Mid-Atlantic Chapter of MLA

Anatomy of a Chapter

MAC/MLA Centennial Task Force

From new libraries in the 90’s to those dating back before MLA, each library in MAC has its own history and its own beginning.

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Histories of Health Sciences Libraries in the MAC/MLA Region

District of Columbia | Maryland | North Carolina | Virginia | West Virginia

MAC History | From the MAC Archives | MAC Milestones

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DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

George Washington University, PAUL HIMMELFARB HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY began as the Medical Library in 1857, in a small room with meager resources and no professional staff. It supported the Medical Department of Columbian College (later George Washington University) which first held classes on the last Wednesday in March, 1825. The first librarian was Isabella F. Young, who served from 1931-1943 and 1952-1973. Later directors included Nina Matheson and Shelley Bader. The Library is named for its Russian immigrant benefactor, Paul Himmelfarb, who had provided funding for construction of the new library adjacent to the School of Medicine in Foggy Bottom. The new building was dedicated in May, 1973 providing greatly enhanced facilities for students, faculty and staff. Currently, the Library has a microcomputer lab and audiovisual center, 110,000 bound volumes, 25,000 monographs, and 1600 journal subscriptions. The current library director is Shelley Bader. (Submitted by Laurie L. Thompson)

Georgetown University, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, NATIONAL REFERENCE CENTER FOR BIOETHICS LITERATURE (NRCBL) began in 1973 as the ethics library for the then two-year old Kennedy Institute of Ethics. Doris Goldstein was the first librarian and has seen the initial collection of several shelves of books grow to over 24,000 monographs, 360 periodical subscriptions, and over 130,000 subject file items. Initially funded by the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation, the Library now receives support from the National Library of Medicine, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Genome Research Institute, as well as private donations for special collections, such as the Kampelman Collection of Jewish Ethics and the Shriver Collection of Christian Ethics. NRCBL has moved seven times since its inception and is currently housed in the former Hirst Library and Reading Room, located on the first floor of the historic Healy Building on Georgetown’s main campus. Many of the room’s original 19th century features remain, including a balcony with wrought iron railings, hand painted ceiling murals, and stained glass circular windows. The current library director is Doris Goldstein. (Submitted by Martina Darragh)

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER LIBRARY began in 1912. It was founded by George M. Kober, Dean of the School of Medicine. His private library, the private library of Surgeon General John B. Hamilton, and donations from the faculty formed the nucleus of the collection, which was located in the old medical building at H Street, NW. Over the years, the Library grew to support the educational, research, and clinical programs of the Georgetown University Hospital and the School of Medicine. In 1931, a grant from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching extended the Library collection to include the Dental School. In 1956, the Nursing School collection was added. With the collections combined, the Library became the “Medical Center” Library and was named the McNally Memorial Library. The Library outgrew its quarters in the Medical Dental building to which it had moved in 1930, and a new building was dedicated in January 1971 as the John Vinton Dahlgren Memorial Library, after one of Georgetown’s generous benefactors. The first known librarian was P. A. Corrigan, 1921-1926. Succeeding librarians were Allen R. Crutchley, 1927-1930; John P. Cooney, 1930-1937; Margaret C. O’Byrne, 1937-1972; Bobby R. Carter, 1973-1978; and Naomi C. Broering, 1978-1996. The current library director is Jane L. Blumenthal. (Submitted by Jeanne Larsen)

The Greater Southeast Community Hospital, LURA HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY opened on June 10, 1973, as part of the Morris Cafritz Memorial Hospital in southeast Washington, DC. The hospital was renamed Greater Southeast Community Hospital in 1974. The Library supports the research and information needs of the Greater Southeast Healthcare System. Soren Lura, for whom the Library is named, contributed 4500 hours of volunteer service in starting the collection. Mr. Lura retired from the Library of Congress after 35 years of service. The Library currently occupies a space which was originally one of the hospital conference rooms. Its prior location was on the second floor of the hospital. There is a photo of a nursing library in a very old edition of the hospital newsletter; however, no one at the hospital can recall that library. (Submitted by current library director, Steven S. Krompf)

VETERANS ADMINISTRATION CENTRAL OFFICE LIBRARY was established in November, 1945 to meet the information needs of the Department of
Medicine and Surgery staff, particularly physicians and nurses. Library staff also provided reference, research, and operational oversight to VA libraries located at hospitals throughout the country. The Library has always had professional librarians on the staff. Henry Gartland was one of the earliest directors, and Jim Hahn was the director in the 1970s. Currently, the primary focus of the renamed Department of Veterans Affairs Headquarters Library is to serve the needs of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) staff and act as a resource to other VA network libraries. The VA Headquarters Library is a member of VALNET (VA Library Network) and part of VHA’s Chief Information Office. The Library’s collection, emphasizing VA and military history, health sciences, and business, is comprised of approximately 10,000 books and audiovisuals and 350 journal titles. The Library moved into a completely redesigned space in June 1996. (Submitted by current library director, Ginny DuPont)

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MARYLAND

The American College of Cardiology, GEORGE AND LEE GRIFFITH RESOURCES LIBRARY in Bethesda began in October, 1977, in the Heart House, the national headquarters of the American College of Cardiology. The College, a professional medical association of cardiovascular specialists, was founded in 1949 in New York. In 1965, the College moved to Bethesda, MD, and into new offices in 1977. As a part of the American College of Cardiology and the Heart House Learning Center, the Library was developed to provide educational support for the continuing medical education programs held at Heart House. Although the Library had few holdings in 1977, staff secured materials from the National Library of Medicine for use during the Learning Center Programs. Later, through the recommendations of Library Committee Chairman, B.L. Martz, M.D., and his committee, the Library established a core collection of books. This collection has now grown to over 1200 monographs, 150 journal titles, and 250 audiovisuals. The Library’s first professional librarian was Martha Bosch. (Submitted by current library director, Gwen Pigman)

The CENTER FOR INDOOR AIR RESEARCH (CIAR) LIBRARY in Linthicum began in 1989, shortly after the Center’s inception. By the beginning of 1990, the first librarian, Paula Raimondo, was on staff. Her first task was to build and organize a collection of books, journals, and reprints that supported the Center’s mission to sponsor high quality research on indoor air issues and to facilitate the communication of research findings to the scientific community. Most of the Library’s materials are related to environmental health, but there are also epidemiology, oncology, allergy, risk assessment, and building engineering materials. The Library’s primary clientele are the CIAR staff, board of directors, and science advisory board, but information requests are also answered from the scientific community, other libraries, and the general public. CIAR is a private, nonprofit organization which funds research on indoor air quality, awarding seven to eight million dollars annually to universities and other groups worldwide. The Center publishes a newsletter, “CIAR Currents,” a Selected Reading Series on specific topics (e.g. sick building syndrome) and produces a monographic series, Indoor Air Research. (Submitted by current library director, Paula Raimondo)

DOCTORS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL MEDICAL LIBRARY in Lanham was started in 1975 as Doctors Hospital of Prince George’s County by a group of doctors in the metropolitan area of Washington, DC. In 1986, it was purchased by American Medical International (AMI) and became the for-profit AMI Doctors Hospital of Prince George’s County. In the fall of 1990, the hospital again became a non-profit independent community hospital with yet another new name, Doctors Community Hospital. From 1975 to 1986, the Medical Library was located in the hospital across from the doctors’ lounge and staffed full-time by Jan MacGreagor. When the hospital was purchased by AMI, the Library was moved out of the hospital to the Annex building across the street and was left unstaffed. In 1989, a librarian was hired for four hours a week and later for 20 hours per week. The Library provides hospital-wide Internet access and houses a small, reference-oriented collection with approximately 250 textbooks and monographs and 100 journals. (Submitted by current library director, Bebbie Rhodes)

