The Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center (HSLIC) lost our very dear friend, colleague and mentor, Dr. Gale Hannigan on June 27th. Gale was a kind and generous individual who gave her time, expertise and support to her colleagues here at HSLIC, our national organization and many friends all over the country and the world. She is, and will continue to be, greatly missed and remembered.
Gale began her career as a medical librarian at the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library in 1977 after obtaining her Masters of Library and Information Studies from University of California Berkeley. She received her Masters of Public Health degree from the University of Texas in May 1982 and her PhD in Information Science from the University of North Texas in 2000.
Gale worked in many different settings, at Baylor College of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine, the University of Minnesota's Bio-Medical Library, the Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company, and at the Texas A&M University Medical Sciences Library. While at Texas A&M, she taught courses in librarianship at the University of Texas School of Library and Information Sciences. She became a Medical Informatics Specialist and was appointed the Director of Informatics for Medical Education, a position she held until her retirement from Texas A&M in 2011. Not to be deterred by something as minor as retirement, Dr. Hannigan took a new part-time faculty position here at HSLIC , where she was an active expert searcher, educator, researcher, and informatics leader.
Gale served as a leader in the Medical Library Association as well. Her publications, library school teaching, CE courses, and her mentoring has brought her praise from all corners of the country. A special highlight was her role as the Co-Chair for the MLA Task Force to Review MLA’s Competencies for Lifelong Learning and Professional Success leading to the creation of the much-acclaimed and subsequently influential MLA Competencies. Her career evolved to a greater focus on medical informatics and education for health sciences libraries. While at HSLIC, she was an active member of the planning group for the HSLIC’s BioMISS program, a seminar series devoted to providing the informatics community at the University of New Mexico and beyond information about recent research in the field. Her work in the medical informatics space in libraries was truly innovative and groundbreaking. After coming to New Mexico, she collaborated with informatics faculty to explore new areas of research and education in this field, ensuring that the fledging program here survived and thrived.
She was a Fellow of the Medical Library Association (FMLA) and a Distinguished Member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals and was given three of MLA's highest honors: the Lucretia W. McClure Excellence in Education Award, the Estelle Brodman Award for Academic Health Sciences Librarian of the Year, and the President's Award. She was also recognized by her colleagues at the Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center with an Exemplary Service Award and her alma mater, the University of North Texas' Department of Information Science, with its Outstanding Alumni Award.
Gale was not only an active member of our faculty, she was the lead expert searcher on our team. She continually provided quiet, thoughtful leadership and mentorship for our other faculty and staff, and she focused on being inclusive in every aspect of her work, whether bringing in others on her projects or requesting advice and peer review of her search strategies. Her kindness and generosity impacted all of us. One of her colleagues, Dr. Jon Eldredge, said "I spoke at a research conference in 1990 about my fear that our profession was going to be sidelined by the lack of rigorous or relevant research constituting our knowledge base. After my talk, Gale approached me and we engaged in a long discussion. I will never forget how Gale encouraged me to continue to speak out on how to improve our research base. In retrospect, it was her active intellectual engagement over the decades that defined my professional relationship with Gale, a legacy I treasure.”
HSLIC’s Executive Director Melissa Rethlefsen added, "Gale had a tremendous positive influence on the direction and climate within our library. Not only was she calm, thoughtful, and endlessly inclusive, she remained flush with exciting ideas that spurred us to think about bettering our library and our world… I cannot really remember a time when I didn't recognize her name as one of the greats in our field. But, it wasn't until I got to work with her that I truly understood how great she actually was. I feel honored to have worked with her."
“I will always remember Gale as a kind and encouraging colleague and mentor. I valued her insights, expertise, support and enthusiasm. But what I will miss most about Gale is her friendship.” Ingrid Hendrix, Division Head, Research, Education and Clinical Information Services.
“I had the privilege of working with Gale for a year. She was unfailingly generous with her knowledge. Her constant kindness and generosity will always inspire me.” Deirdre Caparoso, Outreach and Community Engagement Librarian.
“I will always be grateful to Gale for driving me to see a doctor when I had double vision and could not see to drive myself. At the time, I did not know that I had multiple sclerosis, and Gale was there to help me in that dark time.” Deborah Rhue, Clinical Services Librarian.
"Working with Gale allowed me to witness a way of life that combines excellence, kindness, and self-care. Gale prioritized people, and she went above and beyond to clarify and meet their needs. She cared deeply for people, volunteering her time to support and enable the success of others. Finally, Gale loved nature, and she made time to enjoy it. This allowed for a balanced way of life that I consistently noticed and admired." Lisa Acuff, former Education & Research Librarian & current volunteer faculty.