Barbara Rochen Renner, PhD

Barbara Rochen Renner, PhD

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3505-6341

• Barbara's Profile
• brrenner@email.unc.edu
• HSL News/Features
• All (Allied) Health Sciences & Related Guides
• Alternative Academic Careers (ALTAC) Guide
• Appreciative Inquiry & Positive Psychology Resources
• Citing & Writing
• Fogarty Global Health Fellowship Poster Resources
• Publishing
• Qualitative Research Resources
• Lean Library Workspace (Sciwheel) Guide
• Systematic Reviews
• Writing in the Health Sciences

Health Sciences Library
335 S. Columbia Street Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7585
(Google Maps for directions)

Barbara's professional interests and areas of expertise include health professions education; distance learning; program evaluation; resources in support of research using qualitative and mixed methods; mentoring; integration of librarians on research teams; evidence synthesis. Barbara has completed UNC's Green Zone Training, Safe Zone Training through the Medical Library Association, UNC Center for Faculty Excellence's EqTI Teaching Institute, and the Evidence Synthesis Institute.

Barbara has worked in a variety of positions at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC).

Health Sciences Library: In her position as Library Liaison to the Department of Health Sciences, Barbara teaches course and curriculum integrated class sessions in support of the many degree and certificate programs in the department. She also works with administrators, staff, faculty, and researchers in the department; preceptors/field work supervisors who supervise student clinicians in the community; rehabilitation specialists at the UNC Medical Center; and others. Barbara serves on the department’s Research Advisory and Wellness Committees and provides support and resources to a number of other committees.Barbara has helped uncover the history of Allied Health Sciences education at UNC and she has worked with several Health Sciences divisions to produce a series of in-library and online exhibitions to celebrate them and to help educate the community about (allied) health professions. Barbara also serves as Library Services Evaluation Specialist at the Health Sciences Library. 

For her work creating and directing the Health Sciences Library's YOUR HEALTH^® Radio partnership with the Family Medicine Department, Barbara was awarded the University's 2013 Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award, recognizing, "extraordinary public service and engagement." 

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries: Barbara previously served as Distance Learning Specialist for UNC-Chapel Hill's libraries and was a member of the campus-wide Distance Education Policy Steering Committee.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine: During her years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Barbara has also worked with the state-wide autism program, TEACCH, and in the School of Medicine's Rehabilitation Program Office (precursor to the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation). She was a faculty member in the School of Medicine's Department of Medicine, participating in research at the NIH-funded Thurston Arthritis Research Center (then, the Multipurpose Arthritis Center). She also served as Director, Division of Student Affairs, in the Office of the Dean of the Medical School and in the Office of Community Medical Education, where she co-directed the Medical Practice and the Community course and served as course faculty for several medical student electives.

University of Virginia

Charlottesville, VA

• BSEd, MEd, Speech Pathology and Audiology

• PhD, Educational Research and Evaluation Methodology

Refereed Papers/Articles:

Richardson L, Renner BR, Ottosen T, Goldstein AO. (2019). "A Library and a Radio Show: The Story of a Successful Partnership at 10 years and Counting", Journal of Library Administration, volume 59, number 4, 395-408. DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2019.1593713.

Murphree L, White M, Renner BR. (2018) “Reference Managers that Support Collaborative Research: Dreaming of the Perfect Fit.” Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 37 (3), 219-233. PMID: 30239298. DOI: 10.1080/02763869.2018.1477706

Renner BR, Cahoon E, Allegri, F. (2016) "Low-Tech Scavenger Hunt Model for Student Orientation." Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 35 (4), pp. 372-387. DOI:10.1080/02763869.2016.1220754.

Crowell K, Renner BR, Ladd R, Silbajoris C, Handler, L. (2013) "Listening to YOUR HEALTH:  Librarians and Physicians Collaborating On the Radio and Online."  Journal of Hospital Librarianship, 13 (3), pp. 258-269. 

Renner, Barbara R., Vardaman, Adam S., Norton, Melanie J. (2007) "Best Practices for Medical Libraries to Deliver Materials to Distance Learners." Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & E-Reserve, 17 (3), 85-97.

DeVellis, RF, Patterson, CC, Blalock, SJ, Renner, BR, DeVellis, BM. (1997) Do people with RA develop illness-related schemas?, Arthritis Care and Research (Arthritis & Rheumatology), 10 (2), 78-88.

Granger, NA, Renner, BR. (1996) Applicant Pool for Emergency Medicine Residencies, Annals of Emergency Medicine, 27 (3), 363-364.

