Welcome to the Liberty Chapter Newsletter, a quarterly blog post that will highlight chapter initiatives, committee activities and the achievements of our members.
Membership Renewal Reminder
By Trina Keith, Membership Committee Chair
The call for Membership Renewal went out in January. Membership fees were due on February 1.
Many thanks to everyone who has renewed their Chapter membership. Members whose renewal is overdue should have received an email reminder by this time. It's not too late to renew your membership. Please click here for more information on renewing your membership or becoming a new member.
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!
Liberty Chapter Event Recap
By Jaclyn Morales, Past Chair ; Allison Piazza, Chair; Rie Goto, Communications Committee Chair
- March 18th, 2026: Liberty Chapter Journal Club
The Liberty chapter journal club gathered on Zoom for an engaging discussion of the article by Whitney R et al., Revisiting We Are MLA: An Exploration of member engagement and commitment with the Medical Library Association’s caucuses. JMLA114(1), January 2026: 11-19. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2026.2183.
The article discusses the transformation of MLA’s community structure from Sections and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to Caucuses. With this change as context, the authors examine the factors influencing members' engagement and commitment to an MLA caucus through a survey. The paper provides an in-depth analysis of survey data and concludes with 6 recommendations for members to consider.
Marie Ascher walked us through the paper with her summary slides (available here). The group reflected on how the article’s findings relate to our own experiences. Thanks to this informative overview and the relaxed, friendly atmosphere, we had a lively discussion. We ended the journal club with a discussion of “belonging” as a unique and important indicator for professional organizations.
- March 24, 2026: Liberty Chapter Lunch and Learn - AI prompts for clinical questions
Health sciences librarians can contribute greatly to educating medical students by integrating health literacy and AI prompt engineering into evidence-based professional education. This was one of the many outcomes Dr. Hsin-liang (Oliver) Chen shared during an online lunch and learn on March 24, 2026, with over 50 members in attendance. In his most recent publication, "AI prompts for clinical questions: Evaluating information literacy frameworks in health sciences education," Dr. Chen explored whether teaching the CLEAR and PICO frameworks could enhance clinical information inquiry skills among 19 fourth-year medical students during a family medicine rotation. The study outcomes revealed that after receiving instruction in CLEAR and PICO the students’ AI prompts improved, and that the PICO framework was preferred. Chapter members can view Dr. Chen’s full presentation here. Dr. Chen is the 2024 recipient of the Liberty Chapter Research Grant, which supported his work. Congratulations Dr. Chen on this important contribution to our field!
- April 6th, 2026; Liberty Chapter EDI Wellness Summit
The MLA Liberty Chapter’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) committee has taken the opportunity to focus on wellness this past year as the nation and the world face uncertainty, resulting in challenges within academic, hospital and other health library spaces. Achieving professional sustainability amidst these factors requires both individual and institutional efforts, thus the committee proposed providing a space to do so.
The EDI committee hosted a virtual wellness summit on April 6th, 2026. The excitement could be seen in the number of enthusiastic registered attendees, which was thirty-five. The lineup for the day included activities focused on wellness, including sessions on poetry, yoga, and meditation.
The keynote speech, delivered by Dr. Kwanna Bright, emphasized the importance of wellness as a component of inclusivity, highlighting the significance of effective communication, transparency, and fostering a sense of belonging within the workplace. Chapter members can access a recording of the keynote session, “Beyond Resilience: Psychological Safety, Wellness, and Professional Sustainability in an Anti-DEI Era," on the Liberty Chapter website.
The EDI committee’s very own Sarah Jewell led the poetry session focused on the power of the written word and prose through teaching poetic techniques that unleash thoughts, feelings and a voice of your own. The participants had an opportunity to try their hand at writing poetry and even shared some of their own rough drafts.
Qing Yang shared with our members how yoga is a sustainable, lifelong practice that promotes physical and mental well-being. She also led an invigorating instructional session, demonstrating several beginner yoga techniques.
Lou Sharma facilitated an introduction to mindfulness principles for our members through guided meditation, using awareness of the breath and body to help participants experience the present moment more fully and openly. The ten-minute guided mediation left the participants with a sense of calm and provided an opportunity for intentional, reflective thought.
The sessions were all well received with positive feedback both during and after the event. Attendees expressed that the workshop exceeded their expectations and extended congratulations and thanks to the entire Liberty EDI committee team.
