Archives spotlight: Alice Smith award on display

One of the Library’s exhibit cases this semester features Alice Lorraine Smith, M.D. (1920-2014). She was one of the first female students at Southwestern Medical College, and she graduated in 1946, which was just three years before the College merged with the University of Texas System.

Dr. Smith joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 1950 as an assistant professor and worked her way to full professorship in 1976. A leader in cytopathology, she wrote several textbooks on the subject and received the award on display (pictured below) in recognition of her dedication to the field.

Dr. Smith retired from UT Southwestern in 2006.

Introducing the St. Paul Hospital Alcove 

This section of the library is dedicated to the 118-year history of St. Paul Hospital. Originally named St. Paul Sanitarium, the institution started out on Bryan Street in east Dallas. First operating out of a small cottage in 1896, and opening its new hospital doors in 1898, the sanitarium was established by the Daughters of Charity with the intent to help maintain a base level of care for Dallas’ growing population. In 1900, St. Paul’s School of Nursing was opened on the hospital grounds. Early on, sisters would visit patients in their own homes and bring items like food and clothing, in addition to medicine, to improve their overall quality of life. Free clinics were later opened as extensions of the hospital in other neighborhoods in Dallas. These clinics continued the work started by the sisters, providing food and clothing to those in need in addition to routine medical care. 

St. Paul Hospital was at the center of several historic events. The institution was a key defense during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Forty-five tents were erected on site to facilitate a larger reach of patient care, primarily of the sick soldiers from nearby Camp Dick. Later, the hospital was the first facility in Dallas to integrate their facility, admitting an African-American intern in 1953, and giving black doctors courtesy privileges as early as 1954. This was followed by the admission of black students to the School of Nursing in 1955, staffing of black physicians in 1956, and full de-segregation in 1959. 

In 1963, a new facility was opened on Harry Hines Boulevard and all 112 patients were moved in only five hours. A feat that mirrored the great fire of 1951, when all 250 patients and employees present were evacuated from the old hospital successfully. The move to the new facility was in part due to the growing partnerships in the Medical District along Harry Hines, and at UT Southwestern Medical Center. After decades of growth and collaboration UTSW bought St. Paul Hospital in 2005, fully cementing St. Paul’s place as part of UTSW’s Medical Center. After all of their innovations and historic firsts, St. Paul Hospital ended it’s time in Dallas in 2014. That year patients and staff were transferred to the new William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital and in 2015, St. Paul University Hospital was demolished.

New Additions to the Library’s Permanent Exhibits

Next time you’re on South Campus, stop by the Library (E2.200) and view the Special Collection and Archives’ additions to the Library’s permanent exhibits. Depicted in the image below are:

(A) Disease Case Studies Ledger from Bellevue Hospital by Edward H. Cary, M.D. 1898-1899. MSS0032. History of Medicine Collection.

(B) Draft sketch for the David Novros fresco in Gooch Auditorium. MSS0067. Medical Artifacts Collection. – Note: This is one of Library’s newest additions, which came from the Dallas Museum of Art.

(C) Ernest Poulos, M.D., bust, portrait, and a group picture and letter from the dedication of the bust. MSS0068. Department of Surgery Collection. – Note: The bust was made in 1996, and the photo features the chief residents who were under Dr. Poulos in 1989.

(D) Edward H. Cary, M.D., bust. MSS0067. Medical Artifacts Collection. – Note: The bust was made in 1929 and presented to Dr. Cary by the Baylor University College of Medicine.

(E) Painted and glazed fireplace tiles. 1890. MSS0030. St. Paul Hospital Collection. – Note: When the hospital was built in the late 1890s, heat was provided by both radiators and fireplaces.

(F) Assorted ceramic apothecary jars. 1930-1959. MSS0077. Leon A. Harris Apothecary Jars Collection.

