Member Spotlight: Ayaba Logan

Every month, we would like to take a moment to learn more about a fellow librarian and SC/MLA member. For April, we talked to Ayaba Logan, who you may already know from her post on this blog, "Reflections on the MLA Annual Meeting." 

Name: Ayaba Logan

SC/MLA Member Since: Officially 2015

Officer/Committee Positions: Research Committee

First Professional Position: Research and Education Informationist, The Medical University of South Carolina Libraries

Current Position: Research and Education Informationist, MUSC Libraries

Education (Include all Degrees): 

• BA, Spelman College, 
• MPH, University of Michigan
• MLIS, University of Alabama

How did you become interested in medical librarianship? I no longer want to give people information they didn’t want in Public Health, I want to really help people and professionals.

What do you love most about your job? Helping professionals get resources that may change patients’ lives.

What has been your biggest professional challenge? Work life balance

What do you do to recover from a long work week? What recovery, lol. Hanging out with my family.

Anything our readers might find surprising about you? I love bacon...halal beef bacon.

What genre of books takes up the most space on your bookshelf? History. The Quran would be my favorite book.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Doctor

Member Spotlight: Elena Azadbakht

Every month, we would like to take a moment to learn more about a fellow librarian and SC/MLA member.  For March, we talked to Elena Azadbakhat, who is the first librarian from Mississippi to step into the member spotlight and the second place winner of the SC/MLA 2016 Paper Research Awards for her presentation on humor in library instruction.

Name: Elena Azadbakht

SC/MLA Member Since: 2012

Officer/Committee Positions:

• Public Relations Committee (Co-Chair)
• Communications Committee
• Southern Salutations Subcommittee
• MLA Scholarship Jury

First Professional Position:

Library-wise, that would be my current position (although I did have several student jobs and internships).

Current Position:

Health and Nursing Librarian at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

Education (Include all Degrees):

I have a Bachelor of Arts in English literature with minors in German and International Studies and a Master of Science in Information with a specialization in Library and Information Science, both from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Favorite website, blog, or twitter feed:

This a tough question for me! I’m a big fan of Ask a Manager, and I’ve really gotten into podcasts lately – my current favorite is the Myth and Legends podcast, and I follow the show on social media.

How did you become interested in medical librarianship?

When I was in graduate school, I worked at the University of Michigan’s Taubman Health Sciences Library. I mostly did reference but got to help out with other projects as well.

Member Spotlight: Beth Wallace

Every month, we would like to take a moment to learn more about a fellow librarian and SC/MLA member. For February, we interviewed Beth Wallace, a library student whose poster at SC/MLA annual conference on bringing yoga to her library inspired us to rethink some of our own wellness programs.  

Name: Beth Wallace

SC/MLA Member Since: 2016

First Professional Position:
temp circulation lackey

Current Position:
Medical Library Assistant, East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine

Education:
BS, sociology, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; MSIS (in progress), University of Tennessee

Favorite website, blog, or twitter feed:
I’m more of an Instagram girl: aladyinlondon, nypl (#letmelibrarianthatforyou), cats_of_instagram

Member Spotlight: J. Michael Lindsay

Every month (with the exception of December, because holiday festivities kept us from our keyboards), we would like to take a moment to learn more about a fellow librarian and SC/MLA member. For January, we interviewed Michael Lindsay, first author of Rethinking Library Education Programs? Ask Users First!, the research poster awarded first place at the 2016 SC/MLA Annual Meeting.

Name: J. Michael Lindsay

SC/MLA Member Since: I first joined in 2003.

Officer/Committee Positions (or if you aren’t involved with committees, let us know what might interest you!):

I’m currently Research Committee Chair.  Although I didn’t seek it out, it has been a very rewarding way to recognize and promote all the amazing projects that Southern Chapter Members are involved in.  It keeps me very busy at the conference!

First Professional Position:

Electronic Resources/Collection Development Librarian at the University of South Alabama Biomedical Library in Mobile. 

Current Position:

Serials/Electronic Resources Librarian at Preston Medical Library at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. 

Education (Include all Degrees):

• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in Management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 
• Master of Science in Information Sciences, also from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 

Member Spotlight: Tara Douglas-Williams

Every month (you know, except for those months we missed, but we do try), we would like to take a moment to learn more about a fellow librarian and SC/MLA member. For November, we interviewed the new Chair of Southern Chapter, Tara Douglas-Williams.

Name: Tara Douglas-Williams

SC/MLA Member Since: 1999

Officer/Committee Positions:

• Southern Chapter/Medical Library Association (SC/MLA), member, 1999 – present
• Chair, 2016-2017
• Program Chair, 2015 - 2016
• Program Chair-Elect, 2014-2015, Paper Session Moderator
• Professional Development, Chair, 2012-2013, Co-Chair 2011 –2012, Member, 2011
• Program Committee 2013- 2016
• Nominating Committee, 2006
• Hospital Libraries Committee, 2004

First Professional Position: Systems Librarian, Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, Atlanta, GA

Member Spotlight: Becca Billings

Every month, we would like to take a moment to learn more about a fellow librarian and SC/MLA member. For August, we would like you to meet Becca Billings, a new librarian who is looking forward to her first SC/MLA Annual Conference.

Becca and Ella

Name: Becca Billings

SC/MLA Member Since: 2015

Officer/Committee Positions: I’m brand spankin’ new, so not too many outside of UAB at this time. Here are the proud and few:

• ALHeLA Member-at-Large, 2016
• AACRL Program Committee, 2016-2017

First Professional Position: Full-time Library Associate, Tuscaloosa Public Library, Tuscaloosa, AL

Current Position: Instructor, Reference Librarian at UAB Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences

Member Spotlight: Sandra G. Franklin

Every month, we would like to take a moment to learn more about a fellow librarian and SC/MLA member.  For July*, we would like you to meet Sandra, SC/MLA's 2015 Academic Librarian of the Year.  

