Philip Walker, MLIS, MSHI was appointed Director of the Annette and Irwin Eskind Family Biomedical Library and Learning Center at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN) in July 2018. As director, the primary duties are to create and communicate a clear vision, allocate financial and human resources, develop policies and practices for collection development, build relationships with constituents throughout the campus, participate in library and institutional committees, and represent the library locally, regionally, and nationally. Philip has been with the Eskind Biomedical Library since 2012 as a Reference and Instruction Librarian and served as the Interim Director from 2017 – 2018. Prior to Vanderbilt, he has worked in Technical and Information Services at Tulane University’s Howard-Tilton Memorial Library and Rudolph Matas Library of the Health Sciences, the Texas Medical Center Library and the Meharry Medical College Library. Philip earned a Master’s in Library and Information Science from Louisiana State University in 2005 and a Master’s in Health Informatics from the University of Missouri in 2014.
Philip has authored or co-authored several papers, conference presentations, and a book chapter. He is a member of the Southern and South Central Chapters of the Medical Library Association. His research interests include the information needs and information seeking behavior of the health sciences community, user-centered design, clinical decision support, clinical and research informatics, active learning, and evidence-based practice.
Philip is originally from New Orleans, LA and now lives in Hendersonville, TN. In his spare time, Philip enjoys DIY projects around the house, traveling with his wife, maintaining a well-manicured lawn, exercising, and is a registered basketball official in the State of Tennessee