The Johns Hopkins University, WILLIAM H. WELCH MEDICAL LIBRARY, in Baltimore began in 1929, bringing together the libraries of the Hopkins Hospital, the School of Medicine, and the School of Hygiene. The Hospital Library had employed a full-time librarian since 1893 for $10.00, and the Medical and Hygiene libraries had substantial collections based in part on donations from Drs. William Osler, William Halsted, and Howard Kelly. The new library was named for Dr. Welch, who had established the Department of the History of Medicine. Lt. Colonel Fielding H. Garrison was recruited from the Surgeon General’s Library as the first librarian and was responsible for history and innovation, two of the Welch Library themes through the years. Between 1948 and 1953, under the direction of librarian Sanford V. Larkey, MD, the “Medical Indexing Research Project” (intellectual forbearer of Science Citation Index, MeSH and MEDLARS), was established. Library collections were brought under computer management by Richard A. Polacsek, MD, librarian from 1969 to 1984, as Welch developed its own integrated library system, one of only three locally-developed systems in the country. Director Nina Matheson (1984-1993) moved Welch into a leadership role through research into medical informatics and innovative applications of technologies. The Library continues a strong commitment to these ideas today, in addition to providing strong programs in education and consulting. The current library director is Jayne Campbell. (Submitted by Barbara Koehler)

MARYLAND GENERAL HOSPITAL MEDICAL STAFF LIBRARY in Baltimore began as a small medical collection sometime before 1968, when the Library staff consisted of two retired school teachers. That year, the Baltimore Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital merged with the Maryland General Hospital, and a huge EENT collection was added to the Library. During the 1970’s, a professional librarian was hired. In early 1980, the Hospital School of Nursing Library and the Medical Staff Library consolidated, but in 1984, the nursing school was closed. Since then, the nursing material has decreased. The current Library staff includes one full-time professional librarian and one part-time library clerk. The Library provides MEDLINE, Docline, and Internet services to hospital administrators, doctors, residents, medical students, and other employees. (Submitted by current library director, Monica W. Yang)

MEDICAL AND CHIRURGICAL FACULTY LIBRARY OF MARYLAND, Baltimore – The Medical and Chirurgical Faculty of Maryland, founded in 1799, is one of the oldest medical societies in the United States. The Medical and Chirurgical Faculty Library began in 1830, and for over twenty-five years was housed in the homes of physicians, who acted as librarians. Later, the Library was housed in a series of small rented buildings. Due to lack of space and poor staffing, the collection was often out of date, with many items lost or missing. In 1896, Faculty President William Osler, M.D., hired the first full-time professional librarian, Marcia C. Noyes. Under her guidance, the Library moved into the present building in 1909. Miss Noyes was a founding member of the Medical Library Association and its first non-physician President. In the mid-1970’s, the Faculty established a separate historical collection for rare books, journals, pamphlets, manuscripts, archives, portraits, and other items. In 1988, the Music Medical Clearinghouse was established to collect, organize, and disseminate information related to the medical problems of performing artists. Today, the Medical and Chirurgical Faculty Library offers a full range of information services to member physicians, corporate patrons, other libraries, and the public. (Submitted by current library director, Susan Harman)

The NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH LIBRARY in Bethesda began in 1901, with the passage of a bill by the U.S. Congress authorizing funding for the Hygienic Laboratory in Washington, DC. The authorization stipulated that the Hygienic Laboratory contain a room for a library. Dr. Milton Rosenau, a surgeon, acquired a few dozen medical textbooks to serve as the foundation of the Library collection, and by 1906, the collection had grown through gifts or purchases to 2,500 books, pamphlets, and unbound periodicals. In 1913, the Library hired its first full time librarian, Dr. Murray Gault Motter. The Hygienic Laboratory was renamed the National Institutes of Health in 1930, and in 1938, the Library was relocated to Bethesda, MD. Its collection by then had grown to 18,000 volumes and 347 periodicals. In 1942, the Library was combined with the Public Health Service Library increasing its holdings to over 40,000 volumes. The newly-appointed librarian, Margaret Doonan, was the Library’s first librarian to have had formal library science training. In 1950, Scott Adams became the new chief librarian and reorganized the Library to increase efficiency. In 1953, the Library moved to the then new 13-story Clinical Center containing a 350-bed hospital and 1,100 research laboratories. Chief librarians succeeding Scott Adams include Jess Martin, Seymour Taine, Ruth Smith, and Carolyn Brown. Today the NIH Library provides information services to clinicians, biomedical researchers support staff, and visiting foreign scientists in twenty-three institutes and centers, including the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The Library currently subscribes to 2,500 journal titles, 450 monograph series, and a collection of 65,000 monograph titles. To assist NIH’s large group of visiting foreign scientists, the Library uniquely offers a Translation Service. Visit the Library’s Home Page at http://nihlibrary.nih.gov. The current chief librarian is Suzanne Grefsheim. (Submitted by Frank F. Barile)

National Institutes of Health, DCPC and DCEG, National Cancer Institute, EXECUTIVE PLAZA SOUTH LIBRARY in Rockville began in the 1970’s as two small collections of journals in two divisions of the National Cancer Institute. In the mid-1980’s, the collections were pulled together in the new Executive Plaza South (EPS) Building in Rockville, MD, but were still known as the DCPC (Division of Cancer Prevention and Control) and DCEG (Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics) libraries, after the names of the two divisions. The two divisions have been reorganized, and in 1997, the name was changed to match our location (EPS), rather than the division names (DCPC or DCEG). The collection contains over 400 journal titles, some of which are ordered and some being sporadic donations. The focus is on medicine, statistics, epidemiology of cancer, diet and nutrition, health, and the genetics of cancer. A book collection is being built using duplicate books from other libraries. (Submitted by current library director, Gloria Rasband)

The NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE in Bethesda had its beginning in 1836 as a modest collection of medical books and journals in the office of the United States Army Surgeon General. In 1865, army surgeon John Shaw Billings was posted to Washington and, in addition to other duties, assumed charge of the Library. Billings began the Index Medicus in 1879, and a year later, he published the first volume of the Index-Catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon General’s Office. When he left 30 years later, the institution was the largest medical library in the world. The Library outgrew several buildings in downtown Washington, DC, and in 1962, it moved to a new facility on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Along the way (1956), the Library became a civilian institution within the U.S. Public Health Service. A number of landmark events have occurred over the past several decades: the computerization of Index Medicus and the development of MEDLINE; the development of the Regional Medical Library Network; the creation of a grant program; the Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program; the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications (research and development); the National Center for Biotechnology Information; and the National Information Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology. The Library’s staff of 575 now occupies two buildings in Bethesda; the annual appropriation is $160 million. The collection, which has grown to more than 5 million items, includes one of the world’s finest collections of medical history materials. The current library director is Donald A.B. Lindberg, M.D. (Submitted by Bob Mehnert)

