Jill Foust, Research and Instruction Librarian, retired on March 1, marking the end of her 33-year career at Pitt. Foust has been a long-time editor of the HSLS Update newsletter, delivering articles about the library to thousands of readers over the past two decades.
In addition to her career as a Pitt librarian, Jill is also an alumna of Pitt’s library science graduate program. After applying to the master’s program, she received a fellowship opportunity through the H.W. Wilson Foundation, which fully supported the pursuit of her degree. After graduation, she spent six years in New York City in corporate libraries, where she gathered information and conducted research supporting the banking and insurance industries.
After returning to Pittsburgh, Jill was hired as a Clinical Medical Librarian at Falk Library in 1989. Jill recalls how earlier interactions in the library were much more personal than they are today. Before email, she would spend time in the library or over the phone helping a doctor or nurse with their research and answering their questions. Remote access to resources did not exist, so librarians did all of the literature searching. These interactions led to rewarding working relationships with those using library services.
Jill was appointed to several roles during her tenure at HSLS, including serving as liaisons to the School of Nursing and the Department of Psychiatry. One of the roles she found most rewarding was as content editor of the HSLS Update newsletter. Jill commented, “I have always enjoyed this aspect of my job. It gave me the opportunity to work closely with my colleagues as well as to offer articles about technological advancements and innovations in library services.”
Jill also served as an instructor for the Certificate of Advanced Study in Health Sciences Librarianship, a post-master’s degree program from 2009 to 2013. She enjoyed teaching just as much as she enjoyed learning from the students, who were up-and-coming health sciences librarians.
As Jill recalled these experiences, she fondly reflected, “The one thing I’ll always cherish is all the wonderful people I’ve met over the years. This includes both my colleagues as well as library patrons. I also truly appreciate all of the opportunities I have had at HSLS.”
We will miss Jill and wish her all the best in retirement!
~Julia Dahm