VCU’s Brody chairs Medical Library Association’s dental caucus
Research and Education Librarian and liaison to the VCU School of Dentistry, Erica Brody, MPH, MSLS, is the new chair of the Medical Library Association (MLA)’s dental caucus. She has completed one year of service as dental caucus chair-elect and begins her term as chair in May 2021, which will be followed by a one year term as immediate-past chair.
The dental caucus is an MLA member community of almost 100 health sciences librarians serving the information needs of schools of dentistry or with an interest in dental research and education. Members have access to a variety of sources, including best practices for evidence-based dentistry and recommended books and journals for clinical dentistry.
Members also work together on projects designed to support dental school curricula or research. One recent project was the creation of a rubric of information literacy concepts aligned with dental competencies, which librarians may use to more effectively communicate with dental faculty and identify potential opportunities to inform or instruct in the dental education curriculum. Brody co-authored a recent article published in Medical Reference Services Quarterly that provides additional information about this initiative.
Emily Hurst, interim director and associate dean of VCU’s Health Sciences Library, took note of Brody’s accomplishment. “As the caucus chair, Erica will be able to work more closely with her colleagues from around the United States to develop and lead new initiatives in health sciences librarianship focused on dental education. Her election to this position highlights her recognition by her peers as a leader in the profession.”
Brody has been a member of the dental caucus since becoming a librarian four years ago, following her first career in health sciences research, collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data. In addition, she has experience managing multi-site projects, coordinating data collection, analysis and report writing as a member of geographically dispersed, multi-disciplinary teams.
Categories Dentistry, Faculty/Staff, health care, Health Sciences Library, Librarians at Work, News, Uncategorized