Answers to the October 2023 Library Quiz

  1. You can access the UT Southwestern Library’s Website from the Services Tab on MyUTSW site, Education & Training Tab on the UT Southwestern website, UT Southwestern Clinical Portal, and Google Search by name.
  2. The Library has 555,806 books in all formats in FY23(e.g., print, electronic, audiovisual, etc.).
  3. The most popular Library class is Writing a Literature Review.
  4. As an author, I can create profiles to manage my publications and scholarly activities in My Bibliography, ORCID, Scopus, and Web of Science.
  5. The Library’s most popular point-of-care tool is UpToDate.
  6. The Library subscribes to the following USMLE and Board Preparation resources: BoardVitals, StatPearls, and USMLE First Aid.
  7. The Library’s most popular subject guide is About the Library.
  8. Nine librarians staff the UT Southwestern Library. 
  9. Interlibrary loan, exam proctoring, and classroom reservations services are offered by the Library.
  10. The Interlibrary Loan Unit filled 2285 article requests in 2022.
  11. The Interlibrary Loan Unit borrowed 684 items from other institutions for our patrons in 2022.
  12. There were 899 document delivery requests filled for patrons in 2022.
  13. Our library ILL services invoices can be paid by check, interdepartmental request, and credit card.
  14. The UT Southwestern Library was founded in 1943.
  15. The oldest book in the Archives was published in the 16th century.
  16. The temperature setting of the Archives in 63 degrees.
  17. Violet Baird began the Archives for the University.
  18. Dr. Edward H. Cary started Southwestern Medical College

Congratulations to our winner Katarina Yaros who received the top score!

Surgery kits highlighted in new Library exhibit

The Library’s Special Collection & Archives team has recently put together several exhibits that are now on display in the main library space. These displays may be viewed at any time by anyone interested in learning more about medical history and the University. Some of the items are the Goulding and the Hernstein families’ surgery kits pictured here.

To properly date these items, our University Archivist used the names stamped on the boxes and on the surgery tools. This technique allowed her to narrow down the make to only a few years, rather than decades, when different partnerships and business ventures were active. 

While researching these items, the University Archivist also discovered a scandal in the Hernstein’s history over the origins of their materials. Because of this, the company was transferred into Esther Hernstein’s name until several years passed and Albert could again be the face of the company. To learn more about this event and the other items in the exhibit, you can visit the Archives and request the old catalogs and histories of surgical kits.

Visit https://utsouthwestern.libguides.com/sca/about to learn more. If you have any questions or would like to request an appointment, email archives@utsouthwestern.edu.

New Artifacts on Display at the Library

Just in time for National Archives Month, we are proud to tell our community that the Library has exhibits again! The mini exhibits consist of artifacts from the various collections that are housed at the UT Southwestern Special Collections Library and Archives. This first round of materials includes travel surgery kits, microscopes, a medical book from Dr. Edward H. Cary, and more. In addition to the new items in the display cases, we are redoing the permanent exhibit on St. Paul Hospital. Stop back for more on that soon!  

UTSW Special Collections and Archives Oral History Project

The University Archives has begun an oral history project with alumni of the university and current faculty members.

The goal of this project is to record the stories of the people who chose to attend the university and those who chose to work for it. Each individual has a unique story based upon their experiences, and through these interviews the viewer learns how UTSW played a part in their own stories.

If you would like to share your experiences and stories or would like to learn more, contact the University Archives at archives@utsouthwestern.edu.

New Archives Policies and Procedures

The Special Collections Library and Archives has implemented a new fee structure for reproduction and publishing of archival materials. This fee is for digital reproductions of the items available in our holdings. It varies based on the type of material as well as the quality level requested for digitization.

The fee applies to users outside of the UTSW system when digitizing images, audiovisual materials, and documents. However, thesis and dissertations have a cost associated with them for everyone.

The order form and the costs associated with the work can be found on the Special Collections Library and Archives webpage.

Ancestry® Library Edition arrives

The UTSW Library has recently acquired the database Ancestry® Library Edition (ProQuest). This database is perfect for both the casual researcher of genealogy and the expert. It is the library version of the paid Ancestry subscription but with a few differences.

  • Users are not allowed to save items to a new or existing family tree, they may email items or save them to a flash drive.
  • Forums and advice on how to search for difficult family members are available, as well as forms to print to build your own family tree.
  • Users may search records from around the world, but please note that records are not translated from their original language.

October is National Medical Librarians Month and American Archives Month!

In fiscal year 2021, Library staff partnered with clients to discover and apply information for clinical, health care, educational, and research purposes, including:

  • Answering over 2,600 reference questions
  • Teaching 374 educational events attended by 1,799 clients
  • Processing over 4,800 interlibrary loans and document delivery requests

Thank you for using the UT Southwestern Health Sciences Library and Digital Learning Center!