Notable Veterinary Medical Librarians
K. Suzanne JOHNSON
- 25 years in veterinary librarianship
- Biomedical Sciences Librarian, 1974-1989; Life Sciences Librarian, 1989-1999, Colorado State University
- Charter member, Veterinary Medical Libraries Section/MLA, 1973
- VMLS Chair, 1979/1980
- VMLS Secretary, 1978/1979
- VMLS Section Council Representative, 1980-1982
- VMLS Survey Committee, 1978-1981; Chair, 1981-1983
- VMLS Union List Committee, 1978-1980
- Co-compiler, Veterinary Serials: A Union List of Selected Titles… [ 1st ed.] 1980. (microfiche)
- Author/co-author, articles presenting veterinary medical library survey results, 1982 and 1983
Major Contributions to Veterinary Librarianship:
While holding a position at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, K. Suzanne Johnson attended the “unofficial group” meeting of veterinary librarians at the MLA convention in Kansas City, Missouri in 1973. As a result, she became a Charter Member of the Veterinary Medical Libraries Group as it was known at that time. This began a 25-year association with veterinary medical librarianship until her retirement from Colorado State University in 1999.
Suzanne initiated her professional career by earning a bachelor of science degree in medical technology from the University of Nebraska, College of Medicine, in Omaha in 1967. Before turning her attention to libraries, she worked as a medical technologist at the Natrona County Memorial Hospital in Casper, Wyoming [1967-1968]. She switched to library science because she found medical technology to be routine and “boring”, doing the same things day after day. Suzanne received an M.S. in L.S. degree in 1969 from the University of Minnesota which was supported by a full fellowship from the U.S. Public Health Service and National Library of Medicine. To further her credentials, she attended a Postgraduate Training Program in Medical Librarianship at the University of Tennessee Medical Units in Memphis [1969-1970].
In her position at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston [1970-1974], she was responsible for reference, collection development, serials inventory, and conversion of serial holdings to machine-readable form. Her achievements included editing and producing the third edition of TALON: Union List and establishing the on-line database searching program. While in Galveston, Suzanne earned 24 graduate credits from the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health at the University of Galveston Medical Branch.
When Elsie Bergland announced her retirement from Colorado State University as of June 30, 1974, Suzanne Johnson was appointed her successor as Biomedical Sciences Librarian [1974-1989]. These responsibilities included collection development for all biomedical and life sciences, reference services (traditional and electronic), user education, database searching, and liaison with the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and the academic departments of Biochemistry, Occupational Therapy, and Food Science and Nutrition. After being called upon to head the new Sciences and Technology Department for three years [1986-1989], Suzanne then served as Life Sciences Librarian from 1989 until her retirement in 1999. During this later period [1997-1999], most of her time was devoted to a gift solicitation program to bring in donated journal volumes to replace those lost in a major flood in the main CSU Library in July, 1997.
In addition to her library responsibilities and while working full-time, Suzanne earned a Ph.D. degree from the Department of Microbiology and Environmental Health from Colorado State University in 1987. Her dissertation was titled, “Health status and community size—Is there a relationship?”
Given her background in medical librarianship, she was an early adopter of online database searching. In 1976, for example, “Colorado State University Library and the Veterinary Medical Library at Kansas State University were approved as a MEDLINE Search Center.” They had formed an Inter-state Academic Library Consortium with Guy Coffee at the Veterinary Medical Library at Kansas State University in order to become eligible for approval. It was the first such consortium involving a veterinary library. Suzanne Johnson, then Biomedical Sciences Librarian, had attended the second MEDLINE course offered at the National Library of Medicine in 1970 while at UTMB in Texas. With this training, she became the primary MEDLINE searcher at CSU.
