UTGSM The Scope E-Newsletter March 2012 Martha Earl Participates in Medical Library Leadership Fellows Program

UTGSM Martha Earl Martha Earl, MSLS, AHIP, Assistant Professor, Preston Medical Library, is participating in a one-year fellowship program to develop medical library leaders, jointly sponsored by the National Library of Medicine and the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries. She was one of five selected for the tenth fellowship class, which prepares leaders for director positions in academic health sciences libraries. Fellows are paired with mentors and will spend two one-week visits at their mentors' libraries. Fellows also participate in learning sessions and discussions with all current mentors and fellows, using a combination of in-person and virtual learning experiences.

Earl said, "The idea in participating in the fellowship is that I can learn new things in library leadership and bring those practical ideas back to put into practice here at UT. Sandy Oelschlegel [Preston Library Director] was very supportive and helpful with the application process."

Earl's goals for the program are to learn more about working within the university context to communicate the value of the library to administration; look at differences in services between her and her mentor's library; and learn more about fundraising, revenue generation and partnerships that leverage resources.

Fellows attended the Association of American Medical Colleges annual meeting in November 2011 where they participated in a leadership orientation and discussed trends in medical library leadership as well as trends in medicine and health sciences. Earl said that some of the leadership trends discussed included the value of true marketing, being at the table with leaders and having a voice; developing champions and telling your story to other leaders and people in the community; and knowing "what keeps your boss awake at night," such as trends for chief financial officers.

In April and August 2012, Earl will spend a total of two weeks at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Medical Library with her mentor, Connie Poole, who is the Associate Dean for Information Resources and Chair of Information and Communication Sciences.

Monthly, fellows participate in virtual learning sessions with topics including work force, e-science, revenue generation, diversity, and power and influence.

Other fellows and mentors selected are:

Shannon D. Jones
Associate Director, Research and Education
Tompkins-McCaw Library for the Health Sciences
Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries
Mentor: R. Kenny Marone
Director, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library
Associate University Librarian for School and Department Libraries
Yale University

Jennifer McKinnell
Head of Public Services
Health Sciences Library
McMaster University
Mentor: Cynthia Robinson
Director, George T. Harrell Health Sciences Library
Hershey Medical Center
Penn State College of Medicine

Douglas L. Varner
Senior Associate Director/Chief Biomedical Informationist
Dahlgren Memorial Library
Georgetown University Medical Center
Mentor: Evelyn B. Morgen
Director, Lyman Maynard Stowe Library
University of Connecticut Health Center

Jeffrey D. Williams
Assistant Director, Collections, Access & Clinical Services
Biomedical Library
University of California, San Diego
Mentor: A. James Bothmer
Associate Vice President for Health Sciences and
Director, Health Sciences Library
Creighton University