Faces of NNLM Region 4: Molly Montgomery

Posted by liaison on October 27th, 2021 Posted in: Blog

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For National Medical Librarians Month, we will be shining a light on Molly Montgomery, Medical Librarian for Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine in Meridian, Idaho. Below is an interview with Ms. Montgomery about her experience being a medical librarian.

Can you give us the elevator speech rundown of your medical librarian career? 

I like to say that I’m trying to get medical librarian bingo by working in as many different settings as possible! I started out my library career in a public library while I was getting my degree. My first official librarian position was at the American Heart Association in Dallas. After that, I worked in a hospital library for about four years which was so much fun. After ten years in the medical library profession, I transitioned to an academic library setting where I supported allied health programs at a mid-sized university. This position was on a branch campus that shared space with a high school, and my office was based in the high school library, so I think I can check off ‘school library’ on my bingo card as well! My current position is as the Director of Library Services at the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine where I built the library from just an idea to one that now serves four full classes of medical students as well as the faculty and staff. For those who are counting, the list includes: Public library, special library, hospital library, academic library, school library (sort of!), and a medical school library. It’s been an adventure! 

What are your research interests or top work activities? 

I teach classes related to evidence-based medicine, so I tend to follow research developments in how to best educate students on EBM topics. I’m also interested in examining medical student attitudes and misconceptions of research and how that may impact those who decide to pursue research as practicing physicians. I’m working on getting an MPH right now, and my research interest in the public health world is how health literacy impacts health outcomes, especially in rural areas, and the role public libraries can play to provide health information to their communities.  

The ICOM library is staffed by only two people, so my primary work activity is just trying to stay on top of things!   

What prompted you to become a medical librarian? 

I love research and reading and am service-minded, so librarianship seemed like a good fit back when I was struggling to figure out what I wanted to do with my life following getting my undergraduate degree. I went to Texas Woman’s University and they had a dual master’s program specifically to prepare those who wanted to go into medical librarianship. I had always been interested in medicine and health but didn’t want to pursue a health-focused career. Medical librarianship seemed like a great way to work near the field without being a health care provider myself.  

What is your favorite librarian tool? 

I don’t know that I have a favorite librarian tool! It sounds silly, but probably email/phone/Zoom. I have always worked in small libraries and mostly in areas where I didn’t have peer support or mentors, so it’s been a lifeline to be able to reach out to other librarians for advice, guidance, and the opportunity to commiserate!  

What do you think are the most important challenges that medical librarians face? 

I think a lot of the work we do as librarians is invisible, especially when it comes to providing seamless (or close to it) access to online resources. So, it can be challenging to prove your worth to your organization when many think that they can get everything they need from Google Scholar or UpToDate! Also, as a person who has worked in small libraries my entire career, I have found it difficult to keep up with everything. Should I learn more about systematic reviews, or data management, or critical appraisal, or scholarly communication topics? My strategy up to this point is to know a little about a lot of things.  

Please tell us about an interaction with a library user that gave you a lot of satisfaction. 

Working with and getting to know students/residents has probably been the most satisfying part of my career. I provide them with library-related information and assistance, but I also let them vent their frustrations and give them pep talks when the stress seems overwhelming. Sometimes, you don’t know what impact you have until later. I made what was an off-the-cuff comment to a medical student about how they were going to be a great physician, and didn’t think anything more about it. A year or so later they let me know that they had been struggling and didn’t know if medical school was the right path, but that my statement helped turn things around. Another student told me that my friendliness and support were what helped them adjust to living away from home for the first time. I love library work, but it’s the connections I make with our users that make this job so rewarding.

George Strawley, M.L.I.S., works on providing consumer-level health information and programs through libraries as well as on the planning and implementation of funding aimed at addressing health disparities. A former librarian in both the public and community college settings, he is now based at the University of Utah.