McGaghie, WC, Renner, BR, Kowlowitz, V, Sauter, SVH, Hoole, AJ, Schuch, CP, Misch, MS. (1994) Development and Evaluation of Musculoskeletal Performance Measures for an Objective Structured Clinical Examination, Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 6 (1), 59-63.

McGaghie, WC, Kowlowitz, V, Renner, BR, Sauter, SVH, Hoole, AJ, Schuch, CP, Misch, MS. (1993) A Randomized Trial of Physicians and Physical Therapists as Instructors of the Musculoskeletal Examination, The Journal of Rheumatology, 20 (6), 1027-1032).

DeVellis, RF, Blalock, SJ, Holt, KD, Renner, BR, Blanchard, LW, Klotz, ML. (1991) Arthritis Patients' Reactions to Unavoidable Social Comparisons, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17 (4), 392-399.

Renner, BR, DeVellis, BM, Ennett, ST, Friedman, CP, Hoyle, RH, Crowell, WM, Winfield, JB. (1990) Clinical Rheumatology Training of Primary Care Physicians: The Resident Perspective, The Journal of Rheumatology, 17 (5), 667-672.

DeVellis, RF, Holt, K, Renner BR, Blalock, SJ, Blanchard, LW, Cook, HL, Klotz, ML, Mikow, V, Harring, K. (1990) The Relationship of Social Comparison to Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms and Affect, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 11 (1), 1-18.

Renner, BR, Ball, D. (1983) The Effects of Unequal Covariances on the Tukey WSD Test. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 43 (1), 27-34.

Published Test Instrument: 

Schopler, E, Reichler, R, Renner, BR. (1988) The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Los Angeles, California: Western Psychological Services (previously published as Schopler, E, Reichler, R, Renner, BR. (1986) The Childhood Autism Rating Scale. Irvington, New York: Irvington Press). Available in print at UNC Chapel Hill Libraries.

Published Book Vignette:

Renner, BR, Ladd R.  "A Health Sciences Library Adventure into Appreciative Inquiry with Multimedia Blog."  A vignette selected to appear in Appreciative Inquiry in Higher Education, Jeanie Cockell and Joan McArthur-Blair. San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass, August, 2012.   

Refereed Video Publications:

Bonino AY and Leibold LJ (2017). "Behavioral assessment of hearing in 2- to 4-year-old children: A two-interval, observer-based procedure using conditioned play-based responses." Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE), (119), e54788, doi:10.3791/54788 (2017).

• Video: Ladd, R (videographer, editor, producer) and Renner BR (producer).

Ladd, Robert and Renner, Barbara Rochen.  “I Love My HSL." Published in the April, 2012, Special Video Issue:  Innovation² and Appreciative Inquiry: Positive Images, Positive Action of AI Practitioner: International Journal of Appreciative Inquiry.

Refereed Videos  (selected for presentation and distribution): 

Ladd, Robert and Renner, Barbara Rochen.  “’I Love My HSL’—AI Meets Social Media and Multimedia in a Health Sciences Library Blog.”  Video presented at the 2012 World Appreciative Inquiry Conference, April 25-28, 2012, Ghent, Belgium.

Robert Ladd and Barbara Rochen Renner.  Moving Forward Together: Two Game-Changing Collaborations.  A video presented at the Annual Medical Library Association (MLA) 2012 Conference Leadership & Management Section program, “Smells Like Team Spirit.” May 21, 2012, Seattle, Washington (one of three peer reviewed selections for national conference).

Other Published Products of Scholarly Engagement:

Renner, Barbara Rochen, Maloney, Molly K. (April 25, 2023). Recruitment and Retention in the Health Sciences: Supplemental Bibliography. Doody's Enterprises, Inc.

Burtis, Amber, Maloney, Molly K, Renner, Barbara Rochen (April 3, 2023). Recruitment and Retention in the Health Sciences. Doody's Special Topics Lists 3(3), Doody's Enterprises, Inc.

Brody ER, McGraw KA, Renner BR. (2017) "F1000 Workspace." Journal of the Medical Library Association, 105 (1): 98–101;doi:10.5195/jmla.2017.9; PMCID: PMC5234465.

Wells, ME, Renner, BR, Swogger, SE.  "Sleep Science." An Internet Resources column published in MLA News, October, 2012.

Christina Chan-Park, Elizabeth Kline, Amalia Monroe-Gulick, Michael Peper, Barbara Rochen Renner. "From Student to Scholar: Supporting Evidence Synthesis Projects in the Curriculum." A panel presentation at the ALA/American Library Association ACR/(Association of College & Research Libraries 2025 Conference, April 3, 2025, Minneapoli, MN; pre-recorded due to COVID-19. 

