Wednesday, September 9, 2015

A Visit to UM’s Health Sciences and Human Services Library

I had a chance to visit the University of Maryland’s Health Sciences and Human Services Library earlier this week. The library was founded in 1813, shortly after the medical school was founded, by MedChi member, Dr. John Crawford and following his death the same year, the library acquired his collection of medical books which gave it a great start.  imageIn 1903, another MedChi member, Dr. Eugene Cordell, became the first professional library. Cordell had just finished writing the Medical Annals of Maryland, celebrating MedChi’s first 100 years. Cordell was also a Professor of the History of Medicine and acquired the book collections from the Schools of Dentistry and Pharmacy, greatly enlarging the library. IMG_5190After moving around several times, the library’s newest building opened in 1998 on the corner of West Lombard and Greene Streets. The new building which is light and airy, IMG_5204and features great views from every aspect.

IMG_5202 IMG_5197 IMG_5212

Of course, there is the work of the library that benefits students, professors and the general public. imageSome of the links on the website are shown below, and the staff has been working hard at digitizing their collections, including some of their oldest papers – those from founder, Dr. Crawford. image

Take a wander around the site and see what you can come up with. The link is here.

My thanks to the staff who took time to meet with me!