(Automatic transcript - may present inaccuracies)

>> [Background Noise] I am Miss Janet Doe, Librarian at the New York Academy of Medicine, I want tell you something about our library and how it can be of service to you. And I should like to my presentation to that to which you have just heard. The talk on ectopic pregnancy which you have listened to has given you the broad outlines and the important points [inaudible] man about this condition. But there may still be questions you'd like to ask. Perhaps it's the historical side that interests you, where was the first reference made to ectopic pregnancy? In the town hood. Who first described it? An Arabian physician Albucasis living in Spain in the eleventh century, who saw the bones of a fetus escaping from a woman's abdomen, by the process of separation. Who first discovered the cause? A French man by the name of Pierre Dionis in 1718. Who did the first recorded operation for this in America? Doctor John Baird of New York in 1759. Who first suggested laparotomy as the only effective treatment for ectopic pregnancy? Doctor W. W. Harbert, another American in 1849. Who had the courage to perform the first such operation and definitely established the pathology and treatment of today? A Doctor Lawson Tait, an English surgeon operating in 1883, and publishing lectures in 1888. Instead of history on the other hand, you may want practical details. What is the comparative mortality between operated and [inaudible] treated cases? 6 percent as against 87 percent. How often can a ectopic pregnancy be expected among normal ones? Well perhaps 1 case in 300. The incident is higher in the city then in the country. What's the most frequent type? Well, tubal pregnancy is by the far the commonest. Where can one get a good comprehensive account of ectopic pregnancy without spending much time or money? In an excellent article by Julius Jarco published in the American Journal of Surgery from march to April of 1949. [Inaudible] are discussed in considerable detail, its history, types, statistics, etiology, symptoms, diagnostic age, pathological anatomy, treatments, mortality, case histories and [inaudible], and all supported with a fine bibliography. Lastly, where can this article be read? Right here in the Academy Library. Now, what you ask is the point of all these queries, well just this, to let you know that the answers to them and to many, many others are to be found in the Library of The New York Academy of Medicine. New Yorkers have here on their doorstep one of the finest collections of medical literature in the world, [inaudible] of any and all who have a legitimate need. Medical books and especially medical journals are the staff of life, to progressive medical man and woman. That fact was well recognized a century ago, and the founders of The Academy united to maintain the epics of the medical profession on a high level, and to support a medical library. Their broad foresight admitted to the library's use, not merely their own fellowship, but all who needed its benefits. They knew then as we do now, that medical knowledge which is not constantly refreshed, soon stagnates, and that the whole medical profession, not just a private segment, requires regular access to new knowledge. [Inaudible] a physician afford all the books he needed, the solution lay in a pooling of individual funds and libraries to form one good collection from which all could satisfy their needs. Growing slowly at first, The Academy's little group of volumes waxed from a few hundred volumes to a few thousand. Then an occasional large gift stimulated others, the first such major donation was that of Doctor Samuel Smith Purple, and when once a sizeable collection was established, it attracted further legacies and donations. The Medical Journal Association turned over its accumulation, the Martin Morley library and the New York Hospital library, one of the largest and best stock in the city were deposited here. Innumerable physicians gave their large and small stocks to swell the total down through the years. By the turn of the nineteenth century 50,000 volumes had been accumulated, and the New York Public library began to rely upon this institution to meet the needs of the medical public. Instead of building up its own medical collection, it kept its trust in this respect only two years ago by making over to the Academy library all of the medical books, some 22,000 of them, it had give it to acquired. Thus to all intents and purposes this library serves as the public medical library of New York City, and this it's glad to do, for it has received much from individual New York citizens and institutions. Even though it's privately supported and receives no public funds. Now what does this long continued gathering of medical books amount to? Well it's not just a conglomeration of 1,000's of musty tones, dusty though some of them are less maybe. It is two things, first a living, working collection of the new and vital [inaudible] to medical knowledge, drawn from all over the world, where scientific medicine is advancing. And second it is a vast reservoir of the major and minor additions down the years, among which students, scholars, and researcher workers can find those out of the way reports and papers, which often furnish the missing bricks for the foundation of new knowledge. This last function, that of the comprehensive research collection is for certain, its most important contribution. There are many other working medical libraries in New York City, some 60 or so at least, for every live medical institution of any size must have a library of sorts. But the broadly based reference library possessing the seldom called for, but occasionally indispensable report is a necessity for a research center such as New York has become. The practitioner and the research worker must have at hand, all the important records in their profession. What makes up