Research & Instruction Librarian Pat Weiss retired at the end of June after 20 years of service. In the mid-nineties, Pat started her graduate studies in library and information science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After moving to Pittsburgh in 1996, she completed her master of library and information science degree at Pitt. During that time, she also worked part-time at the UPMC unit that eventually become Pitt’s Office of Research, Health Sciences (OORHS). One of her projects at OORHS was developing a class on web-based resources for nurses coordinating clinical trials.
Following a student internship at HSLS, Pat was hired as a reference librarian. She served as HSLS’ liaison to Pitt’s IAIMS program (Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems), then as liaison to the School of Dental Medicine. From 2007 to 2015, she was the HSLS Information Services department’s Reference & Information Technology Librarian.
Pat’s notable accomplishments included the development and launching of FRIP (Faculty Research Interests Project). FRIP allowed authors to identify their research areas using the National Library of Medicine’s Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms associated with their published articles. Pat also led the team that developed HSLS’ chat reference service. In addition, she worked with other librarians to create the popular FlashClass instructional program.
Soon after arriving at HSLS in 1998, Pat became one of the first two HSLS faculty elected to the University Senate. She is proud to have served and also proud that so many HSLS colleagues have since become involved as elected representatives and Senate committee members. She went on to become chair of the Senate Benefits and Welfare committee, Senate Vice President, and co-chair of the Plant Utilization and Planning committee.
Pat’s Twitter profile identifies her as an alto, grandma, and medical librarian. Pat is looking forward to having more time for being an alto and a grandma and also for traveling. As a member of the Smith College Alumnae Chorus, she has traveled to Eastern Europe and Cuba. In 2019, the chorus will do a performing tour in Slovenia. Pat also belongs to the Pittsburgh Threshold Choir, which sings at the bedside of hospice patients. In addition, she volunteers with Beverly’s Birthdays.
We thank Pat for her dedicated service and wish her the very best!
~Jill Foust