She’s bright, energetic, and has come all the way from Newfoundland! The Library is delighted to welcome Shannon Gordon as our new Liaison Librarian for the School of Pharmacy.
, Liaison Librarian for the School of Pharmacy, Ext. 21313
Shannon arrives at the Library from Memorial University where she spent six years as a Librarian, most recently as the Liaison for Anesthesia, Oncology, Surgery, Orthopedics, and the Newfoundland and Labrador Centre for Applied Health Research.
In this newly-created permanent position at Waterloo, Shannon supports the research, teaching, and learning of students, faculty, and staff in the School of Pharmacy. She is responsible for ensuring that the online and print collection is current and relevant and provides research consultations and course-integrated research workshops.
“I want to push this position beyond the traditional role of an academic librarian, and provide relevant research support,” says Shannon. “The word ‘librarian’ is often associated with an outdated image, whereas the modern relevance of an academic health sciences librarian is so far from what the stereotype represents. ‘Information Scientist’ and ‘Information Ninja’ are much more representative of what it is that we do in our work in 2012.”
Shannon’s position in the School of Pharmacy is truly a unique one. Unlike other liaison librarians who spend most of their time located within the Library, her position is based downtown at the School of Pharmacy, so she is physically a part of Pharmacy’s day-to-day world.
She even has two offices in the Pharmacy building – one on the 4th floor to ensure that she is visible and easily accessible to faculty, staff, and students in the building, and another in the Reading Room on the lower level where she will spend time starting in January to answer students’ research questions and provide assistance with specialized Pharmacy and Pharmacology resources.
“Being an effective liaison librarian requires significant interaction with faculty, staff, and students,” she says. “Getting to know their research needs, and also their ideas on how I can contribute to their work and success are what keeps me energized about my work.”
Shannon received her Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Western Ontario in 2006 and her Bachelor of Arts from Memorial University in 2004. Since starting her career she has developed a passion for medical librarianship. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Health Libraries Association and recently finished a term as President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Health Libraries Association.
Since arriving to Waterloo in October Shannon has spent most of her time outside of work getting acquainted with the city and meeting new people.
“Being new to KW, I have a fantastic excuse to explore everything!” she says. “I am keeping myself busy with meeting new people, checking out local art and eateries, and exploring the area in general. I am also taking a local yoga class which is a lot of fun.”
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