In order to better support the clinical information needs of the College of Veterinary Medicine, she began planning in 1975 and developed a branch library for the new Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital dedicated in 1979. “The concept of a branch library located off the main campus was not new to the University…A [planning] committee chaired by Suzanne Johnson, the Biomedical Sciences Librarian, and consisting of personnel from the Libraries and the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, submitted an extensive proposal to establish a branch library at the new hospital.” Once established, Suzanne continued involvement with the Advisory Committee on Veterinary Teaching Hospital Branch Library.
She also conducted a survey of information needs of Colorado’s practicing veterinarians, edited a book on poisonous plants for a CSU professor, and compiled several directories of veterinary medical libraries and librarians.
In addition to being a charter member, Suzanne participated both in survey and union list activities of the Veterinary Medical Libraries Group. As chair of the VMLG Survey Committee, Suzanne participated in developing a methodology for conducting surveys of veterinary medical libraries every three years. For veterinary librarians across the country, the results proved to be “useful for strategic planning and for accreditation site visits from the American Veterinary Medical Association.” It was further projected that these results would be published in recognized journals every five years. She and E. Guy Coffee co-authored an article on the 1st survey in 1977-1978 published in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. Suzanne alone compiled the 2nd survey in 1980-1981 appearing in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education.
Applying her early background in serials and union list holdings from Texas, she was an obvious member of the VMLS Union List Committee which produced the first edition of a veterinary union list in 1980.
In other capacities, Suzanne was the VML Section’s representative to the MLA Section Council from 1980 to 1982. She was also active on other committees for the Medical Library Association, Midcontinental Chapter/MLA, Colorado Council of Medical Librarians, and Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries. She also organized two technical libraries for a private local company and served as paid researcher for individuals and companies over the years.
Outside of Colorado State University responsibilities, she served as consultant to the University of Wyoming when they were planning their Veterinary Science Department.
Suzanne retired from Colorado State University in 1999 at the rank of Associate Professor.
Beyond books and journals, Dr. Johnson enjoys nature, horses, and dogs and was active in showing her Brittany Spaniels and serving as Secretary/Treasurer of the Northern Colorado Quarter Horse Association. In very limited showing and breeding, she produced or showed eight Brittanys to AKC championships. This included two Dual Champions and one of her bitches was awarded Best Opposite Sex to her sire at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show in 1994.
Selected Publications - Veterinary Librarianship:
Johnson KS. Veterinary medical school libraries in the United States and Canada—a second look 1980-1981. J Vet Med Educ. 1983 winter;9(2):41-5.
Johnson KS, Coffee EG. Veterinary medical school libraries in the United States and Canada 1977/78. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1982 Jan;70(1):10-20.
<http://www.pubmed.gov/7059713>.
MacNiel K, Anderson DC, Boyd CT, Hull DC, Johnson KS, Croft VF. Veterinary serials, a union list of selected titles not indexed by Index Medicus and held by veterinary collections in the United States and Canada. [Microfiche]. [Guelph, Ont.: University of Guelph Library Systems and Data Processing Division ; Veterinary Medical Libraries Section/MLA, Union List Committee]; 1980.
Selected Publications - Other Topics:
Doxtader KG, Johnson KS. Information resources for the life sciences. Strategies for success in anatomy and physiology and the life sciences. 1990;(6):3-4.
Johnson, Kathryn Suzanne. Health status and community size—Is there a relationship? [Ph.D. dissertation.] Fort Collins, CO: Department of Microbiology and Environmental Health, Colorado State University; 1987. ProQuest document id 753716111
Johnson KS. Libraries, Colorado State University. Colorado Libraries. 1993;19(4):14-15.
Johnson KS, ed. TALON: Union List. 3rd ed. Galveston, TX: University of Texas Medical Branch Library; 1974.
Johnson KS, Ginski JM. Cardiovascular serial literature: publication patterns. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Sciences. 1971 Apr;46(51). [Abstract]
Johnson KS, Keefe TK. Health status and community size—Is there a relationship? In: Abstracts of the 6th Annual Epidemiological Exchange. October 23, 1986. Denver, CO: Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine; 1987. [Abstract]
Johnson KS, Leising DJ. The literature of occupational therapy—a citation analysis study. American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 1986;40(6):390-396.
