Age: 64
Years in Wheaton: 32
Education: Bachelor’s degree from University of the Punjab in fine arts and humanities; master’s degree from Aligarh Muslim University in Sanskrit and education; master’s degree in library science from Northern Illinois University
Family: Husband, Om Mahajan, and sons Anu and Tarun Mahajan
Wheaton librarian Nalini Mahajan could not help but get emotional when she spoke about her hospital library’s new online resources helping parents of children with disabilities.
“If I can help even two people, one person, I think it’s very satisfying,” said Mahajan, 64, the director of Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital’s Medical Library, through tears.
Nalini Mahajan was honored last month by the DuPage Library System with the Librarian of the Year award for her accomplishments in her library career, which spanned more than 35 years.
Among her accomplishments, Mahajan was instrumental in developing and fundraising for Information Connections, a web-based collection of resources for parents of children with disabilities and chronic conditions. Mahajan also developed a website that provided a listing of employment opportunities and other resources for people with disabilities.
She secured two grants for Information Connections from the National Library of Medicine. The library was awarded a $11,893 grant last year and notified in April that it will receive an additional $39,988 for the project.
“I feel honored and humbled because there (are) so many people that are deserving, but I think I was very touched that my colleagues and people at work recognized what I do,” said Mahajan.
Dr. Mary Keen, director of Marianjoy’s pediatric program, initially approached Mahajan last year to help better organize hard copies of information for parents of children with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injuries and other chronic diseases.
Mahajan then suggested combining the information and organizing an online resource center. On the website, parents could access all the information they would need to help deal with their child’s illness including financial, educational and counseling information.
She said it helps parents filter through information.
“When you Google something you may find 200,000 (results),” Mahajan said, “And for parents with children who have just been diagnosed with a certain condition, they’re already overwhelmed with the diagnosis.”
Notable
Mahajan had the idea for “Information Connections,” an online collection of resources for parents of children with disabilities and chronic conditions. Parent surveys are being collected to develop the site, which is expected to be completed next year. Some information is at www.marianjoylibrary.org/Patient/healthlinks/Pedkeen.aspx.
Quotable
“To me, a library has to go beyond just finding information. They have to analyze that information and find that piece of nugget the clinician needs to improve the patient care.”
Philosophy
“Family comes first and enjoy life, but at the same time ... be very caring and warm to others and always be there for friends and family.”
Favorites
MOVIES “Doctor Zhivago” and “Casablanca”
BOOK “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee
HOBBIES Painting, reading, gardening and listening to music
Wheaton, IL —
