MIDLINE: Welcome! Congratulations on your new position as the Director, Greater Midwest Region NN/LM! Thanks for joining us for this interview.
MIDLINE: Are you new to Chicago?
Kate Carpenter: Thank you for the warm welcome. I have lived in the Midwest my entire life. Much of the time, I lived in Chicago or in Hammond, Indiana, where I currently reside. Hammond is located two miles from the Illinois border, and about twenty-five miles from the Loop. Fortunately, a commuter rail, the South Shore Line, to the city, serves interstate travelers in our community. Even more fortunately, northwest Indiana operates on Central Standard and Central Daylight Savings Time, the same time zone as Chicago, unlike the rest of Indiana. So I am not new to Chicago, but I am newly enjoying what Chicago has to offer.
MIDLINE: What has been your previous library experience?
KC: Most recently, I served as Library Director at the Purdue University Calumet campus in Hammond, Indiana. We worked in collaboration with Purdue University in West Lafayette, and the other regional campuses of Purdue, but each of the directors and the dean reported directly to his/her respective vice chancellor for academic affairs. Prior to that, I held the position of University Librarian at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. An independent Lutheran university, Valparaiso recently opened a new library that integrated space for campus life and campus IT in a single building. I enjoyed the opportunity to prepare the rationale for a new building, compile the building program, search for an architect, and secure the support of the Board of Directors for this initiative. At both these institutions, I stayed engaged with the health sciences through our respective schools of nursing. My longest appointment was at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 1979 to 1993. I held several positions at the Library of the Health Sciences and also served as the inaugural Bibliographer for the Health Sciences. You could say that I am home again.
MIDLINE: What is your job all about? What does the RML Director do?
KC: The role of the RML Director encompasses all the duties and responsibilities of an academic research library leader, as well as the obligations of a resource library within the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. In addition, the RML Director is responsible for developing a vision for the Greater Midwest Region, and for leading the region in planning for and implementing the initiatives, programs, and services of the GMR. As RML Director, I work closely with the associate director to plan, negotiate, and implement our contract with the National Library of Medicine. I am also responsible for sustaining communications among the network members, including the Resource Libraries, Outreach Libraries, the Greater Midwest Region Advisory Council, and local groups. I work with the coordinators and other GMR staff to make progress on our specific plan of work. Practically speaking, with the emphasis of my job on planning, leadership, communications, and implementation, I spend a lot of time in meetings.
MIDLINE: What are the most significant current RML initiatives?
KC: The GMR has so many substantive initiatives to improve access to information and facilitate its effective use! We provide training on Internet access and NLM databases, as well as a series of brochures introducing consumers and health professionals to these resources. Among our communication tools is a blog, The Cornflower, which enables our members to share information about events, projects, and people at their institutions. We encourage everyone to share his or her expertise by contributing to the GMR blog. We distribute money! The GMR funds a variety of awards and contracts to promote new and innovative information services. We were able to fund ten subcontracts and seventeen awards during the past year. Some of the projects included Go Local projects in Iowa and North Dakota, increasing the use of Web 2.0 technologies by public health workers in Michigan, and supporting a community health based organization to provide health information in eight languages. Also, the Emergency Preparedness Working Group, consisting of a representative from each state, was appointed in February 2008.
MIDLINE: You attended the Resource Library Directors meeting in April. What was accomplished at that meeting?
KC: At our meeting, we each shared one major initiative and one major challenge at our institutions. This approach stimulated discussion, networking, and ideas throughout the rest of the meeting. It also enabled us to see, acknowledge, and focus on change in our environment and institutions. Budgetary constraints, space sharing, outreach goals (including the NIH mandate and copyright), and impact of electronic medical records were among the most common challenges facing the Resource Libraries. The impact of establishing centers for clinical and translational science funded by the NIH was shared, as were concerns about continuing document delivery services under the provisions of product licenses. The meeting also included an update by Martha Fishel, Chief, Public Services Division, at the National Library of Medicine. In the second session, Dan Wilson, coordinator, introduced the NN/LM Emergency Preparedness Plan, and the directors shared information about emergency preparedness at their institutions.
MIDLINE: What are you enjoying most about being RML Director?
KC: I especially enjoy the opportunity to take health sciences librarianship to the "next level." Like all of you, I am passionate about making health information for the scholar and the consumer readily available to those who need it. The Greater Midwest Region and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine structures that simple mandate for a national audience. The evolving scope of our mission to serve public health workers, community-based organizations, and consumers is very appealing, as is our traditional role in serving health professionals to improve patient care. I also enjoy our role in supporting access through grants and awards.
MIDLINE: What is most challenging?
KC: Did I already mention meetings? As you all know, meetings present a profound ambiguity in the life of the health sciences librarian. On the one hand, we can accomplish a great deal of collaborative work within the processes associated with meetings, and we have many opportunities for distraction-free communication with our colleagues. On the other hand, meetings are time-consuming, they force us to be absent from our offices and service points, and they are poor venues for keeping up with the constant flow of e-mail. The most challenging aspect so far, however, is the necessity of deciphering - and remembering - the language of acronyms in which the work of the health sciences librarian is encoded.
MIDLINE: Any advice to other librarians who are starting a new job?
KC: I advise new employees to invoke their patience, stamina, and love of learning. I read everything that I receive very carefully! I investigate all unknown acronyms and the programs that they represent. I take notes at meetings, and then follow up on items that I don't understand. Another good strategy is making time for informal learning with colleagues as well as formal learning such as continuing education, seminars, and the like. One of the most informative sessions that I attended recently was the open meeting in Chicago on Healthy People 2020 convened by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Over fifty societies, organizations, and grass roots groups provided input to HHS. My personal techniques for staying abreast of my learning opportunities are a file of readings for train time and a "traveling to-do" list in which I record citations or tasks that emerge in meetings. My most fervent advice is to be patient. A new appointee cannot learn the duties of the job overnight, nor can he/she understand instantly the mores and culture of the new organization.
MIDLINE: Will you be attending the Midwest MLA / MHSLA 2008 Conference in October? We are looking forward to meeting you there!
KC: Yes, I plan to attend. I can't wait to renew my acquaintance with friends and colleagues from the past, as well as to meet new colleagues from the Midwest.