Johnson KS, Rutstein JS. The politics of book fund allocation: a case study. In: Stueart RD, Johnson RD., eds. New horizons for academic libraries: papers presented at the first national conference of the Association of College and Research Libraries, Boston, Massachusetts, November 8-11, 1978. New York: KG Sauer; 1979. p.330-340.
Selected Publications - Book Reviews (chronological):
Martyn J, Lancaster FW. Investigative methods in library and information science: an introduction. Arlington, VA: Information Resources Press; 1981. In: Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1982 Oct;70(4):449-450.
Solomon DA. Teaching riding: step-by-step schooling for horse and rider. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press; 1982. In: Colorado Libraries. 1982 Dec;8(4):49-50.
Foreman M, Wyse P. Monte Foreman’s horse training science. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press; 1983. In: Colorado Libraries. 1984 Sep;10(3):31.
Trimble S. Long’s peak: a Rocky Mountain chronicle. Estes Park, CO: Rocky Mountain Nature Association; 1984. In: Colorado Libraries. 1985 Summer;11(2):26.
Brown DE. The Grizzle in the Southwest: documentation of extinction. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press; 1985. In: Colorado Libraries. 1986 winter;11(4):19.
Presentations:
Johnson KS, Rutstein. The politics of book fund allocation: a case study. Presented at the 1978 meeting of the Association of College and Research Libraries, November, 1978.
Johnson KS. Information needs of Colorado’s practicing veterinarians: an inquiry. Presented at the 1980 annual meeting of the Medical Library Association, June, 1980.
Johnson KS. Veterinary book reviews—how useful are they in collection development? Presented at the 1987 annual meeting of the Medical Library Association, May, 1987.
Johnson KS. What is health? Presented at the Colorado State University Sigma Xi chapter meeting, February, 1989.
Johnson KS. The CSU Libraries after the July, 1987 flood. Presented at the Colorado State University Sigma Xi chapter meeting, September, 1997.
Honors and Awards:
Phi Beta Mu
Sigma Xi
Comments by Suzanne Johnson:
My most significant accomplishment at CSU was establishing and building the library in the then new Veterinary Teaching Hospital. This library has become an integral part of the veterinary medicine teaching curriculum. I also enjoyed all of my activities with the MLA veterinary medical librarians.
Obviously, I am proud of my Ph.D., earned with working full time.
[Throughout my career], I accomplished a lot at both the University of Texas Medical Branch library and at Colorado State University, and I am proud of it all.
Among my best memories are my two trips with Vicki Croft [from Washington State University] to Hawaii and across the United States. The first trip was to the MLA meeting in Honolulu [on June 2-7, 1979]. We went first to the Big Island to the Volcanoes National Park and all around the island, then the island of Kauai where we got soaked, tent and all. Then, on to Honolulu for the meeting,
The second was a cross country trip in association with the MLA meeting in Montreal [held on May 29 to June 4, 1981]. She drove to Colorado to pick me up. We went from Colorado to the veterinary libraries in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, New York, and Massachusetts (I may have missing one or two—it was a long trip. If is Monday, it must be Michigan) followed by Montreal. Then we came back through southern Canada, stopping at Ottawa, then the other Canadian veterinary libraries at Guelph in Ontario and Saskatchewan. We camped most of the way and our camp site was destroyed by a bear one night. We came down through Jasper and Banff National Parks and then back to Pullman, Washington. We had a car accident in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the last night on the road. I flew back to Colorado.
My advice to new librarians—get involved in everything you can. Volunteer for committees and task forces and be positive in your attitudes.
Other Publications and Resources:
MEDLINE approved for Colorado State University & Kansas State University’s Vet. Med. Library. Highlights & News Notes. 1976 Mar;3(1):2.
Switzer T. Special libraries profiles: Colorado State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital Branch Library: Eighty years in the making. Colorado Libraries. 1991 Dec;17:36-38.