Embracing the Future as Stewards of the Past: Charting a Course Forward for Historical Medical Libraries and Archives

Abstract

In June 2013, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) released The Heart of the Matter, a report on the continuing indispensable role of the humanities and social sciences in meeting major global challenges and urgent national goals. Commissioned by a bipartisan group of senators and representatives and involving more than fifty AAAS members from various sectors—including academia, business, government, the arts, and the media—the report called for renewed commitment to the humanities and social sciences. More specifically, it called for leadership collaborations across a wide array of sectors to meet the urgent goals of: educating Americans . . .

Collaboration, Empathy & Change: Perspectives on Leadership in Libraries and Archives in 2020

“…As pointed out by in Management Basics for Information Professionals, "successful managers operate on the basis of the precept 'adaptability is essential for survival'" (p. 32). For the survival of the institution as a whole, Dr. Reznick (2014) believes that "every opportunity" should be taken to "demonstrate the relevance and value of historical medical collections" (p. 114). On a larger, institutional level, there is a need for staying flexible among times of great structural changes, such as the National Library of Medicine taking on a stronger role in the field of data science and placing more emphasis on supporting the NIH's mission, which is to "seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability" (National Institutes of Health [NIH], 2017).…”

Formation of the Codon Degeneracy during Interdependent Development between Metabolism and Replication

“…Nirenberg’s genetic code chart [ 9 ] revealed a profound correspondence between amino acids and codons. It is still a mystery how the codon degeneracy formed yet.…”

Evaluating a historical medical book collection

“…Preserving the history of medicine to help scholars and clinicians discover errors and to connect practitioners and institutions to the past are important values for health sciences librarians [1–5]; however, libraries do not always have staff with the expertise and resources to implement these values. In addition to the difficulty in managing historical collections, it can also be difficult for librarians to find historical information.…”