Working at Himmelfarb: Home

Professional Positions

Job classifications (GW HR)
More information on the different types of positions available at Himmelfarb and other GW libraries.

Student Positions

Himmelfarb hires student assistants to work at the circulation desk, assisting library users in borrowing materials and providing help with the library's other services. Contact Kathy Lyons for more information.

Vision Statement

Himmelfarb Library seeks to set the standard for a modern health sciences library that advances research, learning, and patient care through teaching, collaboration, and the delivery of health sciences information tools and resources.

Mission

Himmelfarb Library supports the information needs of the faculty, staff, and students of the SMHS, GWSPH, and GW Nursing by:

1. Supporting the academic goals and research activities of every student, staff, and faculty member through services, resources, and opportunities to foster learning and intellectual growth.
2. Acquiring high quality resources and tools that support clinical care, population health and research and which reflect GW’s global health sciences community.
3. Implementing technologies that seamlessly integrate, retrieve, organize, analyze and preserve information.
4. Developing the library as a center of collaboration, creativity, and community, which advances diversity, equity and inclusion by pursuing equitable access, services, and education.
5. Extending staff skills and enhancing library services by supporting innovation, education, and job enrichment.

Core Values

• Supportive & Nurturing
• Service-Oriented
• Authoritative & Trustworthy
• Community-Building
• Responsive & Adaptable
• Equitable & Respectful

Equal Employment Opportunity & Access

The university is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action (EEO/AA) employer committed to maintaining a nondiscriminatory, harassment–free, diverse work and education environment. The university does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics or on any other basis prohibited by applicable law in any of its programs, activities, or employment practices.

For more information on this policy and its purpose, please read the Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement (PDF).

Committee Work

Himmelfarb staff have the opportunity to serve on numerous internal committees. Committee work allows staff to explore cultivating new skills, exchange ideas with colleagues, and participate in projects outside of your normal duties. Current committees include: Assessment; Collection Development; Communications & Marketing; Disaster Preparedness; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Healthy Living; Scholarly Research & Publishing; Staff Development & Cross-Training; and Web.

Himmelfarb Staff also have the opportunity to serve on external committees through the Washington Research Library Consortium and GW-wide Library committees with colleagues from Gelman and Burns Libraries. Himmelfarb staff are also encouraged to be involved in our professional organizations, and a number of staff have served on committees and elected offices through the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association, the Medical Library Association, and others.

Promotion and Professional Development

Librarian positions are eligible to apply for promotion through Himmelfarb's promotion-in-place program. Promotion to a higher rank generally brings with it a salary increase that is separate from annual salary increases, as well as greater expectations.

All staff are encouraged to pursue professional development opportunities, and funding is regularly available for classes and conference attendance. Himmelfarb librarians are frequently accepted into the Master Teacher Leadership Development Program, a year-long intensive program designed to enhance teaching skills, develop educational leadership potential, and promote scholarship in education. Staff are also supported in pursuing their own research and publications. You can see our past scholarly output showcased in the Himmelfarb collections in Health Sciences Research Commons.

Other Unique Opportunities

Himmelfarb librarians are deeply involved in the Practice of Medicine program, designed to teach first- and second-year medical students how to integrate their knowledge to make decisions in the clinical context. Librarians are matched with one or more small groups of first-year medical students who they meet with several times throughout the preclinical years to teach informatics skills, including database searching, critical appraisal of research articles, understanding levels of evidence, and much more.

Himmelfarb librarians may work in the clinical environment. Via integration with specific residency programs, Himmelfarb librarians find just-in-time answers to clinical questions, identify evidence to support clinical practice, and maintaining reading lists to support residents' individual growth.

Himmelfarb staff also support our faculty and students' scholarly research through innovative programs. Our Researcher Profile Audit Service was developed to help our users refine their author profiles on a wide range of online systems, improving their ability to present a full and accurate picture of their scholarship. Himmelfarb librarians regularly assist users conducting systematic reviews through our well-established systematic review service.

Other less-common services you might get involved with include:

• Helping out with our 3D printing service
• Planning (or participating in!) the Himmelfarb Library Annual Art Show
• Organizing events through the Healthy Living @ Himmelfarb initiative
• Developing and publishing videos on all aspects of the research life cycle through our Scholarly Communications Committee

Or start your own! Himmelfarb has a longstanding culture of encouraging and supporting innovation from staff.

Want to learn more about Himmelfarb Library? Check out our social media accounts!