HS/HSL - History
 The
proud traditions of the Health Sciences & Human Services Library originated
in 1813. Until that date, our medical school had not had a library, from
the time of its founding in 1807 as the College of Medicine of Maryland.
Doctor John Crawford, a prominent Baltimore physician and member of our
faculty, was the owner of a fine medical library. Following his death in
1813, his faculty colleagues collected the sum of five hundred dollars,
which the University used to purchase the collection from his estate. This
represents the first instance in which a medical college in this country
established its own separate library. Similarly for us, the Crawford Collection
in the Health Sciences & Human Services Library thus represents the origin
of the entire University of Maryland Library System.
Reflecting his interest in natural history,
and influenced by his professional assignments as a British naval surgeon
in such tropical locales as Barbados and the Dutch colony of Demerara, Crawford's
library showcases the works of such classical figures as Hippocrates, Celsus,
Vesalius, and Malpighi, as well as more contemporary notables like Linnaeus
and Boerhaave. Holdings include imprints from as early as 1565, and continuing
through the beginning of the nineteenth century. Numbering 569 volumes,
the Crawford Collection remains today one of the focal treasures of the
Library.
At first, the Library resided in the Provost's
Office within the original medical school building, the building we now
know as Davidge Hall. And during its earliest years, various faculty and
hospital staff members served as acting librarians. But in 1903, Doctor
Eugene F. Cordell, Professor of the History of Medicine and eminent medical
historiographer, accepted the formal appointment as librarian. Under his
able leadership, the library grew dramatically in size and scope, becoming
an integral part of the school's identity. At some point during these formative
years, book collections from the Schools of Dentistry and Pharmacy merged
into the Medical Library. With the expansion of the schools, and the corresponding
growth of the Library, Dr. Cordell successfully guided it into more spacious
quarters before his death in 1913.
The southeast corner of Lombard and Greene
Streets, directly across from the medical school building, was the site
of a church. The University purchased the structure and christened it Davidge
Hall, after founder and first dean John Beale Davidge. But further expansion
of the schools ensued, and additional buildings meant that some of the collections
emigrated back to their individual schools.
Near the end of the 1930's, a change in the
library administration throughout the whole University attempted to resolve
the awkward organizational relationships resulting from having various detached
libraries. In the mean time, the medical collection housed in Davidge Hall
continued to grow fruitfully. In 1937, the Library first began to circulate
books, redefining its role of mere storehouse into one more consistent with
the concept of broader usage. By the 1950's, the Library had again exceeded
its capacity and required more space. The church building was razed in 1957,
to make room for the new Health Sciences Library building, which began construction
in 1958 and successfully opened in 1960. In conjunction with designing this
facility, the University decided to consolidate the collections and activities
of the various satellite libraries into a more efficient combined operation
once again. Along with the re-integration of medicine, nursing, dentistry,
and pharmacy at its opening, the Health Sciences & Human Services Library
would later serve the campus's new School of Social Work as well that following
year.
Ten years later, the era of computer automation
arrived, as the Health Sciences Library introduced a batch-process book
circulation system in 1970. Technological advances continued onward, as
MEDLINE literature searching appeared in 1972. Then in 1978, the Library's
membership as part of the OCLC bibliographic utility re defined its cataloging
and card production efforts in the new light of international cooperation.
In 1982, the Integrated Library System brought
the combined automated functions of circulation and an online catalog, thereby
heralding the demise of the card catalog. It was this and other continuing
technological innovations in countless facets of its dynamic information
and support services that led to the Library earning its status as Regional
Medical Library for the Southeastern/Atlantic Region.
With an eye toward mastering the accelerated
demands of the information future, the Health Sciences and Human Services
Library opened in 1998 in an unprecedented, multi-functional, comprehensive
library/information services facility. Ever dedicated to technological advances,
and with Crawford's timeless treasures still proudly enshrined within its
walls, the new Library is a true testament to an excellence which spans
the centuries.
LIBRARY DIRECTORS:
Eugene F. Cordell, 1903-1913
Ruth L. Briscoe, 1914-1946
E. Rebecca Griffith (Dental Librarian) 1930's
Beatrice Marriot (Dental Librarian) 1930's
Thelma Wiles (Dental/Pharmacy Librarian) 1940's
Ida M. Robinson, 1946-1964
Hilda E. Moore, 1965-1976
Cyril C.H. Feng, 1977-1990
Frieda O. Weise, 1991-present
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