We are excited to announce that Molly Beestrum, MLIS has been selected as the new Head of Research Information Services (RIS) at Galter Library! Molly received her MLIS from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and started at Galter in the fall of 2018 as our Education and Curriculum Coordinator. She has worked closely with the Office of Medical Education and other programs to ensure we provide the best possible support to students and faculty in the Feinberg School of Medicine (FSM). 

Molly has been teaching in academic libraries since 2004, coordinating library instruction and developing library curricular content in support of academic programs. Prior to her time at Galter, she served as a Library Instruction Coordinator at Columbia College in Chicago. At Columbia, Molly continuously cultivated collaborations across various academic departments, student affairs units, and campus centers to promote accessible services that were adaptive to the needs of students and faculty. We have been grateful for her expertise and leadership in building cross-departmental relationships that have allowed us to prioritize responsive library services. 

In her role as Education and Curriculum Coordinator at Galter, Molly has served as the point person for all curricular and student-centered library support. She has conducted orientations and resource sessions for new student groups, provided consultations on Area of Scholarly Concentration research and has worked with faculty to strategize the most effective ways to integrate information literacy into existing programs. Molly is particularly passionate about the development of pedagogy as it relates to information literacy and cultivating student-centered instruction and mentorship within medical education. 

In addition to her work as the Education and Curriculum Coordinator Molly contributes to Galter’s reference and systematic review working groups and most recently collaborated in the implementation of Galter’s new LibChat service aimed at connecting with patrons at their point-of-need. She serves as the Co-Chair of Galter’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion working group and recently initiated our Education working group designed to provide resources and support to those who teach within Galter. Molly is an active member of the Medical Library Association (MLA) and served as the President of the Illinois Library Association (ILA) from 2018-2021 overseeing strategic planning and leading the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Molly is looking forward to bringing her experience in leadership to her new role as Head of Research and Information Services at Galter. She is excited to work more closely with department heads and develop strategic collaborations to create innovative solutions to FSM research needs and to best support the members of Galter’s RIS department. We are thrilled to welcome Molly to our leadership team and are looking forward to the ways that her guidance and expertise will continue to grow and innovate Galter’s research services.

View Molly's Professional Profile.

Contact Molly at molly.beestrum@northwestern.edu or (312) 503-4508.