Name: Sandra G. Franklin

SC/MLA Member Since: 1983

Officer/Committee Positions:   Too many committees to list, so here are the highlights!

• Southern Chapter
• Co-Chair, SC & MAC Joint Conference and Co-Chair Local Arrangements, 2006
• Chair of Strategic Planning, 2006-2007
• Chair of Nominating Committee, 2005-2006
• Chair, 2004-2005
• Chair-Elect/Program Chair, 2003-2004
• Secretary/Treasurer, 1994-1995
• Medical Library Association
• Academy of Health Information Professionals, Distinguished Level, since 1997
• National Program Committee, Atlanta Local Assistance Committee Chair, 2015-2018
• Board of Directors, 2013-2016 (Secretary 2014-2016)
• Search Committee to Appoint MLA Executive Director, 2014
• National Program Committee, MLA Austin,TX, 2012-2015
• Nominating Committee, 2008-2009 officer elections
• Leadership and Management Section, Treasurer, 2007-2011
• Credentialing Committee, Member 2001-2004; Chair 2004-2005

SLA Poster Presentation: Evaluating an Embedded Program

Some SC/MLA chapter members are presenting a poster at the Special Libraries Association (SLA) Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, June 12-14. Even if you can't make it to the City of Brotherly Love, you can still read the full abstract and download their poster.

Poster Title: Evaluating an Embedded Program: Increasing Awareness, Expanding Services, and Fulfilling Patron Needs

Authors: Lindsay Blake, Darra Ballance, Vicki Burchfield, Maryska Connolly-Brown, Kathy Davies, Julie K. Gaines, Kim Mears & Peter Shipman

Institution: Robert B. Greenblatt MD, Library, Augusta University, Augusta 


Poster objective: The research project objective is provide a multifaceted, generalizable toolkit for evaluating the effectiveness of an embedded program. An embedded librarian program was evaluated using a toolkit which includes traditional activity data and a survey aimed at measuring use of services, awareness of the embedded program, and satisfaction with embedded librarians and services.

Methods: An initial national survey of librarians in the health sciences and a literature review identified few evaluation tools for embedded activities, leading the librarians to begin developing an embedded evaluation toolkit to evaluate the success of their embedded program. The evaluation toolkit consists of data collected locally through LibAnalytics software on various service transactions, and a survey aimed to measure awareness, use of, and satisfaction with embedded librarians and services.

Member Spotlight: Jan Orick

Every month, we would like to take a moment to learn more about a fellow librarian and SC/MLA member. For May, we would like you to meet Jan, someone you have likely already met or at least heard of (I'll give you a hint: she's the current Chapter Chair) but who you may not know all that well. If you have secretly always wanted to know more about her earliest, earliest days as a librarian or what she does on her days off, this is your chance! 

Jan and her gardening sidekick, Savannah

Name: Jan Orick

SC/MLA Member Since: 1995

Officer/Committee Positions: I have served as member and then Chair of the SC Hospital Libraries Committee; Member and then Chair of Professional Development, AHIP Liaison; Member of the Nominating Committee, Local Arrangements Committee (twice!) Program Chair/Chair Elect; and this year I am serving as the Chapter Chair

First Professional Position: Reference Librarian Lafayette Public Library, Lafayette, LA

Current Position: Director, Biomedical Library St Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Education: BA (University of Memphis) MLIS (Louisiana State University)

Favorite website, blog, or twitter feed: About the only thing I follow regularly is Retraction Watch. I am very interested in scholarly publication process.

Member Spotlight: Maggie Ansell

Every month, we would like to take a moment to learn more about a fellow librarian and SC/MLA member.  For April, we would like you to meet Maggie, a nursing librarian from Florida who was easily bribed with fancy teas to be the guinea pig graciously volunteered to share a bit about herself.  

Name: Maggie Ansell

SC/MLA Member Since: January 2015

First Professional Position: Nursing & Consumer Health Liaison Librarian at the Health Science Center Libraries of the University of Florida

Education (Include all Degrees): Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts, St. John’s College; Master of Library and Information Science, University of Washington.

Favorite website, blog, or twitter feed: One website that I’ve followed for a few years now is Zooniverse (www.zooniverse.org), a citizen science web portal that gives volunteers the opportunity to contribute to data-intensive research through simple identification and transcription tasks, which can be anything from counting penguins in the Antarctic, to transcribing diaries from WWI.  There are even several biomedical projects, such as Worm Watch Lab, Microscopy Masters, and Cell Slider, whose data is being used for genetics, protein modeling, and cancer research!

Heather Holmes Joins MUSC

The Medical University of South Carolina’s Department of Library Science & Informatics is pleased to welcome Heather Holmes to its faculty. 

Heather became the Associate Director for the Libraries in February 2016.  In this position, Heather is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Library, including supervision of a diverse staff of librarians, technologists, and support staff in areas including research & education, evidence-based practice, resources/collections, and learning commons. Heather joins us from Summa Health System's Akron City and St. Thomas Hospitals in Akron, OH where she was a Clinical Informationist. She received her Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1998. She has presented at several international meetings including MLA and the Alliance for Continuing Medical Education (ACME) and was invited to the International Congress on Medical Librarianship (ICML) in Brisbane, Australia, in 2009. Holmes is a 2010 recipient of the National Library of Medicine's biomedical informatics fellowship held in Woods Hole, MA, as well as one of Library Journal's Movers & Shakers for 2011. She is also a Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP) and the 2014 recipient of the Medical Library Association’s Lois Ann Colaianni Award for Excellence and Achievement in Hospital Librarianship.