University of Hawaii medical school librarian Virginia “Ginny” Tanji has been elected to serve as chairwoman of the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine.

The university said Thursday that Tanji is one of only two health sciences librarians currently serving on the board. The board’s eight other members come from various fields of medicine, public health, pharmacology and others.

Tanji is the director for the Health Sciences Library at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine.

Her appointment comes as the National Library of medicine prepares to celebrate its 175th anniversary this fall, which will include an exhibit focused on native peoples, including Native Hawaiians.