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September 2000
Volume 64 |
Number 9
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| The Wood Library-Museum
– Reflecting ASA Values |
Douglas R. Bacon,
M.D., Board of Trustees Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology
One of the best-kept secrets in Park Ridge,
Illinois, is the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology (WLM).
Nestled in the headquarters building of ASA, the WLM serves as
an active library with over 9,000 volumes and subscriptions to
over 80 journals and as a repository of ASA documents. The museum
collection contains instruments and machines that literally trace
the history of anesthesiology from October 16, 1846, until today.
In many ways, the WLM helps to define ASA through its collections
and reference materials.
What few people realize is that the WLM
is perhaps the finest library devoted to anesthesiology in the
country. Every journal that publishes in the specialty is represented
in the stacks of the library. From common journals such as Anesthesiology
and Anesthesia & Analgesia to the more obscure Chinese language
Chinese Journal of Anesthesiology, references can be pulled and
sent to investigators around the world. Assistant Librarian Karen
Bieterman answers more than 100 calls per month from across the
country and the world. Ms. Bieterman's activities reflects the
WLM's hard-working, dedicated staff where, just like in ASA, service
comes first.
The first floor of the headquarters building
contains a display area used by the WLM. This museum area traces
part of the history of anesthesiology and changes as the collection
grows and matures. The brainchild of the WLM’s honorary curator,
George S. Bause, M.D., the exhibition combines large objects such
as anesthesia machines and smaller pieces such as needle display,
each of which trace a unique part of the history of the specialty.
Under his dynamic leadership, the WLM has been able to obtain
many rare pieces of anesthetic equipment, including an 1860s vintage
nitrous machine and several ether inhalers from the latter half
of the 19th century. Equipment aside, careers of the leaders of
ASA during its formative years in the 1930s play a central role
in the exhibit space. Thus by strolling through the space, a sense
of the history of both ASA and the specialty is gained.
Behind the scenes, the archive collection
awaits scholarly use. Collections Supervisor Judith A. Robbins
works diligently to see that the museum artifacts and archival
collections receive proper care. It is in the archives that the
history of ASA is preserved. From the original minutes of the
Long Island Society of Anesthetists to the most current Handbook
for Delegates, the archival collection documents the course and
values of ASA. In addition, private papers of leading anesthesiologists
of the 20th century give a full picture of the times and evolution
of anesthesiology.
The WLM, like ASA, has undergone a tremendous
evolution. The library saw its inception in the 1930s when Paul
M. Wood, M.D., donated his collection of books and antique equipment
to ASA. Housed in the late 1930s in the Squibb building in New
York, it was the destination of many anesthesiologists when they
visited New York. The sign-in book lists many names of prominent
20th century anesthesiologists such as Emery A. Rovenstine, M.D.,
John S. Lundy, M.D., Ralph M. Waters, M.D., and E.M. Papper, M.D.,
who put the library to good use. But when ASA left the Squibb
building, the WLM had several temporary homes. Vincent J. Collins,
M.D., came to the WLM's rescue by arranging for the collection
to be stored in a brownstone across from St. Vincent’s Hospital
in New York. For some time, the WLM collection found its home
at the boathouse of the Foregger Company in Roslyn, Long Island,
until the anesthetic equipment company sold its property. Afterward,
the WLM collection returned to Dr. Wood's residence in Highland
Falls, New York.
In 1961, after ASA built its first building
in Park Ridge, Illinois, a two-story annex was planned and funds
were raised by ASA to build a permanent home for the WLM. It was
dedicated a year later, but its founder, Dr. Wood, did not live
to see it. He died a few months before its dedication. The collection
now had a permanent home, and the challenge before the WLM was
to grow and develop. Many anesthesiologists helped in the growing
process. Among them, Albert M. Betcher, M.D., helped establish
the endowment fund. Charles C. Tandy, M.D., and K. Garth Huston,
Sr., M.D., developed the rare book collection. Today, as Dr. Tandy
continues to apply his unique and generous talents to this collection,
the WLM rare book and document collections contain such gems as
Morton's patent application, several copies of Pauchet's book
on regional anesthesia and one of the most complete sets of 19th
century literature on mesmerism.
For the last 29 years, the WLM has been
watched over by its Head Librarian, Patrick P. Sim. Mr. Sim has
seen tremendous growth in the WLM, from one librarian and several
hundred volumes to the several thousand volumes and the many hundreds
of requests for information handled each year. Under the watchful
eyes of Mr. Sim, Ms. Bieterman and Ms. Robbins, research scholars
in the form of Paul Wood Fellows descend upon the holdings each
year. Yet Mr. Sim still takes time to assure his own scholarly
activity. He is authoring a forthcoming annotated bibliography
on the WLM's rare book collection and, in addition, he has become
an expert on the history of 20th century Chinese anesthesiology.
The Wood Library-Museum is a unique resource
for ASA and all of its members, and it is an important component
of the education mission of ASA. While political issues tend to
get most of the attention, the WLM strives to help anesthesiologists
with current knowledge needs. The WLM also preserves current documents
and objects for future study while preserving the pasts of both
the specialty and ASA. Without this ongoing work, education about
current issues and the history of ASA and the specialty would
be lost.
As ASA approaches its 100th anniversary
in 2005, it is time to reflect on where the specialty has been
and where it is going. The WLM is uniquely positioned to help
ASA and the specialty as a whole move into the 21st century in
a new and exciting way.
Douglas
R. Bacon, M.D., is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Mayo
Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
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