Bethesda, January 9, 2023

Katherine V. Chew, Associate Librarian for Research/Outreach Services & Mortuary Sciences, Center for Allied Health Programs and Center for Bioethics at the Health Sciences Libraries, University of Minnesota has been chosen to receive the Michael E. DeBakey Librarian Outreach and Community Award for her extraordinary work as a librarian in the health sciences. Ms. Chew will be honored at the Friends of the National Library of Medicine’s (FNLM) 2024 Awards Gala. 

The Friends of the NLM Awards Gala will be held on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington, DC.

Registration is open to all and will be available soon.

“Librarian Katherine Chew richly deserves this recognition,” said the Friends of the NLM’s DeBakey Awards Chair, Tovah Reis. “She exemplifies exactly the vision had in mind when the award was created, and more”.  

Katherine V. Chew, MLS is an Associate Librarian for Research/Outreach Services & Mortuary Sciences, Center for Allied Health Programs and Center for Bioethics for the Health Sciences Library at the University of Minnesota.  She provides research support and consultation to University of Minnesota researchers in the Academic Health Center including support for NIH Public Access Policy Compliance.  As Outreach Librarian, Katherine provides education and training on consumer health and health information literacy issues to health professionals, public librarians, and the general public across the state, including exhibiting at health fairs and other health-oriented events on National Library of Medicine resources. 

Before becoming the Research/Outreach Services Librarian, Katherine was the Collections Librarian for the Health Sciences Libraries for over 10 years. Prior to joining the University of Minnesota in 2001, Katherine was an Air Force Base Librarian in Montana, Colorado (Air Force Academy) and Germany (Sembach Air Base), before switching career paths into medical librarianship. As a medical librarian she has worked in community, urban and academic health sciences libraries and has presented at state, regional and national conferences on collections, scholarly communications, metrics and health information/literacy.

2024 FNLM Awards

The Friends of the NLM’s Annual Awards recognize scientific and medical leaders who have made significant contributions to health care, biomedical science, librarianship, and public health. These life changing awardees are our contemporaries and the Friends of the NLM has the honor of thanking them. Past recipients include Nobel Laureates, leading scientists who opened new fields of breakthrough discoveries, and developers of innovative technologies. In addition, outstanding health science librarians, leaders of public office, and those who have demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing medical and health science communication are among past and this year’s recipients.

For sponsorship opportunities and a full list of past and 2024 awardees, please click here.