Head of Clinical Support 
Health Sciences Library 
University of Missouri – Kansas City  

Editor’s note: On a regular basis, we publish profiles of librarians who have been an integral part of Doody Enterprises, whether they have served on our Library Board of Advisors, as a Librarian Selector for Doody’s Core Titles, or on the editorial board/as a List Selector for Doody’s Special Topics Lists. This month, we are profiling a librarian who has served as a Librarian Selector for Doody’s Core Titles for many years: Kristy Steigerwalt of the University of Missouri – Kansas City. 

Where do you currently work and what is your position? 

I currently work at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC) Health Sciences Library as the Head of Clinical Support.  

Provide a brief description of your library and its services. 

The Health Sciences Library at UMKC supports the professional Schools of Pharmacy, Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, and the Health Sciences degree programs. In addition, we support inpatient rounding at our sister hospital by providing the Clinical Medical Librarian (CML) program, a legacy embedded librarian program that got its start at UMKC in the 1970s via Gertrude Lamb.  

When did you start in medical librarianship? What was your position? With what institution? 

I began in medical librarianship at UMKC as an IMLS Librarians in Leadership Fellow in 2010. As part of this fellowship, I supported the librarians at UMKC’s Health Sciences Library via a virtual CML service, working in LibGuides and observing faculty governance.  

Name two of the most important issues facing medical librarianship today. 

I think there has been a consistent struggle during my tenure in medical librarianship for name recognition. This is not unique to medical librarianship.   Services such as active research support and negotiating contracts and pricing are notoriously underrecognized components of the services medical librarians provide. Data management and the ability to support data management with limited staffing and resources is another important issue that will continue to grow with the new NIH data managing and sharing policy.  

Why do you serve as a Doody’s Core Titles Librarian Selector? 

Even as a student, my librarian colleagues were big proponents of working as Doody’s selectors. It is a wonderful way to utilize the expertise unique to medical librarians by collaborating in selecting the best resources for libraries. I think it is an excellent way to give back to a community of librarians I am so grateful to be a part of. I have served as a Doody’s Selector for over 10 years, and I have enjoyed the privilege of sharing any expertise I can provide.  

What is one thing you want to make sure all librarians know about Doody’s services? 

What I love about Doody’s Core Titles is that it not only evaluates a large list of resources in a particular discipline, but also highlights the most important resources in an area for libraries on a budget. In times of budget cuts and increased serial pricing, this is essential for libraries of all sizes and resources.  

Anything else you’d like to share? 

I am a big fan of serving as a Doody’s Librarian Selector. Anyone interested in serving as a Selector who has questions about the process is certainly welcome to reach out to me directly (steigerwaltk@umk.edu). A big shout out to medical librarians – thank you for all you do!