The NORTHWEST HOSPITAL CENTER HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY in Randallstown began in 1965 in support of what was then Baltimore County General Hospital. The hospital’s name changed in 1993 to Northwest Hospital Center. Betty Holmes started as a volunteer in the Library and became the hospital’s first paid librarian in 1971. Prior to 1971, the Library was run by volunteers, with physicians donating the books. In 1982, Betty Myers became the first Health Sciences Librarian. There have been five moves for the Library since its inception. Starting on a shelf in the Board Room, the first move was to the nursing inservice office. The Library moved to its own room on the lower level of the Administrative Services Building in 1971, and moved upstairs to the first floor in 1979. The Library relocated to the hospital’s new addition in 1994. Today the Library has 2200 volumes, 108 periodicals, a videotape collection, and a patient education/consumer health shelf. The staff completes 50 MEDLINE searches each month. In 1997, the Library will have access to the Internet. (Submitted by current library director, Betty Myers)

The University of Maryland, Baltimore, HEALTH SCIENCES AND HUMAN SERVICES LIBRARY, began in 1813, when members of the University of Maryland Faculty of Physic purchased the private medical library belonging to their colleague, Dr. John Crawford, following his death that year. Still intact in its original state, the Crawford Collection represents the origin of the entire University of Maryland Library System. Through the years, the Medical Library has occupied a variety of different locations, as the collection grew and collections from the Schools of Dentistry and Pharmacy were added. In the early days, faculty and hospital staff served as acting librarians, but in 1903, Eugene F. Cordell, Professor of Medical History, was appointed as full-time librarian. After continuing growth, the Medical Library moved into a former church in 1913, christened Davidge Hall after the University’s first dean, John Beale Davidge. The first MLS librarian, Ruth L. Briscoe, served the Library in Davidge Hall from 1914 to 1946. In 1957, the church building was razed to make room for the new Health Sciences Library building which opened in 1960. During its tenure in this building, the Library earned the right to become the Regional Medical Library for the Southeastern/Atlantic Region. Today, the Health Sciences Library is once again swelling its physical boundaries beyond capacity and preparing to move into a new building in February 1998. The current library director is Frieda Weise. (Submitted by Richard J. Behles)

US FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION MEDICAL LIBRARY in Rockville began in 1948 with the establishment of a reference position in the Agency’s Division of Medicine. The purpose of this position was to create a library to replace the services lost to the FDA when it was transferred from the Department of Agriculture to the new Federal Security Agency, and to create a repository of adverse drug effects data, a legacy of the sulfanilamide tragedy. Until 1995, Elizabeth C. Kelly served as director. She began her agency career in 1938 and held a variety of secretarial, administrative, editorial, and information positions until the Library was established. During its history, the FDA Medical Library has been known by five different names and has occupied ten different sites within the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. It has grown from the original one room in the Health and Human Services Building to the current main Library in the Parklawn Building in Rockville with its three branch libraries. In 1997, under the leadership of its first professional librarian and current director, Carol S. Assouad, the Library was completely renovated and updated. Today, it is the largest of the four Agency libraries, consisting of 1400 active periodical subscriptions, 30,000 books, and a variety of other print and electronic materials. Its scope encompasses biomedical and drug literature, medicine, pharmacy, and related health care fields. The collection also includes an FDA archives, a legal/regulatory collection, and information pertaining to computer/information science and library science and management. The Library is the lead organization in the planning, development, and maintenance of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (the FDA’s parent organization) Website and Intranet. (Submitted by Kathy Kruse)

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NORTH CAROLINA

The Coastal Area Health Education Center’s ROBERT M. FALES HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY in Wilmington began as a small room designated as the hospital library when the New Hanover Regional Medical Center was built in the late 1960’s. The Library contained a small collection of books, journals, and audiovisuals and was staffed by a part-time librarian. When the Coastal Area Health Education Center (AHEC) building was constructed in 1975, a larger space was dedicated for the Library. Staffing was also increased to a full-time librarian, and the collection was significantly increased. The Library became a major component of AHEC and its services expanded to include all hospitals and public health departments in the five county area. The first librarian was Jack Perten, followed by Penny Sexton, Steve Owen, and currently Donna Flake, who became director in 1992. (Submitted by Donna Flake)

The establishment of the DUKE UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER LIBRARY in Durham was one of the first concerns of Dr. Wilburt C. Davison, upon his appointment as the founding Dean of the Duke University School of Medicine in 1927 and following in the footsteps of the physician-librarians who were active in MLA in its early days. With the advice and help of colleagues and Hospital Librarian, Judith Farrar, Dr. Davison began amassing a collection from book dealers throughout the world. For an average cost of three dollars per volume, he was able to create one of the best medical libraries in the country at that time for $227,000. Miss Farrar was succeeded by G. S. T. Cavanagh in the early 1960’s, and Library services and staff were greatly expanded. Library automation began in 1965 with the appointment of a Chief of Library Systems, Warren Bird, who later succeeded Mr. Cavanagh as Director. The Library was originally located in the medical school building, which was ideal for staff and student access, but space became an increasing problem. In 1970, architects were commissioned to design a library that would be the core of a biomedical communications center. Construction began in 1973 and was completed in November of 1975. The current library director is Susan Feinglos. (Submitted by Janie Trumbull)

East Carolina University, WILLIAM E. LAUPUS HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY in Greenville began in 1969 as the Health Affairs Library with Dr. Jo Ann Bell as its first director. The Library, first housed in an old cafeteria, was created with donations, including twelve tons of books from the University of Kentucky. In 1972, the Library moved to the Carol Belk Building, and in 1981, it settled into its present location in the Brody Medical Sciences Building. In 1984, an LS/2000 Integrated Library System was installed and all Library functions were automated. The New Orleans style “funeral,” which commemorated the retirement of the card catalogue (1987), marked a significant transition in the Library’s history. In 1993, the Library was named for Dr. William E. Laupus, the first Dean of the East Carolina University School of Medicine. In that same year, the Health Sciences Library, together with East Carolina University’s Joyner Library, replaced the LS/2000 with the Marquis System, the first client-server integrated library system in a North Carolina university library. In 1997, Dr. Dorothy A. Spencer became the second director. The Library is staffed by 14 librarians and 28 support personnel. It serves as the primary information center for students, faculty, and staff in the Division of Health Sciences and the School of Social Work at East Carolina University. Through the Area Health Education Center, the Library provides information services to health care practitioners and students from all of eastern North Carolina. (Submitted by Karen Crowell)

The GASTON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL MEDICAL LIBRARY in Gastonia began in 1955, when Mrs. R. S. Clinton contributed her deceased husbands medical library to the School of Nursing. The collection was officially turned over to the hospital and became the Medical Library in July, 1973. Originally, the Library was supervised by the Medical Records Department, but in July 1974, it became a part of Educational Services, and Jeannine Davis became the first librarian. In November 1974, Eleanor Rollins from the Health Sciences Library Reference Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, acted as library consultant in helping to organize the Medical Library. In 1984, the hospital hired the first professional librarian, Jacqueline Ramseur, who is the current library director. The Library has moved several times. In December 1973, the hospital and Library relocated to a new facility on Court Drive. In 1991, the Library moved from the second floor of the hospital to its present location in the Northeast Tower. The Librarys collection covers a wide range of medical specialties with some titles dating back to the 1970’s. The current CEO, Wayne Shovelin, is a past chairperson of the Library Committee. In 1997, Gaston Memorial, the only hospital in the county, celebrated 50 years of community service and prepared to meet the challenge of the next century. (Submitted by Jacqueline Ramseur)

