2025 Conference

“Navigating the Future Now”

The Health Science Librarians of Illinois (HSLI) is proud to announce that we will be hosting our annual conference at Carle at the Fields Administrative Center in Champaign, IL. 

This in person event will be held on Friday, November 14, 2025. 

A virtual meeting will be held Tuesday, November 11-Thursday, November 13, 2025.  

Join us to network with your colleagues or gain continuing education credits.  We are working hard to make this conference an event that everyone will enjoy.

Registration

Registration deadline Friday, November 7^th

Print and Mail Registration Form (PDF)

Register and pay online

Program

Tuesday, November 11 – virtual

Wednesday, November 12 – virtual

Thursday, November 13 – virtual

Friday, November 14 – in-person
Carle at the Fields Administrative Center (Carle and Health Alliance)
3310 Fields South Drive, Champaign, IL 61882

Social Activities

Optional In-Person Social Activities 

Join HSLI Conference colleagues in-person in Champaign for these two optional social activities:

• Thursday, November 13 at 6:30 pm – Dinner gathering at a local restaurant, please RSVP to Ramune Kubilius, r-kubilius@northwestern.edu
• Friday, November 14 at 8:15 – Informal morning walk as a group or on your own; meet at the Carle at the Fields Administrative Center

Keynote

Wanted: Credible Health Information in an Ever-Changing Society

Janice Phillips, PhD, RN, CENP, FADLN, FAAN, Assistant Director, Illinois Department of Public Health

Dr. Phillips will discuss current trends and issues underscoring the need for credible health information. Public health and information professionals are attempting to combat the prevalence of misinformation, threats to traditional sources of information, and distrust of medical information. The Illinois Department of Public Health is dedicated to providing sources of credible health information to all users across the state, addressing their mandates for language access services for our multicultural and multilinguistic society. Dr. Phillips will highlight the invaluable role librarians play in today’s society and suggest possibilities for navigating the information landscape together. 

Dr. Phillips will speak on Tuesday, November 11th during the virtual portion of the conference.

Professional Development

Panel Presentation

AI in Health Sciences Librarianship: The Future is Now.

“Patron Data, Privacy Concerns, & Vendor AI Tools in Libraries” by Scott Thomson, MS, MLIS, AHIP, Director, Library of Rush University Medical Center, Rush University

In this presentation, we will discuss how AI is impacting patron data and privacy, including how publishers may be gathering and using patron data, and how AI may be interacting with and affecting the content they offer. This discussion will be framed around a brief overview/refresher on copyright, since certain concepts, like fair use, and transformative use, are relevant. Finally, we will offer some practical tips on how libraries can remain informed and assert some control over these changes.

“From “Can ChatGPT answer medical questions?” to librarians’ role in the AI era” by Donghau Tao, PhD, MA, MS, FAMIA, Associate University Librarian for Health Sciences,  Library of the Health Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT has sparked widespread curiosity and caution about their potential to answer complex questions, including those related to medicine, law, and education. While AI tools can provide quick information, they also raise important questions about accuracy, authority, ethics, and the human role in knowledge work. 

This conversation naturally extends to the library profession. Just as people wonder, “Can ChatGPT answer medical questions?”, the real question is “What is the librarian’s role in the AI era?” Rather than being replaced, librarians are uniquely positioned to serve as guides, curators, and ethical stewards in this new information ecosystem. Their role evolves from gatekeepers of information to collaborators with AI, helping communities critically evaluate resources, integrate AI responsibly, and ensure equitable access to trustworthy knowledge. 

“AI literacy for instruction and research in the health sciences” by Evangeline Reid, MLIS, Instructional Services Librarian, Aurora University

If generative AI is here to stay, librarians are tasked with supporting our users in navigating its strengths and limitations as a tool for finding information. From communicating essential information literacy points about gen-AI tools like ChatGPT and Google AI summaries in classrooms and conversations, to the implications for more involved academic research, librarians have plenty to cover. At the same time, we must balance a variety of concerns, including privacy, accuracy, and prioritizing learning for students.

Panel Moderator: Jacqueline Leskovec, MLIS, MA, RN, Network Specialist, Network of the National Library of Medicine NNLM Region 6.