Christine Gomola, Daniel Horvath, Barbara Rochen Renner. "Right place, right reference: The Role of the Library in Supporting Patron Reference Management." Presented at ER&L (Electronic Resources & Libraries) 18th Annual Conference, March 7, 2023, Austin, TX; hybrid due to COVID-19 pandemic. 

Barbara Rochen Renner. "Department of Health Sciences 50th Anniversary Celebration: A Brief History of the Department's Founding." Presented to The UNC School of Medicine’s Department of Health Sciences (DHS) 50^th anniversary event, November 4, 2022, Chapel Hill, NC (virtual presentation due to COVID-19 pandemic).

Karen Grigg, Jamie Conklin, Rebecca Carlson, Elizabeth Moreton, Barbara Rochen Renner. "We Built It, They All Came, Now What?" A lightning presentation at MLA ’20: The Medical Library Association 120th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, MLA 2020 Vision: The Future in Focus, August 13, 2020, virtual due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Grace Pelak, Barbara Rochen Renner. “Helping to Bridge the Communication Gap through Community-Engaged Research Presentations.” Presented at the Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) Annual Meeting, July 30-31, 2020, virtual.

Shannon Delaney, Barbara Rochen Renner, Lee Richardson. “Engaging Future Librarians in Engaged Scholarship.” A lightning presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, October 5-7, 2019, Durham, NC.

Barbara Rochen Renner and Lee Richardson. “Rising to the Occasion: Partnering to Create a Unit on Implicit Bias.” A lightning presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, October 5-7, 2019, Durham, NC.

Shannon Delaney, Barbara Rochen Renner, Jennifer S. Walker, Lee Richardson. “Creativity and Resiliency in the Archives: Challenges in Uncovering the History of an Allied Health Sciences Division.” A poster presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, October 5-7, 2019, Durham, NC. 

• Research Award: First Place

Barbara Rochen Renner and Lee Richardson. “With a Little Creativity, A Consumer Health Radio Show’s Blog Advances Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility.” A poster presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, October 5-7, 2019, Durham, NC.

Barbara Rochen Renner and Lee Richardson. “Examining Implicit Bias with Health Professions Students: Librarians Partnering with Faculty.” A poster presented at IDEAL ’19: Advancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in Libraries & Archives, August 6-7, 2019, Columbus, Ohio. 

Barbara Rochen Renner, Lee Richardson, Terri Ottosen. “Do a Consumer Health Radio Show and Blog Advance Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility?” Presented at IDEAL ’19: Advancing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility in Libraries & Archives, August 6-7, 2019, Columbus, Ohio. 

Michele Clark, Shannon Delaney, Natalie Dwigans, Amanda Haddock, Barbara Rochen Renner, Lee Richardson. “Experiential Learning: Voices of Librarians-to-Be.” Presented at the 2019 Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) Annual Meeting, July 11, 2019, Chapel Hill, NC.

Barbara Rochen Renner and Lee Richardson. "Libraries Supporting Graduate Students on Alternative Career Paths: How & Why." Presented at the ALA Annual Meeting 2019 [for ACRL Academic Library Services to Graduate Students Interest Group], June 20-25, Washington, DC.

Jennifer Walker, Barbara Rochen Renner, Michelle A. Cawley. “How Big is Too Big: a case study using keyword text analysis and unsupervised machine learning to manage large search results." Presented at MLA ’19: The Medical Library Association 119th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, May 3-8, 2019, Chicago, Illinois.

Barbara Rochen Renner, Lee Richardson, Jennifer Walker. “Destination Librarian: Helping Others on the Road to Librarianship."  A poster presented at MLA '19: The Medical Library Association 119th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, May 3-8, 2019, Chicago, Illinois.

Barbara Rochen Renner, Lee Richardson, Terri Ottosen, Adam O. Goldstein. “Unusual Partners for Health:  Healthcare Professionals and Librarians Partner to Communicate About Health Through Radio and Social Media.”  Presented at the Health Communication: Barriers, Breakthroughs, and Best Practices (HCB3) 2019 Online Health Communication Conference. February 25 – March 1, 2019, online.

Barbara Rochen Renner and Lee Richardson. “So You Want to be a Librarian?”  Presented at the 2019 North Carolina Library Association (NCLA) Sections Virtual Conference: Libraries Connect – Link & Learn. February 8, 2019, online.

Lee Richardson and Barbara Rochen Renner. “Evaluating a Consumer Health Website.”  Presented at the 2019 North Carolina Library Association (NCLA) Sections Virtual Conference: Libraries Connect – Link & Learn. February 8, 2019, online.

