Name: Heidi Beke-Harrigan
Title: Assistant Librarian, Content Strategy and Access
Email: hbekeharrigan@walsh.edu
Organization: Walsh University
Website (Personal or Professional): http://library.walsh.edu/

Born and Lived: Ohio; Nanjing, China; Vienna, Austria

Professional Career and Activities: We librarians do lots of multi-tasking and I’m no exception. On any given day I might be teaching, troubleshooting technical issues or helping students develop research and critical thinking skills. My library work in the health sciences also led me into a deeper investigation of  integrative medicine, something I first experienced as an undergraduate in China. That journey continues with explorations into yoga, Ayurveda and preventative health to support us in life and work.

Family: Chris Harrigan, University of Akron; Markus Harrigan, OSU, Research Assistant, Pelotonia Fellow 2013; Stefan Harrigan, United World College of the American West; Chester the cat runs the household

In My Spare Time: Board Certified Polarity Practitioner Yoga Nidra Teacher; Beekeeping; Herbalist; Navajo style weaving; Kayaking; Skiing

Favorite Books: A Jane Austen education : how six novels taught me about love, friendship, and the things that really matter by William Deresiewicz; Finding Calcutta : what Mother Teresa taught me about meaningful work and service by Mary Poplin; Illuminations : a novel of Hildegard of Bingen

Pet Peeves: Air Travel – not what it used to be!

Philosophy: “It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of someone else’s life with perfection” ~ from the Bhagavad Gita

Most Memorable Career Achievement: A research study done with two nursing colleagues entitled “A Survey of Registered Nurses’ Readiness for Evidence-Based Practice: A Multidisciplinary Project” that was published in the Journal of Hospital Librarianship; Teaching Kindergarten at the Vienna Boys Choir

Goal I Hope to Achieve Five Years from Now: Move to Santa Fe, NM; Create a resource for people who need to evaluate medical care options abroad

How/Where Do I See the Industry in Five Years: I think we’re going to be seeing much more patron driven access, especially in the area of journals, giving us the opportunity to purchase at point of need and/or just what we need. Users will demand more and more seamless, mobile access, lines will continue to blur in terms of delivery platforms and emphasis will shift even more toward DIY with the librarian as facilitator/guide for content synthesis and co-creation of tools that allow users to customize and create with vast amounts of data. Our best efforts will come through collaboration. I’d love to see us do more as a profession in the area of instructional design.