this record? First of course the current journal, all of any importance, and the older ones to, most of them from the beginning of their existence. The periodical literature contains the main meat of all modern science, then come the textbooks and special monograms, with a subnation of knowledge on a given topic. Primary source materials such as case histories, hospital reports, government documents, statistical records of all sorts, often hold buried nuggets of gold for the solution of a particular problem. Students' doctoral dissertations may furnish the journal of valuable idea, long files of medical school announcements show the development of medical education and may point the way to improved methods of teaching. The transactions of national and notably of international congresses bring together the ideas of leaders of the profession and its specialties. All types of compilations of medical men and allied scientists are gathered here to form a rich mind of information. You doubtless expect that these books deal mainly with the medical field, far from it. That of course forms the nucleus of our literature, but there is an ever widening periphery of adjacent fields, which must be included in some degree. These are the basic disciplines anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and the substance of the allied professions dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, sociology, anthropology, the general sciences chemistry, physics, botany, zoology, and lastly the cultural aspects of medicine history, biography, bibliography, its relation to art, music and literature. When we consider all these ramifications from the main root of medicine it's no wonder that they cannot be exhaustively covered, even by the 277,000 volumes in the Academy Library. But they are adequately represented here. Practically all of the important up to date literature is present, as are most of the vital publications issued in the nineteenth century, and a great deal from the centuries before that, not only those in English, but in foreign languages to, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Scandinavian, Dutch, Central European, Slavic, and there are a few from Asia and Africa. It is the aim of this library to provide as far as its resources permit, all of the worthwhile literature pertinent to medicine new and old. Who is privileged to consult it? Every serious minded adult who has reason to, it's facilities are naturally directed primarily to medical workers, and about half its clientele consists of doctors. The other half is drawn first from members of the related professions, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, veterinarians, social workers, college and university faculties and students, hospital staffs. The business world contributes some advertises, drug houses, and insurance companies. Writers in many fields find their grist here, abstractors for scientific journals, newspaper men, novelists, magazine writers, dramatists, composers of radio and movie scripts, [inaudible] and the sister professions of theology and law not seldom make use of these medical sources. The massive inquiries coming to the library covers all imaginable topics, most of them of course concern medicine, but many go far a few. Who publishes [inaudible] physiology? What are the laws relating to anatomy in the United States? What books are there written for people with heart disease? Examples of literature questions are when were cotton sutures first used in surgery? What is the total floor space of all the operating rooms in the United States? What famous people had epilepsy? And then there are the extraordinary queries such as these, how many women in the United States are bald? How many taxi drivers in New York City have gastric ulcers? Did Anne Boleyn have 6 fingers on one hand? She did. We try to run down the answers to all reasonable inquiries. But as we said the library exists first and foremost for the physicians, there needs are what it is designed to meet, and towards which its major energies are spent. What can you medical men and women get in the Academy Library? If you can come to the library yourselves you will find the results much more satisfactory then through any other channel. Our reference assistants will do all they can to help you find the information you want. They will show you the way through the mazes of the card catalog. They will explain the intricacies of the various indexes to medicine and to specialties, and there are many of those. They will give you the benefit of the shortcuts they have learned and above all they will do their best to unravel that wrong reference that is forever turning up. With their help, or without it if you prefer, you can dig out a single vital point that is holding you up, or you can gather around you everything of note that has ever been compiled on your subject. Perhaps on the differential diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy, and then you can absorb it in comfort. If some of the books or articles are in a language unfamiliar to you, our bibliographic department can make abstracts or full translations for you, though it is not abstract from English. Or it can read out specified passages early. If you can possibly bring your problem to the library in person you'll be better able to explain it and we to give assistance. If however, it's not possible for you to come here, questions can be answered by mail or telephone as far as the latter serves. Long or complicated queries are better dealt with on paper then by phone. And the very long ones have to be handled by our bibliographical department at a fee, since the demands on our reference staff do not permit their dealing with matters requiring long research. Besides the help with foreign literature which we've already mentioned, this department makes up bibliographies on any requested subject, or checks from the original