The HALIFAX MEMORIAL HOSPITAL LIBRARY in Roanoke Rapids began in 1974. It was started in one room with materials received with the help of Area L AHEC in Rocky Mount. In 1976, the Library moved to quarters in the new Area Health Education Center building on the south side of the hospital. At first there was no librarian, and the Inservice Education Director helped operate equipment and fill out forms for earning continuing education. Shortly after, a librarian was hired. The first was Mary Higginbotham, followed by Geraldine Steadman and Rebecca Newsom. Since 1989, Lynn Powell has been the librarian. The Library collection has grown to include over 100 journal titles, 500 books, and Internet access for staff and students. The Library is the site for telemedicine equipment, and Lynn Powell serves as the Telemedicine Site Coordinator and Medical Library Coordinator. (Submitted by Lynn Powell)

The MEDICAL LIBRARY, Nash General Hospital, in Rocky Mount began in the summer of 1976 when the one story addition to the hospital was completed. The new addition was the beginning of an educational wing that would house health education offices, conference rooms, and the Library. The first medical library clerk, Meg Teagarden, was hired to work 40 hours a week. The Library has continued to employ a full-time medical library clerk, and the Area L AHEC provides professional library service. A professional librarian makes regular visits to assist the library clerk. The Library has Internet access and houses a small reference section, consumer health section, and approximately 600 textbooks and monographs, along with 110 journals. (Submitted by current library director, Margie Hill)

MOORE REGIONAL HOSPITAL LIBRARY in Pinehurst began in 1929 as Moore County Hospital. In 1957, the hospital’s name was changed
to Moore Memorial Hospital, and in 1986, to Moore Regional Hospital. In 1995, it became the flagship organization of FirstHealth of the Carolinas, which includes two hospitals, a hospice, a group of home health stores, and eleven primary care clinics. No one knows when the hospital’s Health Sciences Library began, but before 1983, it was located on a patient floor between two nursing stations and staffed solely by volunteers five days a week. Volunteer Gladys Watson is said to have kept a copy of the Library’s shelflist by her bedside at home, with instructions that in case of a fire, the shelflist was to be rescued first. From 1983 to 1988, the Library was managed by a hospital audiovisual technician (later media specialist), with support from volunteers and FAHEC Library in Fayetteville, NC. The first professional librarian, Christie Allen, was hired to work part-time in 1988. In 1995, Sukey Jacobsen became the first full-time professional. Also in 1995, the Library moved to new quarters in the Administrative Conference Center, the name was changed to Healthcare Information Center, and it became a corporate-wide department, serving all of FirstHealth’s facilities. In 1997, the Library’s name was changed once more to Health Sciences Library. (Submitted by current library director, Natalie Fields)

The MOSES CONE HEALTH SYSTEM LIBRARY in Greensboro began in 1938, when a group of physicians pooled resources for books and journals. The collection was housed in a downtown office and the intent, stated in the original charter, was that the bound volumes be given to Cone Hospital when built. The Library was maintained by private subscriptions until 1947, when it was given to the Greensboro Academy of Medicine and moved to the Greensboro Public Library. In 1950, the Academy donated the Library (788 volumes) to Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, while the hospital was under construction. Miss Hazel Segner, RN, described as “in her seventies [with] an illustrious career as a Horse and Buggy Nurse,” was the first volunteer librarian. Hattie Johnson, MLS, held the first funded library position in 1965. With support from the Greensboro AHEC, a new wing was added to the hospital in 1978. The Cone Medical Library then moved into a larger, temporary space and Library services and collections formed an information resource center for the Greensboro AHEC region. An important policy change in 1983 opened the Library to patients and the general public. In 1984, a new hospital wing was finished, and the Library moved to its current location. Moses Cone Hospital has become Moses Cone Health System, with the Library serving all corporate divisions and departments. In 1990, a departmental library was opened in the Women’s Hospital and staffed by Suzanne Angel, MLS, MS. One physician was the driving force for the funds and development of the Greensboro Historical Medical Library that was built onto the main library in 1991. This year Moses Cone is merging with another local hospital, Wesley Long. (Submitted by current library director, Leslie Mackler)

Presbyterian Hospital, HEALTH CARE INFORMATION CENTER in Matthews began in February, 1995. The Center, serving area physicians, clinical staff, patients and their families, and the general public, opened as part of a unique hospital designed to focus on patient-centered care. The Center is located in the lobby of the hospital and provides a relaxed, comfortable setting for guests to search up-to-date information in the areas of health and medicine. The Health Care Information Center was the first library in the area to serve the public, as well as provide information at the patient’s level. Guests are given individual attention in finding information and are provided with referrals to area support groups and agencies. Programs related to health, a monthly physician’s newsletter, and patient visitation are some of the services provided through the Library. The Library was started and is administered by Darlene Byrd, a professional librarian. (Submitted by Darlene Byrd)

The PRESBYTERIAN LEARNING RESOURCE CENTER in Charlotte began in 1981 with the consolidation of Presbyterian Hospital and the School of Nursing libraries and educational resources, into a facility located on the third floor of the hospital. A medical librarian, Ellen Cooper, was joined on staff by an audiovisual technician and a library assistant. In August 1993, under the direction of Mary Wallace Berry, Presbyterian Learning Resource Center relocated to the ground floor of the newly-constructed North Wing. The Learning Resource Center provides full library services, access to audiovisual hardware and software, and room scheduling. The Center also operates the Presbyterian Hospital closed circuit television system. (Submitted by current library director, Mary Wallace Berry)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY, began its rebirth in 1952 as the Health Affairs Library, under the leadership of Myrl Ebert. The Medical Library had grown from a reading room looked after by a faculty secretary, to a small branch staffed by medical students in the mid 1930’s, to a full branch library under medical librarian Agnes Dolvin in 1940. In 1952, the Medical Library became a separately administered library in the Division of Health Affairs. At the same time, the Medical School became a four-year institution and the new Nursing and Dental Schools opened. The Pharmacy School had its own library that merged with the Health Sciences Library in 1979. The Health Sciences Library has had many different homes in many different buildings on campus, but moved into its current building in 1972, with a major addition in 1982 under Director Sam Hitt. The Library is again planning a major revision under the current library director, Carol Jenkins. A photohistory of the Library is available at https://hsl.lib.unc.edu/hslhistory. (Submitted by Diane McKenzie)

Wake Forest University, COY C. CARPENTER LIBRARY in Winston-Salem began when the School of Medical Sciences of Wake Forest College was established in September, 1902. The first curator was William Gaston Simmons, followed by Rev. E.P. Ellington. The first trained librarian, Louise Heims, headed the Library from 1911 to 1915. From 1915 to 1939, the Library was collectively known as the Pennell Memorial Medical Library and staffed by librarian Ethel Crittenden. In 1941, the School of Medical Sciences moved to Winston-Salem, where it was renamed the Bowman Gray School of Medicine and expanded to a four-year program. The Library, initially on the first floor of the Medical School Building, moved into a larger space on the ground floor in 1951-52, and to the James A. Gray Building during 1958-59, with additional renovation in 1960-62. In 1983, the Library was named for Coy C. Carpenter, a pathologist and Medical School Dean who was responsible for relocating the Medical School to Winston-Salem. Since 1939, the librarians have been: 1939-43 Eleanor Mayes (Smith); 1944-45 Mary Ament; 1945-63 Nell Benton (Fuller); 1963-68 Elizabeth Ann (Betty) Withrow; 1968-72 Erika Love; and 1972-present Mike Doss Sprinkle. The Library’s holdings have increased from less than 2,500 volumes in 1941 to 299,220 in 1997. In 1974, the Bowman Gray School of Medicine accepted responsibility for an AHEC program in Northwest North Carolina, and over the years, Library services have been extended to 17 counties and expanded into a more autonomous, cooperative, library information network called LINK. (Submitted by Marilyn Summers)