Participants left feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and with a metaphorical backpack full of tools and actionable insights to support their physical and emotional attitudes, fostering a sense of purposeful and meaningful progress.
Committee Spotlight: Professional Development Committee
Introducing the Liberty Chapter Professional Development Committee
By Gloria Willson, Professional Development Committee Chair
The MLA Liberty Chapter is pleased to debut the Professional Development Committee, a new committee focused on supporting the learning, growth, and professional engagement of our members at every career stage.
The Professional Development Committee is co‑chaired by Gloria Willson and Mina Ghajar, with contributions from committee members Courtney Eger, Allison Piazza, Tony Nguyen, Jaclyn Morales, Marie Ascher, and Sarah Bauman.
The PD Committee was formed to create accessible, inclusive, and practical professional development opportunities for Liberty Chapter members. Our goals include:
- Highlighting high‑quality training opportunities inside and outside MLA
- Supporting emerging and experienced health sciences librarians alike
- Creating spaces for connection, conversation, and shared learning
- Aligning professional development opportunities with MLA Core Competencies and AHIP needs
- Since launching earlier this year, the committee has focused on both programming and infrastructure to support ongoing professional development.
Key initiatives include:
- Coffee Chats: Informal virtual discussions centered on timely topics such as AI, technology changes, leadership, and professional practice. A Coffee Chat is currently being scheduled.
- Journal Club: A critical appraisal–focused journal club, led by Marie Ascher, with the goal of fostering ongoing skills development and community discussion.
- Speaker & Program Planning: The committee is exploring presentations and workshops featuring chapter members and guest speakers on topics such as AI in evidence synthesis, leadership development, interprofessional collaboration, and technology disruption.
- Continuing Education Support: The committee is reviewing options for subsidizing select MLA continuing education courses, informed by member interest and survey data.
One of the committee’s major accomplishments to date is the creation of a living
Professional Development Opportunities Document. This shared resource brings together free and paid learning opportunities across key topic areas, including:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Data management
- Evidence‑based practice
- Evidence synthesis
- Critical appraisal
- Research methods
- Marketing and communications
The document already includes offerings from EDUCAUSE, Research Data Management Librarian Academy, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, academic institutions, MLA programs, and Liberty Chapter member libraries.
This resource is designed to be community‑driven, and all Liberty Chapter members are invited to participate. You can contribute by:
- Adding courses, workshops, webinars, or training programs you’ve found useful
- Sharing open or publicly available programming from your institution
- Suggesting new topic areas or communities of practice
- Helping identify which opportunities align with specific MLA Core Competencies
By contributing, members help ensure the document reflects the collective expertise, interests, and needs of the Liberty Chapter.
The Professional Development Committee looks forward to continuing to build programming, expand the shared resource, and create meaningful opportunities for connection and learning throughout the year. We invite all members to join us by attending events, sharing ideas, and contributing to the growing PD document.
Please contact Gloria Willson or Mina Ghaja with any questions and to be included in future meetings.
NNLM Updates from Region 1 and Region 7
By Bridget Jivanelli
Celebrating Success in MLA Specializations
At the Liberty Chapter Conference, we challenged members to apply forMLA Specializations and you delivered! Thanks to your hard work and dedication, Regions 1 and 7 have sponsored a combined total of 32 specializations so far. Let’s keep the momentum going! NNLM sponsorship is still available to help you complete a specialization. Scan the QR code or visit https://www.nnlm.gov/training/specialization to learn more and apply.
Continue to Cultivate Your Career
A new season has arrived, and it’s the perfect time to spring into a new learning opportunity! We are regularly adding classes to our schedule to help you grow your expertise. Stay up to date with the latest offerings by visiting our training calendar at nnlm.gov/training
Advocacy section
By Jordan D Correia
When we think of "anti-library legislation," we certainly think of book bans, funding cuts, or bans on Drag Story Hour. But there is legislation that impacts us as medical librarians, even if it doesn't seem like it or use the language. Cuts to NIH funding or grants, to local public health programs, to hospitals and clinical centers, to higher education; patient access to medicine; modifications to publicly available federal data sets; and changes in grant writing procedures impacts who we can serve, how we can help, and the type of research that our providers, clinicians, and researchers can conduct, leading to last-minute pivots in research, cancellation of projects, or having to keep a close eye on funding.