sources, one already made, and puts it in proper form for publication. It also edits manuscripts, but it does not ghost write, and gives any reasonable sort of bibliographical assistance. One most useful service is that of keeping watch of the current journals daily for articles on any given topic in which you may be interested. For a nominal monthly fee, plus an even more nominal sum for each reference found, it will send you each month references to all the articles which come out on your topic in the 2500 periodicals regularly received in the library. Thus you can easily keep abreast of new data on ectopic pregnancy, or on twins, or natural child birth, or whatever you most want to know about. And without having to go over all the publications in your own field yourself. There are other ways the library can be useful to you when you can't come to it, if you live outside New York City your local library can borrow books from us for you, though we cannot lend to you directly as an individual. The library you use doesn't have to be a medical one, any one will do, public, university, hospital, or whatever it may be, so long as it is a nonprofit agency. Just have your librarian ask the Academy Library on your behalf for information about its interlibrary loan regulations, and through her you will be able to procure any of our books or journals which are allowed to go out, and most of them are. I just said that we could not lend to you as an individual, there a few exceptions to that. Fellows of the Academy can borrow books, and so can individual subscribers, paying usually an annual fee, though sometimes it may be for a half or a quarter of a year, ask for details about this if you are interested. Often though you want books and articles for longer periods then loans will permit, in this case you can have photostats or microfilms made, usually at not to great cost. If you require illustrations such as a diagram of a various ectopic locations in which the ovum may be imbedded, you can order a photostat or a [inaudible] slide. Special order forms for these are necessary, which we will be glad to send you on request. Perhaps you want something that besides present day practical advice. If it should be historical data, for instance the first description of ectopic pregnancy, you'd find in the rare book in history rooms at the library, various histories of obstetrics. And you could see there the 1586 Latin texts of Albucasis eleventh century account. If you need a portrait or some tape who did the first operation for a ruptured sac? That could be supplied and a photograph made for you, or a signature of John Baird who was the first one in America to remove the fetus by abdominal section. Could be forthcoming [inaudible] also a reproduction could be made. But [inaudible] subject of ectopic pregnancy, perhaps your interested in physicians who have made their marks in other fields, novelists or poets, sculptors or painters, musicians or geologists. You will find here the works of Conan Doyle of Charles Lever, of Anthony [inaudible], and poems of William Carlos Willams and Merril Moore. Here to you are examples of drawings by Robert L. Dickinson, and engravings by Alexander Anderson, and reproductions of sculpture by Tait McKenzie. Further, an extensive card list of the medical men who have written in the literary field can be consulted. The library is particularly rich in biographical material of all sorts, not only a great number of collected and individual biographies, but thousands of portraits, and all sorts of memorabilia, medals, commemorated postage stamps, autographed letters, diaries, diplomas. Besides this sort of material we have a remarkable collection in a field that you might not expect here, one of the most comprehensive gathering books on foods and cookery to be found in this country. The late Doctor Margaret Barcly Wilson presented to the Academy her large accumulation of these culinary classics and kitchen guides from all over the world, and in all languages. Starting with the beautiful ninth century manuscript on parchment, and coming down to [inaudible] Palmers standard text. Talking of this gift of Doctor Wilsons takes me back to the way this library has grown, much of its store has come from the libraries of doctors whose own education and practice had been built on the knowledge in the books which they have generously passed along to this center of literature. And these books mean twice as much by having done good service already. Have you perhaps some choice volumes which you'd like to see in a safe place, where others can enjoy and use them, or do your library shelves need weeding in order to make room for new comers, old or recent, many or few, the medical books you want to dispose of will be welcomed in The Academy Library. Either to fill gaps in the collection or to be passed to other libraries which need them. Or you may have other things besides books for which you want to secure a good resting place. Any of the sorts of material we've been talking about, pictures of doctors, or of medical institutions, diplomas or certificates, commemorating medals, or old medical instruments, or apparatus. All such things will help to ground out The Academy's collection. If you can't bring or send them in yourself, call the library and make arrangements for having them picked up. The telephone number is [inaudible] 6-8200. More details about what he library has and does are contained in a set of information circulars which will be sent to anyone who will write us for them. Address your inquiry to the library of the New York Academy of Medicine to East 130 Street, New York 29, New York. This really fine book stock of ours is here to be used, our staff is trained to help you workout your literary problems. The library is open to everyone Monday through Saturday from 9 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon. Come up and see us sometime.