Midcontinental Chapter of the Medical Library Association

2026 MCMLA Annual Meeting Schedule

Preliminary Presentation, Lightning Round, and Panel Schedule

Session information is subject to change prior to the release of the final schedule and Annual

Meeting program

Event	Content	Speaker(s)	Time (CDT)
Welcome	Announcements and MCMLA President Opening Remarks	Angela Spencer / Co-Chairs	9a – 9:15a
Keynote and Q&A	A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats: How Neurodivergent-Friendly Environments in Libraries Benefit Everyone	Amy Harris Houk	9:15a – 10:15a
Presentation Session 1A	Building Through Change: People, Spaces, and Service in a Health Sciences Library Renovation	Heidi Greenberg	10:15a – 10:30a
Presentation Session 1B	Small Changes for Big Impact: Reinforcing Core Competencies for Nursing Students	Ashley Meisenheimer	10:30a – 10:45a
Presentation Session 1C	Health Literacy Development Through Storytelling	Colleen Foy	10:45a – 11a
Presentation Session 1D	Archives Without an Archivist	Tina Drew	11a – 11:15a
Morning Break	N/A	N/A	11:15a – 11:30a
Presentation Session 2A	Developing Reporting Standards for Advancing Educational Research	Emily Vardell	11:30a – 11:45a
Presentation Session 2B	Beyond the Policy: Practical Lessons in Library Emergency Management	Jeff Slagell	11:45a – 12p
Presentation Session 2C	Data to Insights: Citizen Science in Health Education	Dana Abbey	12p – 12:15p
Lunch Break	N/A	N/A	12:15p – 1p
Lightning Round Session 3A	The Here-For-You-Librarian	Jerry Carlson	1p – 1:05p
Lightning Round Session 3B	Creating Community: Development of a Regional Evidence Synthesis Symposium	Katherine Downtown	1:05p – 1:10p
Lightning Round Session 3C	Analog Outreach in a Digital Age	Danielle Masursky	1:10p – 1:15p
Lightning Round Session 3D	Prompt Like a Pro: Tips for Better AI Results	Danielle Masursky	1:15p – 1:20p
Lightning Round Session 3E	Cultivating AI Exploration Through a Peer-Led Informal Exchange	Julia Peters	1:20p – 1:25p
Lightning Round Session 3F	Prescribing Better Metadata: An Inclusive Subject Headings Project	Laura Riley	1:25p – 1:30p
Lightning Round Session 3G	A "Graduation Checklist" to Boost Early Career Librarians into Mid-Career	Annisija Hunter	1:30p – 1:35p
Lightning Round Session 3H	Topic and State Guides at RHIhub	Sarah Dauterive	1:35p – 1:40p
Lightning Round Session 3I	Creating a Collaboration-Focused Space to Expand a Health Sciences Library's Impact	Brian Maass	1:40p – 1:45p
Afternoon Break 1	N/A	N/A	1:45p – 2p
Presentation Session 4A	Presentation Between Two Indexing Worlds: A Comparison of MEDLINE and Embase Subheadings	Cindy Schmidt	2p – 2:15p
Presentation Session 4B	Exploring AI Supported Clinical Reasoning and Evidence Gathering	Evelyn Wang	2:15p – 2:30p
Presentation Session 4C	Exploring Spaces, Places, and People: A Thematic Analysis of Three Years of MLA Conference Presentations	Emily Vardell	2:30p – 2:45p
Afternoon Break 2	N/A	N/A	2:45p – 3p
Panel Session 5A	Renovation Reflections: Library-Led Health Sciences Library Renovation and Expansion Projects	Stephanie Fulton	3p – 3:45p
Panel Session 5B	Supporting Mental Health in Health Sciences Libraries	MCMLA DEI Committee	3:45p – 4:30p
Awards and Wrap Up	Awards and Closing Remarks	Awards Committee / Co-Chairs	4:30p – 4:50p

Poster Sessions

Posters and accompanying presenter recordings will be available to view during and following the Annual Meeting.

Poster Title	Presenters
Librarian's Literature Search's Contribution to Hospital's 5 Years Goals	Catisha Benjamin; Marie St. Pierre
Encouraging Student Wellness Through Leisure Reading and Q&A	Jess D. King
Graphic Medicine for Health and Well-Being Outreach	Jeffrey Loo
In U.S. We Trust?: Librarian Perspectives on Federal Government Health Information Reliability	Ruby Nugent
Growing Smarter Systems	Brittany Robinson
Who Has Embase? A Preliminary Framework for Benchmarking Database Access	Breck Turner
Connecting Libraries with Resources to Reduce Substance Use: The Power of Spaces, Places, and People	Emily Vardell

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