Cindy Schmidt’s librarian peers recognize the depth of her experience and the width of her wisdom. This year, the Midcontinental Chapter of the Medical Library Association (MCMLA) sounded its agreement, honoring Schmidt with its 2026 Outstanding Achievement Award.
The honor is both distinct and part of a pattern; MCMLA has acknowledged Schmidt three times for Best Research Poster Award (2005, 2008 and 2019) and valued her presence on the association’s programming and research committees.
First bestowed in 1983, the Outstanding Achievement Award honors an MCMLA member “for significant contributions to the chapter and its activities, and to health sciences libraries or organizations.”
A key part of McGoogan’s Education and Research Services Librarians team, Schmidt is known for her commitment to serving others through systematic reviews and interprofessional education, Associate Dean Katie Bishop noted.
The MCMLA also expressed appreciation for Schmidt’s close collaborations with the College of Pharmacy at UNMC and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Bishop values Schmidt’s “willingness to share her vast expertise with her colleagues her at McGoogan and … the profession generally,” she said. Schmidt’s contributions to the field are “truly … outstanding,” Bishop added, underlining Schmidt’s “rare” background for a health sciences librarian.
Schmidt possesses a chemistry degree from UNO as well as an M.D. in education from UNMC. Before coming to McGoogan some 24 years ago, Schmidt worked as a pathology resident, postdoctoral associate and research associate at the University of Minnesota and taught at Indiana University School of Medicine.
Join the McGoogan staff and UNMC community in congratulating and thanking Cindy!