Welch History

In 1907, Dr. William Osler envisioned for the Hopkins Medical School, "on the Monument Street front...a beautiful structure in stone devoted to the library and museum." The result of that dream was a central library merging those of the Hopkins Hospital and the Schools of Medicine and Hygiene that began service in the newly-built Welch Library building in the fall of 1929. Col. Fielding H. Garrison, editor of the Index Catalogue, was recruited from the Surgeon General's Library as Librarian. The building was named for Dr. William H. Welch, honoring his role in the creation of the library and in the establishment of the department of the History of Medicine.

The Indiana limestone, Renaissance-style building was designed by Edward L. Tilton and has interiors enriched with seven varieties of marble, painted ceilings, 17th century Flemish tapestries and an ancient statue of Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine. Various portraits of Dr. Welch may be found on the second floor, along with faculty portraits by John Singer Sargent, Cecilia Beaux, Thomas Corner and others. Exhibits of medical interest are displayed in the lobby of the third floor.

Col. Garrison, in addition to being the editor of the Index Catalogue and the Index Medicus, wrote a major text in the history of medicine. He embodied two themes, history and innovation, which have characterized Welch's development ever since.

Between 1948 and 1953, the Medical Indexing Project was established at Welch by Sanford V. Larkey, M.D., Director from 1935 to 1963. This project was the intellectual forebear of Science Citation Index, MeSH headings, and MEDLARS.

Alfred N. Brandon, M.S., Director from 1963 to 1969, strengthened the library staff, collections, and physical plant. Through his efforts, the Library was ready to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing future.

The library collections were brought under computer management by Richard A. Polacsek, M.D., Librarian from 1969 until 1984. Welch was one of the earliest libraries to offer online searching of the literature to its patrons. Welch developed its own integrated library system, one of only three such locally-developed systems in the country. In addition, Dr. Polacsek initiated Welch's satellite library system, providing dispersed services as part of the computer-based network.

Under director Nina Matheson (1984-1993), the library moved into a leadership role in the management and delivery of information through research into medical informatics and in innovative applications of new technologies. Ms. Matheson's original ideas helped reshape the thinking about the changing role of the health sciences library and had a dramatic impact on the Welch organization. From 1993 to 1997, the library was directed by David Kingsbury, Ph.D. Jayne Campbell served as Interim Director from January 1997 through December 1999.

Nancy K. Roderer, current director of Welch Medical Library, began her appointment in January 2000. Strong programs in education and consulting coupled with a continuing commitment to excellent service and technological innovation keep Welch at the forefront of the medical library world.