The WESLEY LONG COMMUNITY HOSPITAL LIBRARY in Greensboro began in November 1978. The administration of the hospital decided to transform the old collection of medical books housed in the Doctor’s Lounge, which had been given Dewey classification by a volunteer (retired) librarian, into a small current hospital library with a medical librarian. Margie Furr, MSLS, was hired part-time to develop, organize, and build a collection of books, journals, and audiovisuals and to provide reference and other library services. With assistance from Leslie Mackler of the Greensboro Area Health Education Council and with AHEC funds for purchasing audiovisual equipment, the Library was set up in a wide space in the hall. In 1989, during a major reconstruction and building project, the Library was moved to larger more library-like quarters. With a grant from the Duke Endowment, the Library purchased a computer workstation and jointed the computer age. The Wesley Long Archives, a collection of historic medical records dating from 1907 to 1929, occupy a special room in the Library. In May 1997, the Library was awarded a basic equipment grant from LSCA and the State Library of North Carolina, allowing the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment to access the Internet and provide Internet training sessions. On October 1, 1997, Wesley Long Hospital merged with the Moses Cone Health Care System, and the Library began the process of joining the family of libraries in the Moses Cone Health Care System. (Submitted by current library director, Margie Furr)

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VIRGINIA

Augusta Medical Center, FOREST G. HARPER HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY in Staunton began when the Medical Staff Library was formed in the early 1960s by the physicians of Kings Daughters Hospital. It was kept up by Dr. Forest Harper, a radiologist. In 1965, Dr. Harper asked Mary Horner to “help out” five hours a week (plus some volunteer time), and she began ordering books and journals and doing other library chores. In 1988, the Kings Daughters Hospital joined with Waynesboro Community Hospital to form the Augusta Hospital Corporation. In 1994, the Library moved into a new facility and became the Forest G. Harper Health Sciences Library of the Augusta Medical Center. Mary Horner became the first full-time librarian. With help from the SWVAHILI consortium, the Library provides computer workstations for access to MEDLINE, CINAHL, and the Internet for all employees. The textbook and journal collections have grown, and a nurses library and consumer-patient information section have been added. (Submitted by current library director, Mary R. Horner)

Eastern Virginia Medical School, MOORMAN MEMORIAL LIBRARY, in Norfolk began in October 1973 when the private community-based Eastern Virginia Medical School opened its doors to its charter class of twenty-four students. The medical school and the Moorman Memorial Library were initially housed in a converted nursing school dormitory, next to Leigh Memorial Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia’s historic Ghent area. Through a bequest of $340,000 from the estate of Miss Lynette Hamlet, the Library was established and named for her sister and brother-in-law, Odele Hamlet and T. Lucien Moorman. The original collection of 5,500 monographs and journal volumes was donated by the Norfolk Academy of Medicine, then called Norfolk County Medical Society. In 1978, the Library moved to its present location in Lewis Hall, which houses a collection of approximately 80,000 volumes. The Library’s founding Director, Anne Oakes Cramer, retired in 1994. The current library director is Judith Robinson. (Submitted by Kerrie Shaw)

The HAMPTON SENTARA HEALTH SYSTEM LIBRARY’s parent institution, Sentara Hampton General Hospital, began as when Alice Mable Bacon established the city’s first community hospital in 1891 as a home for the sick and a school for nurses. The Hampton Training School for Nurses, built on the grounds of what is now Hampton University, was one of the first training schools for black nurses. The hospital was called Dixie Hospital, in honor of Miss Bacon’s horse Dixie, who pulled the ambulance wagon. In 1892, the hospital received its charter from the Virginia General Assembly and that summer moved to a new site near what is now the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In June, 1913 a new hospital was completed on East Queen Street, now Hampton University, and another new facility was built in 1959 at its present location on Victoria Boulevard. In 1973, the hospital name was changed from Dixie Hospital to Hampton General. In 1988, Hampton General joined Sentara Health System. The Medical Library began in the early 1960’s as one large room with shelving along the walls, a donated collection, and no separate office for the librarian, Josephine Lascara. In 1977, the Library moved to its current location on the first floor across from the Radiology waiting area. The new facility provided an office for the librarian, as well as additional shelving space and furniture. Since Ms. Lascara’s departure, librarians have included Minette Brooks, Ruth Kelly, and Toni Lee Moore Wright. (Submitted by current library director, Debbie Linkous)

MEMORIAL HOSPITAL OF MARTINSVILLE AND HENRY COUNTY MEDICAL LIBRARY began in 1956 as a memorial to deceased physicians who had been on staff of the Martinsville General Hospital, which was founded in 1946. The original library room had donated medical books and journals organized by the Library Committee. It was kept locked and was for use by physicians only. The chairman of the committee was responsible for ordering books, journal subscriptions, and binding. From 1962-1967, a retired librarian was employed a few hours a week to keep the Library organized. With the construction of a new building, a new, larger library was planned. Information on how to proceed with developing a library was solicited from the local public librarian and from Myrl Ebert at the University of North Carolina. A half-time medical librarian, Phyllis Gilliken, was hired to develop a professional medical library. In 1971, the hospital moved to the present building and took its current name. In 1981, a major renovation and expansion gave the Library a new location adjacent to the physician entrance. While continuing to serve the medical staff, the Library has expanded to include nursing, allied health, hospital administration, and a small consumer collection. The hospital is presently undergoing another renovation which will move the Library to new quarters yet again. (Submitted by current library director, Mary Alice Sherrard)

The MEMORIAL HOSPITAL MEDICAL LIBRARY in Danville began in the early 1970’s when a group of physicians established the Library. The first medical librarian was Lillian Blomely, who held this position until her retirement in the late 1970’s. In May, 1987, the Library name was changed to the Ralph R. Landes Medical Library in honor of Dr. Ralph Landes, the founder of the Danville Urologic Clinic and an active promoter of the Medical Library. In 1993, the hospital became the Danville Regional Medical Center. The Library has grown from a “medical” library geared towards physicians only, to a “health sciences library” encompassing all of the health care professions. The Library takes an active role in serving the health information needs of the Center’s staff and students, other health care professionals in the area, and the citizens of Danville, Pittsylvania County, and Caswell County. Under the direction of Ann Sasser, MLS, the Library underwent renovation in 1997, providing an enlarged area for end user workstations and Internet access for all library customers. (Submitted by Ann Sasser)

