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New Director for Hardin Library Appointed

Linda Walton has accepted an offer to become the next Associate University Librarian and Director of the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences effective August 31. Linda comes to the University of Iowa Libraries from the Galter Health Sciences Library at Northwestern University where she has been the Associate Director.

“She has solid experience in health sciences librarianship and plenty of energy,” says Nancy L. Baker, University Librarian. “I am delighted to have Linda join the Libraries’ administrative group and assume leadership of the Hardin Library.”

Linda was attracted to the UI and the Hardin Library primarily because of the commitment to and progressive nature of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. “The interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of the University shows that the people are truly interested in health care and their patients,” said Walton. “Nancy Baker and the Libraries’ administrative team recognize the unique attributes of a health sciences library and sees this as a plus to the library system as a whole. Working together is critical in this complex information age.”

Some of the challenges Linda sees for all librarians involve understanding the ethical and legal information access issues brought about by the ease of information transfer over the Internet. She also wants to enhance the library user experience by developing tools that help faculty, students, staff and researchers connect with information resources more effectively.

After completing her graduate degree in library science at Indiana University, Linda worked for a small private psychiatric hospital library. This position proved to be the beginning of her career in health science librarianship. She appreciated the structure of health science libraries which allows for networking among libraries, developing library services and programs through grant funding and interlibrary lending. The fast pace of the medical world and being a part of the clinical setting all added to the excitement of being a health sciences librarian for Linda.

Hardin Library for the Health Sciences is part of the University of Iowa Libraries. Hardin serves the combined information and research needs of the five health science colleges of the University of Iowa as well as the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. Each year Hardin also fulfills nearly 30,000 information requests of health professionals across the country. For more information about Hardin Library for the Health Sciences, check online at www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin.