Category Archives: Archives

January Open House Event at the South Campus (main) Library: "Medical Eponyms"

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The Health Sciences Digital Library & Learning Center will offer a monthly series of open house events to the UT Southwestern community that feature different topics of interest from the Library’s special and digital collections. The first event entitled “Who Named It?: Medical Eponyms in the Collections” will be held in the Rare Book Room (E3.314D) from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Tuesday, January 12.

Medical eponyms offer a fascinating window into medical history. They can also be contentious, controversial, or inaccurate. Despite these drawbacks, medical eponyms are sometimes catchy, easy to remember, and can prove remarkably enduring, long outliving their namesakes. Not all are biographical. Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS), Mozart ear, and Henry V sign are a few from literature and music.

Drop by the open house event on January 12 and explore the connections between medical eponyms and their namesakes. Items by or about Baron Guillaume Dupuytren, Moriz Kaposi, William Osler, and many more will be on display from the special collections. Staff will also be available to also show relevant highlights in the digital collections.

Need more information about this particular event or others in this monthly series? Contact archives@utsouthwestern.edu.

 

New NLM Poster Exhibit focuses on medical contributions of African Americans during the American Civil War

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promo imageMany histories have been written about medical care during the American Civil War, but the participation and contributions of African Americans as nurses, surgeons, and hospital workers has often been overlooked.

The National Library of Medicine’s traveling poster and online exhibit entitled Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African Americans in Civil War Medicine looks at the men and women who served as medical providers and how their service challenged the prescribed notions of race and gender and pushed the boundaries of the role of African Americans in America.

Through historical images and period documents, the exhibit explores the life and experiences of surgeons Alexander T. Augusta and Anderson R. Abbott, as well as nurses Susie King Taylor and Ann Stokes, as they provided medical care to soldiers and civilians while participating in the fight for freedom. “Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries opens the door to this rarely studied part of history and brings a voice to those that have remained silent for nearly 150 years,” says Curator Jill L. Newmark.

This exhibit will be on display at the UT Southwestern Health Sciences Digital Library & Learning Center’s South Campus location (E2) from December 22, 2015, through January 30, 2016. It was developed and produced by the National Library of Medicine with research assistance from The Historical Society of Washington, D.C.

New exhibit features dried plant specimens from Southern Greek National History Museum Herbarium

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herbarium sampleThe latest South Campus Library exhibit features a rare collection of plant specimens from the Herbarium Goulandrium in Goulandris Natural History Museum, which is located in Kifissia, Greece. Founded in 1964 by Angelos and Niki Goulandris, the museum’s original focus was on Greek flora. The herbarium, which currently includes the data of over 70,000 specimens, initially included the collection of Konstantinos Goulimis with 24,000 samples he donated to the museum. The museum later expanded to cover the fields of zoology, paleontology, and geology.

Some of the information that may appear in the specimen labels:

  • Scientific plant name
  • Detailed location
  • Habitat
  • Altitude
  • Plant habit
  • Plant description
  • Determiner of the scientific name or identification (det.)
  • Collector of the specimen (leg.)
  • Date of specimen collection

More about the Goulandris Natural History Museum is available online at http://www.gnhm.gr/en/ .

UT Southwestern Archives are in the spotlight this month with campus events

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October is American Archives Month

October brings several opportunities for UT Southwestern staff, faculty, researchers, and students to learn more about the wide variety of archival and special collections resources and services provided by the Library. Normally available by appointment only, special open-house events* in October will showcase materials in the Archives Annex, as well as items in the Rare Book Room collection.

The Archives Annex is located on the main floor of the South Campus (main) Library (E2.222), and the Rare Book Room collection is located on the third floor (E3.314D).

Not able to come to the Library? Stop by during one of our October traveling archive events at South Campus, North Campus, or the Bass Center! Selected photographs, scrapbooks, documents, and other artifacts from the Library’s archival and special collections will be on display. Staff will also be on hand to answer questions about online resources, such as the UT Southwestern Archives Collection, the Texas Physicians Historical Biographical Database, founding documents, and more.

Need more information about the October events? Contact archives@utsouthwestern.edu.

 
*The South Campus (main) Library requires a UT Southwestern ID badge for entry.

Archives Annex (E2.222) Open House

  • Wednesday, October 14: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
  • Monday, October 26: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Rare Book Room: (E3.314D) Open House

  • Thursday, October 8: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
  • Tuesday, October 20: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

North Campus Commons Cafeteria (NG3)

  • Monday, October 5: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
  • Friday, October 16: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

South Campus Cafeteria Atrium (D1)

  • Friday, October 2: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
  • Monday, October 19: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Bass Center Food Court Atrium (BLA)

  • Monday, October 12: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
  • Friday, October 30: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

"Prepare, Present, Promote/Preserve": supporting your academic poster from start to finish

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LNAcademic-postersv2

Great! You’ve been approved to present a poster at a conference, forum, or other event. Your Library can help you every step of the way.

PREPARE
Did you know the Library provides design assistance for academic posters? Jane Scott, the Library’s Design and Promotion Specialist, is available to help you! To schedule a free individual consultation or group class, go to the Library’s Personal/Group Training Request page and select “Designing Your Best Academic Poster” in the list of topics.

PRESENT
Need to practice for your presentation? Reserve the Library’s Presentation Practice Room (Room E2.408) on the Main Floor of the South Campus Library. Practice your synopsis and talking points or invite your peers for some group feedback.  A dry erase sign-up board is available for advance reservation requests on a weekly basis.

PROMOTE & PRESERVE
What do you do with that poster after the event is over? Well, instead of rolling it up to store on a shelf or attaching a large file to an email when someone asks for a copy, consider this alternative—deposit the digital version into the Poster Center collection in the UT Southwestern Institutional Repository, which will provide the following benefits to students, researchers, faculty, or other staff at UT Southwestern:

  • Wider access to scholarly output beyond journal articles with your university affiliation
  • Easy citation or referral of an item through a permanent identifier and online link
  • Additional discoverability and preservation options through metadata and archives processes
  • The deposit of multiple files, if needed (e.g., abstract, working design, completed poster, session handout, and more)

You can deposit the poster directly, have someone deposit it on your behalf, or transfer the file to Library staff for deposit. Access to the item can also be restricted until after a specific conference, forum, or other event is completed.

Learn more about the Institutional Repository by visiting the frequently-asked-questions content found in the “Institutional Repository Basics” collection. To get started, contact Cameron Kainerstorfer, Manager, Digital Collections.

 

Getting ready to move? Don’t forget the Archives!

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Archives objectsIs your office space, lab, or department relocating to another area on campus at UT Southwestern? Are you downsizing to a different space, or discovering stray photos while preparing to move? The UT Southwestern Archives within the Library welcomes donations of materials related to the history of medicine in North Texas. Examples include:

  • UT Southwestern-produced documents that pertain to the campus’ overall functions, operations, and goals and objectives
  • Photographs of UT Southwestern faculty, staff, or students or of the campus or affiliated hospitals
  • Papers of or pertaining to individuals or groups who have made notable contributions to UT Southwestern
  • Newspaper or magazine clippings pertaining to UT Southwestern and its faculty, staff, students, or campus
  • Items pertaining to the history of St. Paul Hospital from its founding in 1894 to the present
  • Selected newsletters, reports, etc., from UT Southwestern University Hospitals (includes the Zale Lipshy and St. Paul hospital buildings), Parkland Health & Hospital System, Children’s Medical Center, or UT Southwestern Austin Programs
  • UT Southwestern student yearbooks, yearly school bulletins, scrapbooks, and more
  • Documents and other items about Texas physicians
  • Medical artifacts that illustrate the history of medicine

By donating items like these to the Archives, you help extend the documentation about the history of the campus, medicine in North Texas, and general medical history. Generally, donated items will be preserved, arranged, described, and utilized in a variety of ways. Some items may be digitized and made publicly-available. Other items may be placed on exhibit within the Library or made available upon request to researchers.

Before making a donation or if you have questions about donations, contact Cameron Kainerstorfer at 214-648-7675, or complete the online Ask Us form.

Bill Maina retires after 35 years of service to UT Southwestern community

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Maina receiving plaque for 35 years of service by Assistant VP for Library Services, Kelly Gonzalez

Maina receiving plaque from Assistant VP for Library Services, Kelly Gonzalez at retirement reception.

William “Bill” Maina retires this month, having provided 35 years of dedicated, valuable service to the UT Southwestern community.

As faculty associate, Bill Maina has held numerous roles and management responsibilities throughout the years in various Library departments including Archives and History of Medicine, Special Projects, as well as Collection Development.

He has served as the Library Archivist for the past few years, assisting with the acquisition and supervision of various archives projects and Rare Book Room tours. He was instrumental in the selection and description of items in the first two collections for the online UT Southwestern Archives Collection. He also curated exhibits such as the current History of St. Paul Hospital and School Nursing School exhibit in the South Campus Library.

