2022-23 Chair

Emily Vardell

Emily Vardell is an Assistant Professor in the School of Library and Information Management at Emporia State University. She teaches graduate courses on the foundations of library and information science, reference, research methods, and health sciences librarianship. Her research interests are in health information behavior with a focus on health insurance literacy and how people make health insurance decisions.

Dr. Vardell earned her PhD from the School of Information and Library Science (SILS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017 and her Master of Library Science degree from Texas Woman’s University in 2007. She began her medical librarian career as a National Library of Medicine Associate Fellow and then served as Director for Reference and Education at the Louis Calder Medical Library at the University of Miami. Dr. Vardell is Chair of the Midcontinental Chapter of the Medical Library Association and has served on MCMLA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee since its inception as well as Chair of the MCMLA Research Committee.

Dr. Vardell is an active member of the Medical Library Association (MLA), including serving as Co-Chair of the 2024 National Program Committee and a member of the Educational Steering Committee. She has also served as Chair of the MLA Medical Library Education Caucus, Public Health/Health Administration Section, and Professional Recruitment and Retention Committee. She is the Online Updates Column Editor for Medical Reference Services Quarterly. Dr. Vardell has conducted research presentations at state, regional, national, and international conferences, received grants from the Medical Library Association and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, been awarded the Beta Phi Mu Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, and served as a Fulbright scholar in Vienna, Austria.