Yarger Announced as New Health Science Librarian

Heidi Yarger, who recently completed her Master of Library and Information Science and Master of Arts in Folklore Studies at Indiana University Bloomington, has been appointed Health Science Librarian for the Baylor Libraries after a competitive nationwide search.

"We are thrilled to welcome Heidi Yarger to our team," said Amy James, online librarian for Education and Information Literacy and chair of the search committee. "As the first recipient of the Carla J. Funk Health Sciences Fellowship and with her experience as a folklorist, she brings a unique perspective to health sciences librarianship."

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Yarger graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in Creative Writing. Before entering her dual master's degree program at Indiana University, she worked for several years with her sister on an organic farm in northern California. There, she learned farming techniques and beekeeping while freelance writing and serving with a local inn.

During her graduate program, she taught Interpersonal Communication and undergraduate courses in the Folklore and Ethnomusicology Department as well as in the Anthropology Department while serving as a reference librarian and completing two archival internships. In 2021, Yarger was the inaugural recipient of the Carla J. Funk Health Sciences Fellowship. Funk, the long-standing executive director of the Medical Library Association, established the fellowship to nurture future health science librarians.

Jeffry Archer, dean of University Libraries, Museums, and the Press, looks forward to Yarger's contributions to the university. "With Baylor's growing research in the area of health sciences, Yarger brings a unique background, vision, and energy to our students, faculty, and researchers."

"I find fulfillment in approaching questions through a multidisciplinary lens and am especially interested in broadening communication channels between medical researchers, practitioners, patients, policymakers, and students," said Yarger. "I am excited to collaborate with Baylor faculty, students, and staff, along with the rest of my colleagues in the Libraries, and to get to know the Baylor and Waco community."

Yarger will begin with the Baylor Libraries on May 1.