich perspectives and experiences that arise from our differences.
We welcome discussion and feedback on EDI issues. It is all our responsibility to engage in open and collegial discussions and lean into our discomfort.
We encourage our members to reach out to the EDI Committee Chair, Marlowe Bogino or contact us at support@libertymla.org
The mission
The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion mission statement of the Liberty Chapter of the Medical Library Association is meant to foster a welcoming, safe and inclusive environment for both our members and the communities we serve where differences and similarities are valued and respected.
Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander. “Practical Diversity: Absolutely Necessary for Peace”. Samyukta: A Journal of Gender and Culture, vol. 6, no. 2, July 2021, doi:10.53007/SJGC.2021.V6.I2.24.
Please join us for the EDI Wellness Program on Tuesday, January 21, 2025!
Enhance Your Research Skills with the MLA Research Training Institute 
Jaclyn Morales, Chair
The MLA Research Training Institute (RTI) is a comprehensive, year-long advanced research training and support program, tailored for health sciences librarians. It is currently the only research fellowship offered in our field nationwide.
The Liberty Chapter is one of many chapters of MLA who contributes funds towards RTI scholarships. Chapter contributed funds are first allocated to chapter members who are selected to participate in a cohort, and then dispersed to other participants in need. In recent years, with the support from the MLA chapters, every single participant who could not afford full tuition has been awarded a scholarship!
That’s why we are encouraging our members to highly consider this opportunity. Applicationsfor the 2025-26 RTI cohort are now open and are due February 18, 2025. Need help filling out the application? Sign up for open office hours on January 15, 2025 or February 11, 2025.
In addition, the MLA Board recently approved the RTI Research Fellowship, a high-level recognition for RTI alumni. This fellowship allows RTI graduates who have published their research to use the post-nominal letters “RTIF” following their names. At the next MLA Awards Ceremony, 30 RTI Research Fellows will be honored with this distinction, some of which are our very own chapter members!
The RTI has a transformative impact on participants' research skills, confidence, and professional success. To explore its impact, you may find the RTI Assessment Findings and this JMLA article insightful.
NNLM Update 
Allison Piazza, Chair-Elect
The following information was provided by Jessica Kilham of NNLM Region 7.
Member Spotlight: Introducing Andrea Thompson (she/hers)!
Rie Goto, Communications Committee Chair 
Welcome to Andrea, the newest member of the Liberty Chapter! She is a first-year student in Pratt's School of Information, pursuing a MLIS.
Why are you interested in becoming a librarian?
“I love reading, research, and teaching. I believe that making medical education accessible can help save lives, and I want to share my passion for medicine with others”
What has been the most interesting project you have worked on?
“I wrote my doctoral dissertation on the Nurses' Health Study, which is an amazing study making invaluable contributions to women's health.”
What’s your hobby outside of work/school?
"I love reading, knitting, and Pilates."
Tell us something about where you live or work, something about your neighborhood, your town, your city, or your state etc.
"I live in Brooklyn with my husband and my cat, Harvey."
Welcome to the Liberty Chapter, Andrea!
If you want to be featured or know someone you want to introduce, please fill out this form!
Kudos for Members
Congratulations to fellow Chapter Members!
Gary M. Childs, MS, MPA 
University Libraries
West Chester University
Gary Childs was granted tenure at West Chester University on December 23, 2024. He began this process in January 2020. He continues to serve on a variety of departmental, college, and university level committees, including being elected as an at-large member of the executive board of Faculty Senate in 2024.
Sarah Jewell, MLIS
Weill Cornell Medicine
The day after she attended the Liberty Chapter Annual Meeting, Sarah Jewell, former Chair of the NY-NJ Chapter of MLA and current member of the Liberty Chapter EDI committee, got married to Lucas Hanft at City Hall in New York City on October 17, 2024. In 2018, they met at a writer’s conference where she won the poetry award, and he won the fiction award.
Matt Bridgeman, MLS, MA
Robert Wood Johnson Library of the Health Sciences
Rutgers University
Congratulations to Matt on the birth of his new daughter, Eloise Olivia Bridgeman, born on April 15, 2024.