It's important to keep track of this legislation not only to be aware of the current landscape of medical research and librarianship, but also to be aware of how and when your voice can be heard. One way is to keep track of the news, attend your local council meetings, and call your representatives' offices with questions or concerns.
That, of course, is not always feasible and even when it is, some things can be buried and not mentioned. Fortunately, there are resources targeted at tracking bills.
- Congress.gov allows you to search for legislation via keyword search and shows a PDF of the bill. You can click "Legislation" at the top right corner of the page to filter for just legislation and then use the keyword search at the top to drill down even more. The website tracks where the bill is in Congress, the sponsors, the committees, and the latest actions.
- On Congress.gov, some of the bills simply show a PDF of what the bill is introducing and do not include a summary. Unless you know legalese, it can be difficult to understand. So instead of going to law school for three years, you can head over to GovTrack.us.
GovTrack follows bills and resolutions as they move through the system. You can search for bills by clicking the "Find a Bill" tab and doing either a keyword search or clicking a subject area. Like Congress.gov, this site shows you the sponsors, committees, full text, and latest actions on the bill, but it also tells you the next steps of the bill until it's signed into law, the chance of it being enacted, and a short summary of the bill.
Additionally, the site will help you find which representatives to call concerning the bill by clicking the "Call or Write Congress" button and give you a template you can use when contacting them.
- The National Conference of State Legislatures has a State Public Health Legislation Database that tracks public health bills. You can filter by topic or use a keyword search, and it shows results alphabetically by state. You can see the history of the bill as well as the full text and explanation. This database is updated twice a month.
- EveryLibrary has a Legislations of Concern tracker that monitors legislation that would "limit Americans' freedom to read and think for themselves. Of most concern are proposed laws that would allow for criminal prosecution of librarians, educators, higher ed. faculty, and museum professionals." They also have a Pro-Library Legislation tracker looking at bills that would positively impact libraries.
When you are trying to find a legislation tracker, always read about the organization running the resource, understand their values, and think critically about what their mission with the tool is. And of course, we should all keep that Schoolhouse Rock song in mind.
Please fill out THIS FORM with feedback on issues you have faced, resources you would like to hear about, or anything else you feel the advocacy section should address.
Member Spotlight: Regina Vitiello!
Regina is a Librarian for North Shore University Hospital, Glen Cove, and the Feinstein Institutes.
What project are you working on now?
“I am currently working on two projects. The first is a collaboration with our local public library to provide specialized consumer health information training for their reference staff. This initiative extends access to accurate health literacy into the community by tapping into our health sciences librarians’ expertise in consumer health resources. Translating these resources into accessible, actionable guidance for a public library setting has been both challenging and rewarding. This experience has improved my understanding of diverse information needs in our community and sharpened my own reference and instructional design skills.
My second project has been adapting an instructional literature searching card game for a health sciences audience. I've had the privilege of collaborating directly with the game's original creators, engaging in the full instructional design and development process to produce the 'Search&Destroy Biomedical Edition.' We created this card game because it offers a short and engaging way to equip health professionals with advanced literature searching skills. Leaning about game design has been a blast, and I hope to incorporate more of its principles into instruction in the future.”
What do you think is so special about the field of Health Sciences / Medical / Hospital / STEM Librarianship compared to other librarianships?
“What makes Health Sciences librarianship so special is a combination of subject matter expertise and impact on critical decision-making. We constantly learn, adapt our strategies, and innovate to reach busy clinicians, researchers, and students. For me, it is easy to stay engaged and motivated knowing that our work contributes to improving patient outcomes and advancing healthcare knowledge.”
What’s your hobby outside of work/school?
“I recently completed a comprehensive yoga teacher training program. What I found most fascinating was the deep dive into understanding the why behind each pose – the anatomical principles, historical context, and therapeutic benefits.”
What/who is your favorite librarian character in popular culture (movies, TV shows, songs, etc.) and why?
“My favorite fictional librarian is Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Giles is a patient, compassionate, and adaptive librarian and mentor. I especially loved his dynamic with Jenny Calendar, the computer teacher, because it captured the equal importance of traditional and technology driven librarianship. “
Check out Regina’s work on the literature searching card game Search&Destroy Biomedical!
If you want to be featured or know someone you want to introduce, please fill out this form.
