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Records concerning the Medical Library Association I

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Held at: Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia [Contact Us]19 S. 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

The Office of the Librarian of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia was established in 1854, Before 1851, the chairman of the Library Committee was responsible for the administration of the Library, and from 1851 to 1854, the Secretary of the College acted as librarian, In 1863, the Librarian became an officer of the College, and the by-laws of this year established his official duties: the "preservation, arrangement and cataloguing of the books belonging to the Library of the College", This position was part-time; the Librarian was required to be present in the Library for an hour before each meeting and an additional hour each week.

A major change in the Library's administration occurred in 1882. At this time, two new positions, "Honorary Librarian" and "Assistant Librarian" were created. The Honorary Librarian served as an "ex officio" member of the Library Committee and was responsible for the Library's funds and employees. The Assistant Librarian, who worked full-time and did not have to be a Fellow of the College, was responsible for the daily administration of the Library. His other duties included acting as secretary of the Library Committee and keeping records of all books purchased or donated to the Library.

In the 1914 by-laws, the title of Assistant Librarian was changed to Librarian. Also in 1914, the Librarian became the "Superintendent of the College building", This responsibility was omitted from the 1925 by-laws, and by 1935, the by-laws were again amended to state that the Librarian "shall keep a record of all acquisitions of the Library, with the names of the donors".

A new position, Curator of the Historical Collections of the Library, was added to the staff in 1953. In 1982, the title of "Librarian" was changed to "Director of the Library". In 1990, the responisibilities of the Director of the Library were divided between the Director of the Library for Public Services and the Director of the Library for Historical Services.

This collection of records concerning the Medical Library Association is part of the records of the Office of the Librarian of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The collection, which spans 1931 to 1958, includes correspondence, papers from annual MLA meetings, and miscellaneous material.

Series 1 contains some correspondence from Emlen Wood, Acting Librarian of the College from 1932 to 1933; the majority of the correspondence, however, concerns W. B. McDaniel and his involvement in the MLA from the early 1930s to the late 1940s. Also present in Series 1 is the correspondence of Mary Louise Marshall, who was president of the MLA from 1941 to 1946; Marshall apparently transferred her files to McDaniel when he succeeded her as president of the organization.

Included in the correspondence are letters from various officers of the MLA, including Marcia C. Noyes, Charles Frankenberger, William Willoughby Francis, and Eileen R. Cunningham, all of whom served presidential terms in the organization. Also included is correspondence from secretaries and committee chairmen, including Marjorie Darrach, Florence Cooksley, Henry R. Viets, Heath Babcock, L. Margueriete Prime, Janet Doe, John F. Fulton, Mary E. Irish, and Sanford V. Larkey. Included with the letters from these correspondents are carbon copies of McDaniel's replies.

The correspondence from 1934 to 1935 documents McDaniel's involvement in the Program Committee of the MLA. McDaniel's influence increased in 1936, when he became editor of the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association and was elected to serve a three year term on the Executive Committee; included in the correspondence are "Executive Committee circulars". The correspondence from 1940 to 1941 pertains to the preparation of the MLA's "Handbook of medical library practice".

McDaniel served as president of the MLA from 1946 to 1947. The correspondence dating from 1947 and 1948 documents his influence as "past-president" of the organization. McDaniel served on the Executive Committee and the Program and Entertainment Committee during these years. Included are numerous letters concerning the preparation of the Proceedings of the MLA for publication in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association. Other correspondence concerns the formation of committees and the appointment of committee members.

Series 2 contains records from the annual meetings of the MLA. Included are registration forms, programs, banquet menus, minutes, amendments to the by-laws, committee reports, and other miscellaneous material. The annual meeting of 1947 is the best documented in the collection. Of special interest are the numerous committee reports from this year; the reports of the "Committee on the Handling and Disposal of Foreign Duplicates of the War Years" and the "Advisory Committee on Foreign Importations" deal with the effects of World War II on American medical libraries. These reports address concerns such as the increasing cost of foreign journals due to rising post-war inflation.

Included in Series 3 is miscellaneous material pertaining to the MLA. Present is the MLA Secretary's Manual (1939), a list of medical subheadings prepared by the Library of the New York Academy of Medicine (1942), MLA financial records (1945-1946), and other miscellaneous items.

The source of this collection of records concerning the Medical Library Association is unknown.

The collection was processed and catalogued in 1991.

