Carol Jenkins’ “Legacy of Leadership and Innovation”

The past 26 years have brought unprecedented growth and dynamic change for the health affairs community at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). During that period, the UNC Health Sciences Library (HSL) has responded at every turn to the expanding and evolving information needs of its users under the extraordinary leadership of Carol Jenkins. Only the third professional librarian to lead the Health Sciences Library in its history, Jenkins will retire on June 30, 2013, but the legacy of her leadership will live on in the Carolina community for years to come.

“Carol leaves a legacy of leadership and innovation,” said University Librarian and Associate Provost for Libraries Sarah Michalak. “Her outstanding career and tireless passion have advanced the provision of health information on campus, across the state, around the country, and the world.”

Carol outside the HSL in 1987

Through more than two decades of service to Carolina Jenkins has held numerous leadership roles. These included Chair of the Committee on the Status of Women, and founding Board member of BRIDGES, a program preparing women for academic administrative leadership; member of the Executive Committee of Faculty Council and of the University Budget Advisory Committee. Jenkins is also Professor of Practice in UNC’s School of Information and Library Science.

In an email to HSL librarians and staff Jenkins wrote, “One of the accomplishments of which I am most proud is being able to recruit and work with such a wonderful staff.” Under her leadership, Jenkins and her staff have made HSL one of the foremost health sciences libraries in the nation, known for its excellent collections and innovative services to its users.

Throwing the switch on UNCLE, UNC’s local MEDLINE system

Beginning the major renovation in 2002

The HSL has pioneered many new roles under Jenkins’ leadership including being one of the first libraries in the country to provide access to MEDLINE and other databases to users’ desktops anywhere on campus; the AHEC Digital Library, providing online books, journals and databases to health professionals throughout NC and beyond; and NC Health Info, a unique web database of authoritative health sources and local health resources for the public. Jenkins oversaw an extensive renovation of the centrally located library building in 2005, adding spaces and technology to meet the changing expectations and needs of library users.

In just the past few years the HSL has implemented liaison-based services in all of the schools in the Division of Health Affairs and in the University of North Carolina Medical Center. Jenkins helped lead the libraries through a successful process to converge organizationally with the rest of the University Libraries, saving money and creating greater efficiencies by combining a number of support functions. She also co-led the development of the first Joint Libraries Strategic Plan creating a roadmap for the next five years of library success. On April 19 the Health Sciences Library Advisory Committee presented a resolution recognizing Carol Jenkins for her 26 years of outstanding leadership and dedication to the Library, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and to the State of North Carolina.

Her publications, consulting, and research are in the areas of information outreach, changes in scholarly publication, new library buildings and preparing health sciences librarians to advance in the profession. She has served on the Boards of Directors and is a past president of both the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) in 2001 and the Medical Library Association (MLA) in 2002, and served as member and Chair of the National Library of Medicine Biomedical Library and Informatics Review Committee (NIH Study Section, 2002-2006). She led a program to prepare future directors of academic health sciences libraries, and participated twice as a mentor in the program. She continues to support library leadership development by teaching in the AAHSL New Directors program and by chairing an MLA task force on Emerging Leaders.

Carol receiving the Marcia C. Noyes Award

Prior to coming to North Carolina in 1986, Jenkins held library administrative positions at the University of Maryland, University of Virginia, and Oregon Health Sciences University. She is a graduate of Kalamazoo College and received her MLS degree from the University of Oregon. She has been a Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals since 1991 and was named a Lifetime Fellow of the MLA in 2001. In 2010, she was awarded the Cornerstone Award from the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries for her significant impact on academic health sciences librarianship. Her impact on librarianship was also recognized in 2011 with the Marcia C. Noyes Award, the highest honor conferred by the Medical Library Association (MLA).

HSL Staff, 2008

Carol’s future plans include spending time with family and friends, working on some home renovations, and more. She says she hopes to heed the advice of others, not to plan too much; adding, “that may be the hardest part of all!”

Congratulations Carol! We will miss you!