Barbara Rochen Renner and Lee Richardson. "Better Together: Technical Services and Public Services."  Presented at the 2018 South Carolina Library Association (SCLA)/Southeastern Library Association (SELA) Joint Annual Conference: Illuminating the Future. October 31-November 2, 2018, Greenville, SC.

Barbara Rochen Renner and Lee Richardson. "Capturing Gray Literature for the Institutional Repository." Presented at the 2018 Entrepreneurial Librarian Conference: Grow, Evolve, Lead. October 12, 2018, Winston-Salem, NC.

Barbara Rochen Renner, Lee Richardson, Rebekah Kati. “Student Scholarly Works in the Institutional Repository.” A lightning talk presented at the 2018 Triangle Research Libraries Network (TRLN) Annual Meeting, August 20, 2018, Durham, NC.

Barbara Rochen Renner, Lee Richardson, Terri Ottosen, Robert Ladd, Adam O. Goldstein, Laura Lacy. “A Library and a Radio Show: the Story of a Successful Partnership.” A poster presented at the 2018 American Library Association Annual Conference, June 24, 2018, New Orleans, LA. 

Barbara Rochen Renner, Lee Richardson, Jennifer Walker. “Adapting to New Needs in a Complex Research Environment.” A poster presented at MLA '18: The Medical Library Association 118th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, May 22, 2018, Atlanta, GA.

Lee Richardson, Barbara Rochen Renner, Francesca Allegri.  “Leading the Way: Student Research in the Institutional Repository.”  A poster presented at MLA '18: The Medical Library Association 118th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, May 20, 2018, Atlanta, GA.

Barbara Rochen Renner. "Ask Us." Presented at the UNC Chapel Hill Department of Allied Health Sciences Retreat, May 31, 2017, Chapel Hill, NC.

Barbara Rochen Renner, Francesca Allegri, Barrie E. Hayes. “NLM Informationist Supplement Grant: Daring to Dive into Documentation to Determine Impact." A poster presented at MLA '17: The Medical Library Association 117th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, May 26 - 31, 2017, Seattle, WA.

Erica R. Brody, Kathleen McGraw, Barbara Rochen Renner. “Dreaming of the Perfect Fit: A Structured Evaluation of Four Reference Management Tools Supporting Collaborative Research." A poster presented at MLA '17: The Medical Library Association 117th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, May 26 - 31, 2017, Seattle, WA.

Kathleen McGraw, Barbara Rochen Renner, Barrie E. Hayes, Erica R. Brody. “Learning What Works: A Structured Evaluation of Two Tools That Help Groups Share Research Libraries.”  A poster presented at the 2016 Medical Library Association Tri-Chapter (Mid-Atlantic, New York-New Jersey, and Philadelphia) meeting September 25 - 28, 2016, Philadelphia, PA.

Chana Kraus-Friedberg and Barbara Rochen Renner. "Meeting a Mosaic of Research Needs: Constructing a Resource Guide for Qualitative Researchers."  A poster presented at the joint meeting of the Medical Library Association (MLA), the Canadian Health Libraries Association (CHLA), and the International Clinical Librarian Conference (ICLC), Mosaic '16, May 13-18, 2016, Toronto, Canada.  

Chana Kraus-Friedberg and Barbara R. Renner.  “Research to Support Research: Gathering Information for a Health Science LibGuide on Qualitative Methods.” A lightning talk presented at the 2016 LAUNC-CH Research Forum (sponsored by the Librarians’ Association at UNC-Chapel Hill), May 6, 2016, Chapel Hill, NC. 

Chana Kraus-Friedberg and Barbara Rochen Renner. "User Inspired:  A LibGuide to Support Qualitative Searchers and Researchers."  A poster presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter (MAC) of the Medical Library Association (MLA), October 18-20, 2015, Asheville, NC.

Barbara Rochen Renner and Robert Manzo. "Creating a just-in-time resource for a campus-wide event about alternative academic (altac) careers…with attendees participating in the creation."  Presented at the 2015 Triangle Research Librarians Network (TRLN) Annual Meeting, July 15, 2015, Chapel Hill, NC. 

Barrie E. Hayes, Kathleen McGraw, and Barbara Rochen Renner. “Multi-faceted Informationist Support for an Auditory Development Research Team: Preliminary Findings.”  A poster presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Medical Library Association (MLA ’15), May 15-20, 2015, Austin, TX. 

Robert Manzo and Barbara R. Renner. "Creating a Resource for PhD's on Careers Beyond the Faculty Track." A poster presented at the 2015 LAUNC-CH Research Forum (sponsored by the Librarians’ Association at UNC-Chapel Hill), May 8, 2015, Chapel Hill, NC.