His keen aesthetic and sense of order proved invaluable during the Library’s 1990s building renovation project, in which he helped organize and design the space, and assisted with subsequent modifications throughout the years. He created one of the first marketing plans for the Library, and served as a valuable member to the Corporate Communications/Marketing teams. He has also been an editor and frequent article contributor to the Library News blog

He has also been instrumental in maintaining art shows within the Library by coordinating shows, highlighting local artistic talent, and working with various arts organizations. He has assisted with the coordination of the On My Own Time annual campus exhibit housed in the South Campus Library since it began in 2000.

He has held professional memberships in a variety of organizations, such as the Academy of Health Information Professionals of the Medical Library Association, Society of American Archivists, South Central Chapter of the Medical Library Association, and D/FW HealthLINE.

The Library would like to thank him for his numerous contributions and wish him the best in this exciting new chapter of his life.

Book and journal relocation update

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DSC_0023On Monday, August 19, 2013, the Library initiated an extensive project to relocate the print book and journal collections to the University of Texas System/Texas A&M Joint Library Facility (JLF), which is located in College Station.  Our collection is recognized as the most comprehensive medical collection in Texas, and it will become the core of a shared resource that will be used by students and faculty throughout the state, including the new UT System medical schools in Austin and South Texas.

The Library staff has been working on the relocation project, and we anticipate meeting the following deadlines to clear materials from the Middle and Top floors of the Library:

  • February 14, 2014 – Final book and journal inventory lists sent to JLF
  • February 28, 2014 – Inventory of books and journals complete.
  • April 1-15, 2014 – Library Design Systems Inc. pack and load books and journals
  • April 16, 2014 – Middle and Top floors cleared of books and journals
  • April 16-30, 2014 – Middle and Top floors cleared of shelving and other unnecessary items

The relocated collection will be available electronically or through interlibrary loan; there will be no charge to request UTSW Library books located at the JLF. The Library’s collection of electronic books and journals will remain available through its website, library.utsouthwestern.edu.

The Library will retain a small print collection of titles held on reserve, as well as rare, unique, and archival materials, which may be used in the Library.

There will be increased noise and activity to the Middle and Top Floors during the next few months as we prepare the books and journals. Temporary Top and Middle floor access closure notifications should also be expected at this time.

The vacated space on the Library’s Middle and Top floors will be utilized for new educational initiatives.

“UT Southwestern Timeline in Photos” now online

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The chronological photo timeline of UT Southwestern history displayed on a 14th floor wall of the Pickens Biomedical Building (ND) now has a digital version compiled by the Library. Titled

“UT Southwestern Timeline in Photos,” the digital version contains not only the 176 photos found on ND 14, but also has also 15 new photos.

Mirroring the display format on the ND 14 wall, the digital timeline is divided into panels, each covering a span of years and each accompanied by an essay describing the key events of the period at UT Southwestern. New to the digital version is the “2008 and Beyond” panel, which includes photos and text supplementing the original ND 14 timeline, which was completed around 2006.

Each digital photo is first presented in thumbnail size on its panel. When a photo is moused over, the title appears. Click on the photo to see an expanded version, along with the title and date. In most cases, you will also see a link to an explanatory caption found in “UT Southwestern Images, 1943-Present,” the Library’s online collection of over 600 photos portraying the history of the campus.

 

Halloween legend: The "Dance of Death" in medicine

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Physician and Nobleman from the Lübeck Totentanz

Nobleman and Physician from the Lübeck Totentanz

According to a Halloween legend, “Death” appears at midnight every Halloween and summons the dead to dance for him while he plays a fiddle. The dance ends at daybreak, at which time the dead return to their graves.

The “Dance of Death” is also a common late-medieval (1300s and later) European artistic genre that emphasizes the universality of death regardless of one’s status in life. “Dance of Death” illustrations show skeletons cavorting with humans (often of high social status, such as popes or kings) as the skeletons lead the humans to their death. The above illustration shows two skeletons leading a physician and a nobleman.

Death was a constant presence in medieval life since plagues, wars, and infant mortality were common. “Dance of Death” illustrations—often accompanied by poems—appeared in books and were the theme of many frescos in religious and civic buildings.

Interested in learning more about this fascinating medieval obsession?

  • The Library’s History of Medicine collection has three books on the topic. For more information, contact Bill Maina, the Library’s History of Medicine librarian, by email at bill.maina@utsouthwestern.edu or by phone at 214-648-2629.
  • The University of Glasgow Library Special Collections has an excellent online “Dancing with Death” exhibit.
  • The ARTstor digital library of art has several illustrations of the “Dance of Death”.
  • HathiTrust provides access to a number of full-text digitized books about the topic.