Christie Degener
HSL Interim Director (2015 – 2016)
Professional Accomplishments
- Member: UNC Faculty Council Open Access Task Force
- Chair: UNC Libraries Scholarly Communications Committee
- Editorial Board: Nursing Research (2008/2013)
- 2006 Award of Excellence, Health Sciences Library
Christie Degener became Interim Director of the HSL on August 1, 2015. She continued to act as head of the Information Access and Discovery Department during her time as Interim Director. Degener has served in several administrative roles at the HSL since 1984, including as the head of the Information Access and Discovery Department since 2007.
“Christie brings a wealth of experience and the trust of her colleagues to this interim role. I look forward to working with her in the months ahead,” University Librarian Sarah Michalak said.
In her 31 years at the Health Sciences Library, Degener has held eight positions within the Information Access and Discovery Department including both assistant and acting head of the department, as well as several positions in the areas of cataloging services, serials, selection and access, and acquisitions services.
“While enrolled in library school at UNC I aggressively sought out job opportunities at the Health Sciences Library, having heard it described as a good place to work,” Degener said. “Thirty years later, I feel that way now more than ever, because of the sustained excellence of the HSL staff and our customer-focused services.”
As head of the Information Access and Discovery Department, Degener led the Library in several large-scale negotiations to support the growth of Carolina’s health affairs disciplines within and beyond Chapel Hill. Most notably, this included the expansion of access to a critical clinical reference tool, UpToDate, to the entire UNC Health Care System and integrating UpToDate into the System’s electronic health record system.
Degener received her Master of Science in Library Science from the School of Information and Library Science at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has also earned a Master of Arts from the Department of Music at UNC-Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Bucknell University.
Christie Degener returned to her role as head of the Information Access and Discovery Department and interim assistant director with the hiring of Nandita Mani as Director and Associate University Librarian on July 1, 2016. On January 1, 2019 Christie retired from the University.
