Getting to know more about Charlie(continue August 4, 2009)

After my meeting with Judy and Lynn, I had the chance to know more about Charlie Greenberg. He is a Liaison for surgery and emergency medicine as well as coordinator of curriculum and research support. For the past 11 years in the medical library he has managed the information desk as well as the chili program. By communicating with people through email, telephone, appointments, etc he understands what the users of the library likes and dislikes, therefore thinking about new ways to improve the resources. He also teaches people how to use tools in the computer like Refworks. He finds ways to his relationship with the users of the library.

As a teenager he hadn't considered becoming a medical librarian though he spent his time reading and studying in the library. In 1981, he was offered an interview by the public library in Rocklyn, New York. There he taught people how to use the pc Apple computer. He had been hired to work for the Law school Library where he videotaped graduations and was a reference librarian for 2 years. After 4 years he got bored of the job and discovered that he didn't need a medical degree in order to become medical librarian and switch to the medical library in 1989.

He is working on an electronic way in which Yale students can put their thesis on line, and on the Yale Research Institution website. Also he is part of the International Librarian Leadership program, which focuses on helping librarians serve their doctors, and hosts librarians from around the world. A memorable experience was when he presented in front of a group of surgeons which he says was interesting to do. Librarianship has enabled him to travel around the world like Australia, Germany, Scotland, Sweden and Armenia. You can find out more about his experience in Armenia at http://ysmuvisit.blogspot.com/. He also hopes to travel to South Africa. According to him one of the most challenging thing is making people feel more comfortable using technology. Overall, Charlie loves his job because he likes his hours, the ability to create new projects, the environment and his colleagues.