Publisher
Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Collection Inventory

Subseries 1.1 Emlen Wood, 1931-1933.
Box 1
1. 1933 June 8-July 27, 1933.
Box 1
2. 1933 September 16-December 8, 1933.
Box 1
3. 1934 January 8-September 17, 1934.
Box 1
4. 1934 October 16-December 15, 1934.
Box 1
5. 1935 January 7-February 23, 1935.
Box 1
6. 1935 March 1-May 25, 1935.
Box 1
7. 1935 June 8-November 27, 1935.
Box 1
8. 1936 January 14-May 18, 1936.
Box 1
9. 1936 June 1-July 30, 1936.
Box 1
10. 1936 September 15-December 31, 1936.
Box 1
11. 1937 May 1-December 28, 1937.
Box 1
12. 1938 January 13-March 28, 1938.
Box 1
13. 1938 April 13-December 22, 1938.
Box 1
14. 1939 January 27-November 29, 1939.
Box 1
15. 1940 November 4-1941 September 19, 1940-1941.
Box 1
16. 1942 April 21-November 20, 1942.
Box 1
17. 1947 June 28-July 31, 1947.
Box 2
18. 1947 August 2-28, 1947.
Box 2
19. 1947 September 2-December 29, 1947.
Box 2
20. 1948 February 2-May 13, 1948.
Box 2
21. Certificate of medical librarianship, 25 June 1951.
Box 2
1. 1944 September 30-1945 August 30, 1944-1945.
Box 2
2. 1945 September 18-November 27, 1945.
Box 2
3. 1945 December 1-14, 1945.
Box 2
4. 1946 January 15-February 25, 1946.
Box 2
5. 1946 March 1-April 15, 1946.
Box 2

1. 1932 Registration Sheets 1932 June 20-22, 1932.
Box 3
2. 1933 Resolution 1933 June 19, 1933.
Box 3
-Report of the Committee on the Cost of Current Medical Periodicals For the Year 1933-1934, 1933-1934.
Box 3
-Resolution 1934 May 22, 1934.
Box 3
4. 1935 Registration and Program 1935 June 16-19, 1935.
Box 3
5. 1936 Announcement, circa 1936.
Box 3
6. 1937 Report of President, circa 1937.
Box 3
7. 1938 Report of Special Committee of the MLA on Increase in Dues and in Standards of Admission to Membership 1938 December 13, 1938.
Box 3
8. 1939 Registration and Program 1939 June 27-29, 1939.
Box 3
9. 1940 Banquet Menu 1940 June 25, 1940.
Box 3
-Report of Nominating Committee 1942 March 14, 1942.
Box 3
-Program, Banquet Menu, Map, and Name Tag, 1946 March 25-27.
Box 3
-Report of Committee on Periodicals and Serial Publications 1946, 1946.
Box 3
-Report of the Joint Committee on Indexing and Abstracting in Major Fields of Research 1946, 1946.
Box 3
-Programs, Registration, Name Tags, and Minutes, 1947.
Box 3
-Marshall College of Herbals in the Cleveland Medical Library, 1947 March-April.
Box 3
-Proposed Amendments to By-laws 1947 April 14, 1947.
Box 3
-Results of Survey of Abstracting Services in Clinical Medicine 1947 April 22, 1947.
Box 3
-Report of Treasurer 1947 May 19, 1947.
Box 3
-Statement on Rules of Order made by W. B. McDaniel 1947 May 29, 1947.
Box 3
-Advisory Committee on Medical Library Methods, 1947.
Box 3
-American Book Center and Aid to Foreign Libraries, 1947.
Box 3
-Committee on Continuity in Format, 1947.
Box 3
-Committee on Coordinated Abstracting Service for Clinical Medicine, 1947.
Box 3
-Committee on Exchange Rules and Policies, 1947.
Box 3
-Committee on the Handling and Disposal of Foreign Duplicates of the War Years, 1947.
Box 3
-Advisory Committee on Foreign Importations, 1947.
Box 3
-Committee on Periodicals and Serial Publications, 1947.
Box 3
-Committee to Study the Possible Conversion of Exchange Managership to a Full-Time Salaried Position, 1947.
Box 3
-Committee on Training for Medical Librarianship, 1947.
Box 3
-Joint Committee on Hospital Library Service, 1947.
Box 3
-Membership Committee, 1947.
Box 3
-Nominating Committee, 1947.
Box 3
-Registration, Program, General Information, and Miscellaneous, 1948 May 28-30.
Box 3
-Amendments to Ordinances and By-Laws 1948 April 26, 1948.
Box 3
-Questions on Possible Federation of National Library Association 1948, 1948.
Box 3
-Placement Service Survey 1948, 1948.
Box 3
-Report of Nominating Committee 1948, 1948.
Box 3
-Report of Nominating Committee 1957, 1957.
Box 3
15. 1958 Brochure on Refresher Course Program 1958 May 31, 1958.
Box 3

1. James C. Wood obituary, circa 1934.
Box 3
2. ALA Meeting - Program 1935 June, 1935.
Box 3
3. MLA Secretary's Manual 1939, 1939.
Box 3
4. U.S. Treasury Department - Regulations relating to Employees' Tax and the Employers' Tax 1940, 1940.
Box 3
5. Preliminary List of Standard Medical Subheadings from the Library of the New York Academy of Medicine 1942 May 29, 1942.
Box 3
6. Reprints from the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association 1944 April and 1945 July, 1944-1945.
Box 3
7. MLA Financial Records 1945 December 31-1946 February 27, 1945-1946.
Box 3
8. "Libraries Which Have Not Received Certificates" 9. Miscellaneous, 1946 undated.
Box 3

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