Promotions and New Appointments
Lorin Jackson, MA, MI
University of Pennsylvania Libraries
Lorin Jackson, MA, MI started September 2024 as Assistant Director of the Holman Biotech Commons, University of Pennsylvania Libraries.
Helen-Ann Brown Epstein, MLS, MS, AHIP-D, FMLA
Virtua Health Sciences Library
Helen-Ann Brown Epstein has been accepted as a reviewer of abstracts for the upcoming ANCC Magnet meeting.
Lisa Price, MSLIS
Hope Brings Strength Health Sciences Library
Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine
Lisa Price, Research Support Librarian at the Hope Brings Strength Health Sciences Library at Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine, presented a lightning talk at the 2024 Digital Commons International Conference in Berkeley, CA. In her talk, “Serving a Dual Purpose: How We Adapted the DC Software to Improve Workflow”, she described her collaboration with a staff member from the Department of Research to adapt existing submission software to Rowan’s institutional repository, Rowan Digital Works, to double as a registration form for the annual Rowan-Virtua SOM Research Day. Several conference attendees requested further information, including an Elsevier VP who expressed interest in sharing this model with other clients.
Janice Lester, MLS
Long Island Jewish Medical Center
Congratulations to Janice, who, in addition to being promoted to Senior Librarian, has co-authored a total of 10 Systematic reviews and meta-analyses, 4 Practice guidelines, 7 Systematic reviews and 2 scoping reviews. Janice also expressed how fortunate she is to work with the most brilliant, wonderful inspiring team of librarians at Northwell Health.
2025 MLA Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA - Papers/Presentations
Sunny Chung, MLIS, AHIP
Stony Brook University
Sunny has 2 paper sessions that were accepted for the 2025 MLA Annual Meeting
Data Dilemma: Evolving Roles and Skills for Medical Librarians
Sunny Chung, Nina Exner, Mimi Byun
and a paper with co-author
John Mokonyama, MS, MBA, MSLS, AHIP-D
Penn Medicine
Modern Time Capsule: Shaping the Future and Building a Better Tomorrow
Sunny Chung, Kay Strahan, Angela Murrell, and John Mokonyama
Bridget Jivanelli, MLIS, AHIP
Kim Barrett Memorial Library, Hospital for Special Services
Bridget’s 2025 MLA Immersion Session was accepted
Bridging the Gap for Caregivers: Supporting Those Who Care for Others
Elizabeth Hinton, Bridget Jivanelli, Stephanie Roth
Mina Ghajar, MLS
Maria Deptula, MLS, MA, AAPC
Rutgers University
Mina and Maria co-authored a paper that was accepted for the 2025 MLA Annual Meeting
Connecting the Dots: The Library as a Pathway from Traditional to Innovative Practices in Academic Publishing
Publications
Sunny Chung, MLIS, AHIP
Jessica Koos, MLS, MSEd, AHIP
Stony Brook University
Sunny and Jessica co-authored an article that was published in December 2024
Chung, S., Koos, J., (2024) Evaluating Large Language Models’ Accuracy and Reliability in Addressing Consumer Health Queries. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, https://doi.org/10.1080/15398285.2024.2418777
Travis Nace, MSLIS
Ginsburg Health Sciences Library
Temple University
Travis co-authored a paper that was published in November 2024
Pfeiffer CF, Magee WL, Fülöp R, Nace TC, Castro C, Iturri A, Franceschi J, Echauri G, Gassull L, Russo MJ. Exploring Music-Based Interventions for Executive Functioning and Emotional Well-Being in Stroke Rehabilitation: A Scoping Review. NeuroSci. 2024; 5(4):565-599. https://doi.org/10.3390/neurosci5040041
Ryan Norman, MI, AHIP
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset
Ryan has written an article that was recently published
Norman, R. (2024). What Happens After the Loss? Review of Early Pregnancy Loss Information and Support Resources from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Women’s Health. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, 28(4), 374–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/15398285.2024.2418775
Elaine Wells, MA, MLS, AHIP(D)
SUNY College of Optometry
Elaine has written an article that was published in November 2024
Wells, E. (2024). Helping our graduate students SOAR: Promoting scholarship and populating our institutional repository. Journal of Graduate Librarianship, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.59942/2995-9063.1015
