Geneva Bush Staggs Retires

Submitted by Rachel Fenske
University of South Alabama Biomedical Library

After more than 40 years of service at the University of South Alabama, Geneva Bush Staggs is retiring from her current position as Director of the Charles M. Baugh Biomedical Library. Staggs began her career as the cataloging librarian at Mobile College. In 1979 she joined the library staff at the Medical Center site of the Biomedical library. After five years she accepted the challenge of setting up library services for the University’s newly developing Baldwin County campus in Fairhope and Bay Minette. Since returning to the Biomedical Library, Staggs has held several increasingly responsible positions including Head of Public Services and Assistant Director for Hospital Library Service and has been involved in developing and implementing library services in reference, education and consumer health.

Awards received include being named the Southern Chapter Medical Library Association’s Hospital Librarian of the Year in 2012 and received the Medical Library Association’s prestigious Lois Ann Colaianni Award for Excellence and Achievement in Hospital Librarianship in 2015. Staggs has been a member of the Academy of Health Information Professionals for 20 years, the last ten as a distinguished member. The Academy recognizes accomplishments in professional development and service.

Staggs has multiple publications, as well as, many presentations at professional meetings and conferences.  Her writing career began with coauthoring “Finding the Source of Medical Information: A Thesaurus-Index to the Reference Collection” in 1985 and her first presentation was at the Alabama Academy of Family Physicians in 1982. Her resume includes an additional 69 publications and presentations directed at either health information professionals or consumers.

Staggs has served locally, state-wide, regionally and nationally. Locally on many University, USA Health System and community committees including the Southwest Alabama Health Literacy Council. State-wide appointments include the LSTA Advisory Council of the Alabama Public Library Service, multiple committees and leadership positions of the Alabama Health Libraries Association and as Secretary of the Judson College Alumnae Association. Staggs served regionally as the Secretary of the Consortium of Southern Biomedical Libraries, several committees of the Southern Chapter of the Medical Library Association and on ten visiting committees for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Her latest national involvement was with the Association of Academic Health Science Libraries and Medical Library Association Joint Task Force on Legislative Development.

Staggs graduated from Judson College in 1975 with a degree in education and school librarianship and from the University of Kentucky with an MS in library science in 1977.