Paula Dempsey

Paula Dempsey is an Associate Professor and Reference & Liaison Librarian at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), based in the Richard J. Daley Library. She holds a courtesy appointment as Assistant Professor in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences' Sociology department. Her academic journey includes a PhD in Sociology from Loyola University Chicago (2006), focusing on the sociology of religion and work, and an MA in Library and Information Science from Dominican University (1992).

Her research spans two core areas: the sociology of religion (with emphasis on Christian teachings about personal finance) and librarianship (particularly chat reference services, information literacy instruction, and professional identity). Notable projects include analyzing denominational publications on money management, studying librarian identity, and evaluating chat reference interactions. She has served as Head Librarian (2014–2024) and interim leader in UIC’s Health Sciences Library.

Dr. Dempsey has received multiple awards, including the UIC Library Outstanding Staff Award (2019) and the Ross Scherer Award (2006). She actively contributes to professional organizations like ACRL and has authored over 35 peer-reviewed publications. Her recent work explores chat reference referrals, library user behavior, and faculty publication patterns linked to library resource use.