ROCKINGHAM MEMORIAL HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY in Harrisonburg began in 1912 with the opening of the hospital but was not staffed until 1972, when medical librarian Ilene Smith was hired to be responsible for the Doctor’s Library, the School of Nursing Library, and the Nursing Services Library. In 1977, the three libraries were combined into the Health Sciences Library. In 1983, hospital renovation allowed the Library to expand and begin automating (with the purchase of a computer and modem for online searching using BRS and MEDLARS). The Library was responsible for institutional acquisition and management of all books, journals, audiovisuals (including the audiovisual equipment in the Outpatient Center Conference Rooms), software, pamphlets, and newspapers. The Library collection includes over 3,000 books and 300 journal titles, and provides access to hospital-networked Ovid databases, the Internet, OCLC, the Virginia Library Information Network, and other files. Since late 1995, the Library has been in temporary quarters awaiting a new location, which will include a new Patient/Family Section and a new name – The Virginia Funkhouser Health Sciences Library. Occupancy is expected to take place in late summer, 1998. (Submitted by current library director, Ilene Smith)

SOUTHSIDE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER LIBRARY in Petersburg began in 1886 as The Home for the Sick. In 1953, the hospital was moved to its present location and became Petersburg General Hospital. After many additions and renovations, the name was changed again in 1986 to Southside Regional Medical Center to reflect its new mission. The Medical Library began when a physician donated several books and placed them on a shelf in the emergency room area. The number of books grew, and in 1956, Mary Grace Hawkins Brown, a public school librarian, was hired part-time in the evenings to develop a medical library. Later, Mrs. Brown was employed as a full-time librarian and remained at the hospital until her death in 1984. The current director, Joan B. Pollard, became the librarian in February, 1985. The Medical Library serves as the library for the School of Professional Nursing, School of Radiation Sciences, nursing services, auxiliary department, the hospital medical staff, and the community. The Medical Library has grown from a single shelf in the emergency room to a full service library with computer technology available to all customers. (Submitted by Joan Pollard)

University of Virginia, CLAUDE MOORE HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY in Charlottesville began in 1825 when Thomas Jefferson personally selected books for the University’s Library. Among his choices were 710 medical science volumes to support the Department of Anatomy and Medicine under Dr. Robley Dunglison. The early Library had meager funding, but in 1880, it purchased the precursor to Index Medicus, and in the 1890’s, the first card catalog was completed. The medical faculty made an attempt to separate the medical collection from the general Library collection and move it to the Anatomical Theatre. Had they been successful, the medical books would have been spared in the burning of the Rotunda in 1895, when the entire medical collection and most of the general collection was lost. The Library, however, was rebuilt and a separate catalog was created for the medical collection. In 1929, a new Medical School Building opened, bringing together all the medical departments and the Medical Library. Despite its new quarters, the Medical Library was still a part of the University Library. In September 1962, Dr. Wilhelm Moll became Director of the Medical Library, reporting directly to the Medical School Dean and no longer to the University Librarian. (Today, the Library Director reports to the Vice President and Provost for Health Sciences.) Under Dr. Moll, a $2.3 million building project resulted in a new library dedicated in April 1976 and named the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library. The Library will complete an expansion and renovation project in 1999, just in time for launching a Library for the New Century. (Submitted by current library director, Linda Watson)

Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia Campus, TOMPKINS-MCCAW LIBRARY in Richmond began with the opening of the Medical College of Virginia in the spring of 1889. At first the Library was managed by faculty, but in 1902, a student was put in charge of the Library in exchange for his tuition. In 1913, Miss Florence McRae became the librarian. She continued to be responsible for the daily operations even after faculty member Dr. E.C.L Miller was appointed Directing Librarian in 1930. Dr. Miller retired in 1947 and Miss McRae in 1946. In 1959, Miss McRae was honored posthumously when a college dormitory was named for her – possibly the only dormitory anywhere ever named for a librarian. The Library was housed in shared space in various campus buildings until moving in 1932 into its own Georgian structure designed by Baskerville and Lambert. In March 1950, the Library was named in honor of several members of two families, the Tompkins and McCaws. Captain Sally Louise Tompkins had been head of the Robertson Hospital and the only woman commissioned in the Confederate Army. Walter Drew McCaw had served as the librarian for the Surgeon General’s Office from 1903 to 1913. In 1974, Library renovations tripled the size of the facility. Electronic services began with online bibliographic searching in April 1971, and today the Library provides access to over 135 databases. The current library director is Phyllis Self. (Adapted from the Tompkins-McCaw Centennial Web page)

WILLIAMSBURG COMMUNITY HOSPITAL MEDICAL LIBRARY – The Williamsburg Community Hospital began in 1961. It is a private, not-for-profit
hospital affiliated with the Sentara Health System. Records of the Medical Library begin in 1976, but it is not clear just when the Library was started. Since 1976, there have been several librarians: Marion Campbell, Carol Goodwin, Ruth Kelley, Cecilia Hodgkinson, Marcella Davis and Anne Buse. Over the years, the Library has struggled with storage and the need for increased usable space and has moved a few times. At one point, it was suggested that “shelves be built over the sink” in the Library for the nursing collection, which indicates this was not a typical library facility. Presently, the nursing and medical collections are combined in a small library near the doctors’ lounge. The librarian position is part-time. (Submitted by current library director, Linda Chelmow)

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WEST VIRGINIA

Located in the newly completed Basic Sciences Building, the HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARY OF WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY in Morgantown began in 1957. The Library was designed by Alderson Fry, architect/librarian, who was also the first director. He was succeeded by Robert Murphy in 1971. The first reference librarian and assistant director was Marguerite Abel. The Library supports the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Health. An Occupational Health Collection supports the high interest in pulmonary and respiratory diseases. There is also a new NIOSH facility nearby. The newly-designed History Room contains general historic materials and also documents the development of medicine and biomedical research in West Virginia, its counties, and the Appalachian Region. The Library added MEDLINE access in 1972, and since then there has been a consistent goal of adding electronic databases and encouraging the use of current technology. Marge Abel retired in 1994; Bob Murphy retired in 1996. In 1997, Terrance Burton became the current and third director. (Submitted by Sally Brown).

LOGAN GENERAL HOSPITAL MEDICAL LIBRARY began in 1971 under the leadership of a qualified medical librarian, Patricia Lucas. Starting in 1979, the Library was under the management of the Education Department, lead by Education Director Angela Moore, RN, BSN, 1981-1992. From 1979 until the present, Darlene Shaw, AS, RBA has served as assistant to the Librarian. The Library was originally one large room in the basement of the hospital. Today it is two rooms on the fifth floor of the main hospital building. It houses a small reference-oriented collection with approximately 400 books, 50 journals, and 250 videotapes, and provides computer services to nursing and medical personnel through West Virginia Consult. The Library and Hospital rely on the West Virginia University Medical Center Library and the Southeastern Atlantic Regional Medical Library at the University of Maryland as its resource libraries. (Submitted by current library director, Anna Marshall)

Ohio Valley Medical Center, HUPP MEDICAL LIBRARY, in Wheeling, initially endowed by Dr. Frank LeMoyne Hupp, began in about 1952 to serve the Ohio Valley Medical Center, which was founded in 1890 as City Hospital of Wheeling, West Virginia. Matilda A. Scharf, a retired teacher, was hired as the first librarian in 1959. She was followed by another teacher, Eleanor Shonn, and then by the first librarian with an MLS, Janis Qunilisk. The Medical Center, one of the largest employers of the Upper Ohio Valley, has a 400 bed hospital providing primary and tertiary care. The Hupp Medical Library serves the hospital staff and supports medical residency and allied health programs. Providing access to computerized searches and the Internet, it is one of the largest libraries in West Virginia with more than 4,180 monographs, 318 professional journals, computer software, audiocassettes, videotapes, and slides. (Submitted by current library director, Kathryn Chmiel)

