The library's legacy: a virtual history room

Rebecca L. Fisher, MLIS
Information Services Librarian

Taeyeol Park, Ph.D.
Curriculum Support Specialist

Georgetown University Medical Center

Purpose: This paper will explain the process of digitizing selected pieces from the library's History Room collection as part of an effort to make rare items more accessible to library constituencies for scholarly and informational purposes.

Setting/Participants/Resources: Dahlgren Memorial Library is the grateful custodian of many rare medical books, antique medical instruments, portraiture, and papers and personal effects of prominent physicians. While staffing challenges make access to the History Room "by request only," a virtual display provides unlimited access to selected pieces via the Internet and attests to the school of medicine's long history and rich tradition of medical excellence.

Brief Description: In July 2000, ties between the school of medicine and the hospital were affected by the sale of the hospital to a nonprofit, community-based health care organization. Concerns about the preservation of the school of medicine's traditions and legacy emerged. At a time when a show of unity was most crucial to the entire organization's well-being, the library began the process of digitizing—in captioned photographs and narrated short video clips—the treasures of the History Room collection. Some of the items chosen for inclusion were antique medical instruments that had to be researched to be identified and properly displayed. After a serious, damaging flood in August 2001, many of the items in the collection underwent a process of refurbishment and restoration.

Results/Outcome: This ongoing project has attracted interest from many library patrons, medical center affiliates, and the general public, instilling a sense of pride and unity as it evolves.

Evaluation Method: We use an email form to track visitors' comments and suggestions about the site.