“How do you know?: Teaching Health Sciences Professionals How to Talk to Patients about Online Information”

As information professionals, we librarians have the tools and information to help combat the rising crisis of unreliable information, so we must help health sciences professionals and students learn to use them as well. The workshop will help you understand the current state of information, how to teach about it, and principles to help you and your patrons identify unreliable information both inside and outside the exam room. This interactive 2-hour workshop will be led by Holly Hudson, Carmen Howard, Cynthia Reynolds, and Tina Griffin, from the University of Illinois Chicago Library of the Health Sciences.

Continuing Education

Magnet: Its Proven Worth (2-hour MLA CE credit)

Wednesday, November 12, 1:00-3:00 PM Central Time/2:00-4:00 PM Eastern Time

Presenter: Helen-Ann Brown Epstein,MLS, MS, AHIP-D, FMLA

During this class, a Librarian Magnet Exemplar will cover Magnet’s history, structure of global issues, and forces. Learn how you, as a librarian, and your library’s resources can contribute to an organization’s gaining Magnet certification. Find out about the benefits that come to a hospital and nursing staff with this unique credential. 

Navigating Wellness at Work: Using Mindfulness to Combat Burnout in Librarians (2-hour MLA CE credit)

Friday, November 14, 9:45-11:45 AM CDT

Presenters: Christine Andresen, MLS, MSIT, and Irene “Rena” Machowa Lubker, PhD, MLS, MPH, RDN, AHIP

In today’s fast-paced health sciences environment, librarians are crucial in supporting teaching, research, and clinical care. Competing work demands can lead to stress, burnout, and decreased overall well-being. In this interactive session, MLA’s Be Well MLA Committee members offer practical strategies for addressing these challenges. Attendees will learn about burnout triggers, about mindfulness techniques that have real-world applications, and how to integrate mindfulness practices into their daily work routines.

Check-in will be from 9:00 to 9:30 AM CDT on Friday, November 14, with a brief welcome before the 2-hour session begins at 9:45 AM.

Syed Maghrabi Scholarship Application

Download Application (PDF)

The application deadline is October 3 for full consideration

Syed Maghrabi Conference Scholarship winners will receive a free conference registration plus one-night hotel room on (not to exceed $200). If awarded a scholarship, hotel arrangements and registration are the sole responsibility of the recipient. Reimbursement for hotel room expense is processed upon submission of hotel receipt and confirmation of receipt of newsletter by HSLI Newsletter editors. Registration fee is waived. 

• Applicants must be current members of HSLI (2025 dues paid).
• Applicants must write a short essay entitled, “I would like a Syed Maghrabi Conference Scholarship because…”
• Each scholarship recipient must write an article for the HSLI Newsletter discussing the plan to implement knowledge gained at the conference in his or her institution.
• If awarded a scholarship, hotel arrangements are the sole responsibility of the recipient. Reimbursement expenses will be processed upon submission of receipts and after submission of the Newsletter article to the HSLI Newsletter editors.
• Hotel cost for Thursday Nov. 13^th or Friday Nov. 14^th will not be reimbursed over the $200 allotted amount. Anything over that amount will be your responsibility.

Call for Posters

If you have presented, or plan to present, a poster or lightning talk at another meeting this year (such as MLA or Midwest Chapter/MLA), recycling content at HSLI is totally okay!  Posters will be in electronic format only. If you’d prefer a lightning talk, you can submit a small set of slides (5 or less).  Each presenter will have 5-10 minutes to discuss their poster or lightning talk. 

Ideas can include, but are not limited to, any area of librarianship such as instruction, leadership, DEI initiatives, program development, communication, collections and collection management, outreach, and evaluation. Incorporating this year’s conference theme is appreciated but not required. Student submissions are encouraged. 

For either submission type, presenting author(s) must register for the conference and be available virtually to present (exact time TBD). There may also be an opportunity to present in person. 

Abstract Submission Instructions

For consideration, please submit an abstract (including your preference for a lightning talk or poster presentation) of no more than 300 words to Carmen Howard at choward4@uic.edu.  The deadline for submission is September 15, 2025.  Participants will be notified of acceptance no later than September 30, 2025.  Once notified of acceptance, posters or slides are due on October 31, 2025.  

Any questions or concerns can be directed to Carmen.

Hotel Note

HSLI did not reserve a block of rooms and is planning the day so that attendees from all over the state should be able to drive home in the evening. Saturday, Nov. 15 is a home football game for the University of Illinois, so many hotels are booked up for Friday, Nov. 14.  The Hampton Inn Champaign Southwest is near the meeting place and has rooms for Thursday (as of August 14).

Sponsors