St. Joseph’s Hospital, EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES CENTER in Parkersburg began as two separate libraries, a professional library for nursing and management staff and a medical library, which was a wall with a basic book collection in the physician’s lounge. A librarian provided research services. In 1976, a new addition was built and a forward-looking administration planned an adequate library combing the two. Over the years, audiovisual services, teleconferencing, and CME have been added. To create greater cooperation between local hospital libraries, the Marietta Parkersburg Hospital Library Consortium was formed, providing support without charge to three libraries based in medium-sized, acute-care hospitals. Consortium librarians recently took on the additional responsibility of an outreach program which provides health information to the community. Else Lamba has been associated with the Library since 1974 and is now semi-retired. The current library director is Shauna Harper. (Submitted by Else Lamba)

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MAC HISTORY

The MID-ATLANTIC CHAPTER (MAC) of the Medical Library Association began on Saturday, March 29, 1952, when eighty-six medical librarians from the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia agreed to form the Washington, DC Area Medical Library Group. The three librarians behind this meeting are considered MAC’s founders: Estelle Brodman (Armed Forces Medical Library, Washington, DC), Scott Adams (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda), and Ida Marian Robinson (University of Maryland, Baltimore). The group was one of nine Regional Medical Library Groups founded between the late 1940’s and 1956 in response to the Medical Library Association’s growing and dispersed membership. The groups were also an outgrowth of alliances formed during World War II, when librarians were unable to attend national meetings and relied on those nearby for professional help and stimulation.

At the first meeting, Elizabeth Adkins (University of Virginia, Charlottesville), Marie Harvin (University of Maryland, Baltimore), Mabel McLaughlin [Brandly] (Veterans’ Administration, Library Division, Washington, DC), Ruth Rodier (U.S. Naval Medical School, Bethesda) and Kanardy Taylor (Armed Forces Medical Library, Washington, DC) were elected as a study committee charged with preparing recommendations for affiliation as a Regional Group of the Medical Library Association. At the second annual meeting (Baltimore, 1953), the committee recommended that the Group affiliate with the Medical Library Association, but retain a semi-independent status. Although the Group voted to accept the recommendation, they also voted not to charge dues or elect officers. They decided to have only one activity a year, an annual meeting held in different cities in the area. Since there were no officers, a steering committee was appointed (and later elected) to plan the annual meeting. The Group did not revisit becoming an official Regional Group until the 1970’s.

The Washington, DC Area Medical Library Group met annually, with few exceptions, and attendance grew. For example, there were 60 attendees at the 1953 meeting in Baltimore, 75 attendees at the 1957 meeting in Frederick, MD, and 150 attendees at the 1965 meeting in Charlottesville, VA. Librarians in the Group could not count on regular support for travel or meeting attendance, so registration fees were kept low. The fifty-cent registration fee charged for the 1963 meeting in Baltimore was typical. At first meetings were held in the spring, but in 1958, the tradition of the fall meeting time was established. With few exceptions, early meetings lasted only one day and were usually held on Saturday. After 1974, meetings were typically three days or longer.

Although semi-independent, the Group supported MLA activities. The earliest record of support dates from 1963, when the Group sent $50.00 to the MLA Scholarship Fund. In 1967, the Group also sent $50.00 to the Janet Doe Lecture Fund. The Group regularly contributed to both funds and has continued to provide financial support for these and other MLA activities.

In 1969, North Carolina libraries submitted a petition drafted by Myrl Ebert (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) to MLA President, Jacqueline Felter, asking to shift North Carolina from the Southern Chapter to the Washington, DC Group. The petition pointed out that the new regions created by the 1965 Medical Library Assistance Act put North Carolina in Region IV, along with Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia, making the requested realignment reasonable. After some research, it was discovered that the Washington, DC Area Medical Library Group was still considered independent, so the MLA Board did not have to approve the move. Thus, in October 1970, the first North Carolina librarians attended the annual meeting in Baltimore. Librarians from West Virginia were also invited formally to be part of the Group beginning in 1970, although there are several reports of West Virginia librarians attending earlier meetings, notably the first meeting in 1952 and subsequently in 1956 and 1968.

In 1971, the librarians from North Carolina hosted their first Group meeting in Winston-Salem. At this meeting, there was an “unanimous vote…to change the name of the Group to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Group.” The group was informally known as MARG. The new name had more significance than just the addition of North Carolina and West Virginia librarians to the Group. MARG was now working to become an official Regional Group and had many organizational issues to discuss and resolve. As late as 1974, much of the annual business meeting was dedicated to questions of membership criteria, voting privileges, membership fees, the need for by-laws, formal continuing education, and the relationship with the Regional Medical Library.

Dues were the major hurdle for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Group. From the beginning, the Group had resisted assessing dues, believing that the annual meeting should be self-supporting and that no other support was necessary. At one point it was proposed to set dues at $5.00, but they were not collected, and the issue had not yet been resolved by 1977, when President Bobby Carter (Georgetown University, Washington, DC) proposed an amendment to eliminate the necessity to collect dues. Although dues presented the best way to establish voting rights, the 1977 Board felt they would affect the group’s tax-exempt status. It was also felt that the annual meetings should continue to be financed through the registration fee, which could be adjusted as needed. (Registration in 1977 was $12.00 plus $6.00 for a buffet lunch and $15.00 for the banquet.) Eventually, dues were set at $5.00 per year.

MARG also needed to elect officers and representatives. In 1970, the Group elected John Balkema (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore) as its first recorded representative to the MLA Nominating Committee. The first secretary listed for MARG in MLA News and the MLA Directory is Martha Young (Washington Medical Center, Washington, DC). The Membership Committee was mentioned in the MARG minutes for the first time in 1974, with Dr. William Moll (University of Virginia, Charlottesville) as chair. The Group also created Legislative and Continuing Education Committees.

The Group’s first continuing education courses were offered at the October 1966 meeting in Baltimore: CE 4 General Biomedical Reference Tools and CE 5 Human Factors in Medical Library Administration. After this early start, however, there is no mention of continuing education courses at annual meetings for nearly ten years. As part of official Regional Group status, MARG needed to provide formal, consistent, continuing education. As a result, Richard Polacsek (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore) sent out a questionnaire in 1973 asking members about their needs for continuing education, perhaps the Chapter’s first needs assessment. At the 1975 annual meeting in Morgantown, WV, the Group offered CE 16 Management of Media in Libraries and CE 22 Planning Hospital Library Facilities. Each course was $30.00 for members. By 1976, a Continuing Education Committee (later called the Professional Development Committee) is noted in the minutes, with Jo Anne Bell (East Carolina University, Greenville, NC) as chair. CE courses then became a regular part of annual meetings, with Special Library Association CE courses being added in 1984.

