From the Library Director, November 2026
Posted: November 3, 2026
October marked National Medical Librarians Month, centered on a theme that resonates deeply across health sciences education today: librarians are trusted experts in times of change. As the landscape of academic publishing and clinical scholarship evolves—highlighted by our recent celebrations of International Open Access Week—the ATSU Library team remains dedicated to steering our community through these shifts. Whether navigating new open-access publishing models or evaluating emerging educational technologies, our team continues to build proactive services and tailored resources that champion excellence in education, clinical training, and whole person health research.
A prime example of navigating change is our ongoing commitment to artificial intelligence literacy. Through an internal ATSU grant, our library staff has developed a comprehensive AI Literacy course designed specifically for students, offering critical frameworks for responsible, evidence-informed use of emerging tools. We encourage faculty and program directors to explore this course and consider integrating its modules into their curricula. Alongside this foundational coursework, our monthly AI Show and Share sessions provide a collaborative forum for exploring practical applications, such as programming custom AI assistants like Gemini Gems. Mark your calendars for November 12, when we will host our final interactive session of the fall semester.
While we actively embrace the future of health sciences information, we are equally committed to safeguarding our shared legacy. This season, we officially launched our Arizona Campus Community Archiving project to preserve the vibrant heritage of our Mesa community. Thanks to the generosity of faculty and staff, we have already gathered an array of photographs, historical bulletins, certificates, campus pamphlets, and personal mementos that tell our unique story. These contributions are being digitized and added to our institutional digital repository, ensuring that the foundations of ATSU’s Arizona campus remain accessible, celebrated, and preserved for generations to come. If you have anything to contribute, please email Deb Loguda-Summers (dsummers@atsu.edu) or Hal Bright (hbright@atsu.edu).
Best,
Hal Bright
ATSU Libraries