Cat Ellis

Sr. Assistant Librariancellis@sdsu.eduorcid.org/0000-0002-8578-3256

Appointments

University Library , Sr. Assistant Librarian current

Mary Catherine “Cat” Ellis is Health Sciences Librarian at San Diego State University, serving as liaison to the Schools of Nursing and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Her research focuses on neurodiversity, accessibility, and critical health literacy.

Faculty Profile

Senior Assistant Librarian, 2023-Present
University Library, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, US

Master's of Science in Library Science, 2020-2022
Information Science, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, US
Bachelor of Arts, 2018-2020
Anthropology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, US
Associate of Arts, 2016-2018
San Antonio College, San Antonio, Texas, US

Consumer Health Information Specialization, Level II, 2025-2028
Medical Library Association, Chicago, Illinois, US
Data Services Specialization, Level I, 2024-2027
Medical Library Association, Chicago, Illinois, US

2025-Present
California Academic & Research Libraries, N/A, California, US
2024-Present
Medical Library Group of Southern California and Arizona, N/A, US
2022-Present
Medical Library Association, Chicago, IL, US

Chair, 2025-2026
Accessibility & Disability Caucus, Medical Library Association, Chicago, Illinois, US
Chair-Elect, 2024-2025
Accessibility & Disability Caucus, Medical Library Association, Chicago, Illinois, US

Profile updated July 22, 2026.

Grants

Mapping California State University's Evidence Synthesis Output: An Evidence Map

California Academic & Research Libraries, 2025 - 2026, USD 339.00

Academic libraries California State University Evidence-based policy Information visualization

The Spectrum of Data: Visualizing Autism Statistics

Network of the National Library of Medicine, 2024 - 2024, USD 500.00

Autism Information visualization Public health Statistics

Scholarship

Academic Publications

"It’s more than the building”

Supporting neurodiverse students in academic libraries, 2025, book chapter

Architecture Buildings Community development Facility management

Consumer Health Information Resources for Autistic Adults

Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, 2024, journal article

Adult education Autism Health education Health literacy

Academic Conferences

Krafting an Evidence Synthesis Program

Rachel Keiko Stark; Dawn E. Hackman; Cat Ellis; Yuqi He; Essy Barroso-Ramirez

MLA’26: Cultured Collaborations, 2026, conference paper

Communication in learning and scholarship Information literacy Library science Research methods

Mapping Evidence Synthesis Production in the CSUs

Cat Ellis; Essy Barroso-Ramirez; Yuqi He; Dawn Hackman

CARL 2026 Virtual Conference, 2026, conference paper

Booked for wellness: Mental health kits for academic libraries

MLA '25, 2025, conference poster

Academic libraries Health education Mental health

New directions in self-directed programming at the academic library

ALA Annual Conference, 2024, conference poster

Academic libraries Educational technology Programming languages (Electronic computers) Self-managed learning

Surveying library accessibility

American Association for the Advancement of Science-Pacific Division, 2024, conference poster

Libraries and people with disabilities Library surveys

How do websites talk about autism?

South Central Chapter of the Medical Library Association Annual Meeting, 2022, conference paper

Autism Communication disorders Health risk communication Internet

How do consumer health websites talk about Autism?

Medical Library Association Meeting, 2022, conference poster

Autism Autistic people Health education Public health

Data and Process

Mapping California State University’s Evidence Synthesis Output

2026, research technique