Joanne Doucette ’01MS is a 2026 honoree of the I Love My Librarian Award. She is one of 10 honorees selected from more than 1,300 nominations submitted by library users nationwide.
The award, sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the New York Public Library, and administered by the American Library Association, recognizes librarians who have “gone above and beyond to promote literacy, expand access to technology, and support diversity and inclusion in their communities.”
Doucette is associate professor and associate director for research services and knowledge management at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
In her nomination, Doucette was praised for “exemplif[ying] the spirit of the I Love My Librarian Award … She is knowledgeable, very generous with her time, and deeply dedicated to the success of others. Her impact on our students, our institution, and the broader world is profound, enduring, and worthy of the highest recognition.”
Student research, COVID-19 information efforts
Doucette participates in the library’s information literacy program and guides students in dissertation research and submitting writing for medical publications. She has also published more than 80 peer-reviewed scholarly articles.
Per the award announcement, “In May 2020, just two months after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, Doucette joined the Librarian Reserve Corps, a group of more than 100 volunteers worldwide who partnered with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network to ensure that health and science professionals had access to updated, reliable information.
In her work with the corps, Doucette provided research services for WHO epidemiologists seeking articles and reports on COVID-19’s seroprevalence — a measure of how many people in a country, region, or organization have been exposed to the virus by measuring antibodies they may have developed.”
Advancing knowledge for stronger communities
Simmons School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) Dean Sanda Erdelez says, “We are proud to celebrate SLIS alumna Joanne Doucette, recipient of the ‘I Love My Librarian’ Award. Her work in information literacy, student mentorship, and global health research reflects the impact librarians have in advancing knowledge and supporting communities.”
Doucette says: “I am so honored to be chosen for this award and nominated by my colleagues on the MCPHS faculty. I feel like all of our librarians do great work with our students. I am only one example! I really enjoy my career as a medical/academic librarian and am grateful to Simmons for providing my education to perform such meaningful work.”