Kimberley R. Barker, MLIS, is the Librarian for Belonging & Community Engagement at the University of Virginia’s Claude Moore Health Sciences Library. With over 24 years’ experience in library science, Kimberley has held a variety of positions in different types of libraries and specialized in several different aspects of the field.
Barker’s instructional work for UVA Health focuses on two main areas: digital life (covering topics such as reputation management, personal branding, and establishing and maintaining a professional online identity), and the series she created, Contemporary Issues & Healthcare, which targets the intersection of healthcare with topics such as artificial intelligence, net neutrality, climate change, bias, and reputation management; her presentations are available at https://www.slideshare.net/kr_barker.
As the IDEA (Inclusion Diversity Equity Accessibility) lead for HSL, Barker provides leadership for IDEA-related library staff training, develops effective approaches to meet the health literacy needs of people in surrounding communities, and coordinates library support for community engagement and health equity, in accordance with UVA Health’s One Future Together strategic plan.
A graduate of both Furman University (B.A.) and the University of South Carolina (MLIS), Barker is past-Chair of both the Medical Library Association’s Technology Advisory Committee, and the Technology Program Advisory Committee for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, (Region One). In her non-work life, she enjoys foraging, embroidery, playing D&D, and damaging her hearing with Industrial Metal.