2002 Award Recipient Barbara Pastan

Barbara Pastan was the president of the League of Women Voters of Brookline when the women's liberation movement was at its height. She thought that every woman should have a career and since she liked to read, chose librarianship. After she completed this daring move, and attended Simmons College of Library Science, she was asked to be the medical librarian at Faulkner Hospital where she has been ever since.

She turned what had been a small medical staff library into a quality resource for the whole hospital, and she believes she was the first community hospital to have a free standing consumer health library.

More than 20 years ago Barbara was invited by Paul Vaiginas to become a charter member of the BBLC. She happily joined, not only to share resources with impressive hospitals, but also to meet other librarians and overcome the isolation that a community hospital librarian often experiences. Her many responsibilities on both the MAHSLIN and BBLC boards took care of that isolation and lack of contact!

An outstanding achievement of Barbara's is the last printed MAHSLIN Union List that many of us still miss, especially when our computers are on their knees at the mercy of viruses and lack of electricity. She has served many years on the MAHSLIN Resource Sharing and Statistics committee. She has given the yearly docline statistics of all the consortia and has been the chairperson of the journal committee which sought to gain not only reduced commissions, but also value added services in electronic resources. The Faulkner Hospital has given Barbara a special award for her Patient Education work and she has received a Partner's wide award for her work on the Partners Library Network.

Barbara lives in Brookline and has been active in many town organizations. She was the Chairman of the Personnel Board which managed collective bargaining with the various unions of the town; she's on the board of the Brookline Library Music Association and was the Chairperson of the tax exempt arm of the League of Women Voters for many years.

Barbara became well known nationally for her and Gale Cogan's inclination to wear matching t-shirts at MLA. The two would search all year for the perfect shirt. Barbara thinks the one that best personifies her was the I'm talking and I can't shut up' but many people might choose Librarian on overdue vacation.'

It is with great pleasure that Mashlin presents you with this certificate in honor of your many achievements and with many thanks for your service on the MAHSLIN board.

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