MIDLINE Interview conducted by Mary White, Education and Outreach Liaison
Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
In this issue of MIDLINE, we will be talking with Linda Walton, the new director at Hardin Library for the Health Sciences at the University of Iowa. Linda graduated with her BA and MLS from Indiana University and lived in New England for 12 years before returning to the midwest to work for the NN/LM in Chicago and the University of Wisconsin’s AHEC. Linda started at Hardin on September 1st after nine years as an associate director at Galter Health Sciences Library at Northwestern University in Chicago. Her expertise is in collections, with an emphasis on electronic collections and administration. In addition to her husband and two children, she has two Russian Blue cats named Sasha and Albert.
MIDLINE: Thank you for taking the time to chat today. What was the toughest part about transitioning to Iowa from Chicago?
LW: Being landlocked, there’s no lake (Michigan)! However, getting to work in 10 minutes versus the 50 minute commute to Northwestern has been nice! The winters are pretty much the same, but Iowa has more hills than Chicago, which can affect driving. This is my first time living west of the Mississippi. Maybe I’ll buy a pair of cowboy boots!
MIDLINE: What was the biggest surprise upon arrival to Hardin?
LW: When I arrived, we had five professional vacancies out of eleven, plus I was new! The first thing I had to do was a reorganization to determine the kinds of positions that needed to be filled. Chris Shaffer (the assistant director) and I determined that we wanted a liaison position for each of the 5 colleges that we support, and that was something Hardin didn’t have before.
MIDLINE: What are some of the current challenges facing the academic medical library?
LW: The medical library needs to be “just-in-time” rather than “just-in-case.” How can we do that? We need to get the library’s information where the users need it…by outreaching to them rather than having them come to us. The library director can facilitate this by serving as the go-between and connection point, between the libraries as well as the colleges the library serves.
MIDLINE: With the digital integration of library services, many libraries are rethinking ways that the physical facility can be utilized. Can you talk about some of the initiatives going on at Hardin related to this issue?
LW: We see the physical and theoretical view of the library as a “common space.” Serving a health campus with so many different disciplines, the library is the common ground, and can provide a place for interdisciplinary work and inspiration of new ideas.
Chris Shaffer and I recently visited the Mayo Clinic library’s emeritus faculty suite and are considering developing a similar suite in the Hardin Library. A more immediate event in the library “space” is the upcoming “Changing the Face of Medicine” exhibit from the National Library of Medicine. The exhibit about female physicians is touring the country and will be stopping at the University of Iowa during the months of October and November.
MIDLINE: Thank you Linda!