In 1981, along with other Regional Groups, MARG restructured to become a Chapter — the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of MLA or MAC. Phyllis Cox (Medical College of Virginia, Richmond) and Elaine Alligood (University of Virginia, Charlottesville), as President and President-elect, attended the first Chapter Council meeting at the Montreal MLA Annual Meeting on June 2, 1981. That fall, MAC elected its first Chapter Representative, Rena Snyder (Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore) with Karen Higgins (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore) as Alternate. In 1985, with a membership of 396, MAC completed its test period for compliance with MLA Chapter guidelines, averaging 57.4% of Chapter members as MLA members. Dues continued to be $5.00 per year until 1986, when they were raised to $10.00. In 1995, the membership voted to raise dues once again to $25.00.

Perhaps a result of the Washington, DC Area Medical Group’s early independent status is the inconsistent reporting of group meetings. Between 1952 and 1960, meetings were sometimes reported in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. After 1961, Regional Group news was reported in the MLA News, and there are few listings or reports of meetings, even after the Group became MARG. However, in the spring of 1984, the Chapter started a semiannual newsletter, MAC Messages (complete with an orange masthead). Group activities and events were now well documented. The first newsletter editors were Jayne Crofts [Campbell] and Katherine Branch (both of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore). MAC Messages included chapter news, state news, and four feature columns on user education, computer searching, RML news and legislative news. The newsletter became quarterly in 1986 and bimonthly in 1990. An honors and awards column was added in 1994, and the InfoTech Watch column in 1995. Beginning in 1998, MAC Messages was issued in both print and electronic format.

The 1993 Chapter needs assessments resulted in the creation of an additional standing committee, Honors and Awards. The Committee presented the first MAC Librarian of the Year Award to Phyllis Gillikin (Northwest AHEC, Hickory, NC) in 1994. The same year, the Chapter’s service award was renamed the Marguerite Abel Service Recognition Award in honor of Marge Abel’s (West Virginia University) long service to MAC. In 1997, a third award, the One-Person Library Recognition Award was established; the first recipient was Myra Binau (Washington County Hospital, MD). In 1997, M.J. Tooey (University of Maryland at Baltimore), 1996 MAC Librarian of the Year, received the Estelle Brodman Award for Academic Medical Librarian of the Year from MLA.

In 1995, a technology survey assessed MAC members’ access to the Internet. Since a high percentage of returned surveys showed that members used email regularly, the Chapter approved the MAC Listserv, created by Jonathan Lord (University of Virginia, Charlottesville) and monitored by the Publications Committee. As of December 1997, there were over 300 MAC Listserv subscribers. The MAC Web page was established in 1996 with a Web Editorial Board to oversee development. Among other things, meeting information, committees, Chapter history activities, the by-laws, and the Policy and Procedure Manual are maintained on the Website.

What are the current issues for MAC? Recently, the Chapter incorporated and obtained meeting insurance coverage. The Chapter has also established recommendations for meetings in concert with the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines. The Professional Development Committee established a MAC Internship program, providing a library school student from the region with the opportunity to work closely with the Chapter. The first MAC intern was Adiva Sotzsky (Catholic University of American, Washington, DC). In 1997, the Chapter created a Research Policy Statement, and Terrance (Terry) Burton (West Virginia University, Morgantown) was appointed the first Research Liaison member of the Professional Development Committee.

The 1998 MAC/MLA Centennial Chapter celebration will be a joint meeting in Pittsburgh with the Pittsburgh Chapter, October 4-7. The Chapter has held two other joint meetings: the first in 1985 in Winston-Salem, NC, with the Southern Chapter, and the second in 1993 with the Pittsburgh Chapter in Morgantown, WV.

In 2002, the Mid-Atlantic Chapter will celebrate its half-century anniversary. From no dues and no officers to a listserv and a Website: the unofficial, independent Washington, DC Area Medical Library Group has changed more than just its name.

The Group logo, adopted in 1988, shows the five interconnecting blocks symbolizing the region’s four states and Washington, DC.

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FROM THE MAC ARCHIVES

Third Annual Meeting

From the MLA Archives, we’ve received a copy of the Third Annual Meeting of the Washington DC Area Medical Library Group, held Saturday, April 16, 1955, at the Tompkins McCaw Library in
Richmond, Virginia. The Chair of the group was Dorothy M. Cramer. The program, “Symposium on Library Problems,” was organized by Estelle Brodman and gives us insight into the concerns of the time. Two papers were presented on “Periodical Arrangement” by Sara Mayer, Library of Congress, and Robert B. Austin, Armed Forces Medical Library; and two papers on “The Catalog – Undivided or Divided?” by Frances K. Fox, National Institutes of Health Library, and Elizabeth Reavis, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Library.

At the morning Business Meeting, Colonel Brad Rogers read Scott Adams‘ (both from the Armed Forces Medical Library) report on “The Medical Library Association 1955 Convention,” and Creola Wilson (Library of Congress) spoke on “Membership in the Medical Library Association.” There were reports by Mary Grinnell (Armed Forces Medical Library) on the forthcoming Handbook of Medical Library
Practice and by Dorothy Cramer on the new 610 Dewey Decimal Schedule. The 1955-56 Steering Committee nominations were presented and unanimously elected: Margaret O’Bryne, Georgetown University (Chair); Seymour Taine, Armed Forces Medical Library; Lois Henderson, Veterans Administration Hospital Library, Richmond; Thelma P. Robinson, National Institutes of Health Library, and Mildred Taylor, Veterans Administration Hospital Library, Baltimore.

After “a delicious luncheon,” the group heard a talk by Ebbe Hoff, Professor of Neurological Sciences, Medical College of Virginia, on “Recent Advances in Brain Research.” They then adjourned for a guided historical tour of Richmond, and “at 4:30, a delightful tea was enjoyed at the charming Wickham-Valentine House.”

Twenty-First Annual Meeting?

The Twenty-First Annual Meeting was held on October 26, 1973 at the Hunt Valley Inn, Cockeysville, MD, and hosted by the William H. Welch Medical Library, Johns Hopkins University. The one-day program included welcoming and opening remarks by Dr. Richard Polacsek, Director of the Welch Medical Library, and Dr. Russell Morgan, Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. This was followed by presentations on “Art as Applied to Medicine” by Rahice Crosby and “William H. Welch” by Peter Niebyl.

The noon luncheon was preceded by a cocktail hour (!!) hosted by Williams & Wilkins. After a brief introduction to the Medical Library at the University of Virginia by the Librarys Director, Dr. Wilhelm Moll, JD, and a 20-minute business meeting, the program concluded with a tour of the Williams & Wilkins Publishing Co. and a visit to the William H. Welch Medical Library. (Program contributed by Ilene Smith, Rockingham Memorial Health Sciences Library, Harrisonburg, VA)

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MAC MILESTONES

1952-1998

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MAC/MLA Centennial Task Force

Diane McKenzie, Co-Chair Health Sciences Library University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (919) 966-0957 dmk.hsl@mhs.unc.edu

Janie Trumbull, Co-Chair Medical Center Library Duke University Medical Ctr. Durham, NC (919) 660-1120 trumb001@mc.duke.edu

Beverly Murphy Medical Center Library Duke University Medical Ctr. Durham, NC (919) 660-1127 murph005@mc.duke.edu

Bebbie Rhodes Doctors Community Hospital 8118 Good Luck Road Lanham, MD (301) 552-8072 bebbie@clark.net

M.J. Tooey Health Sciences Library University of Maryland at Baltimore Baltimore, MD (410) 706-2693 mjtooey@umabnet.ab.umd.edu

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