ASA March 2003 Newsletter

“Could someone help us?”

An expert on chloroform usage in the 1930s was being sought for an upcoming episode of a Fox television network series. Questions such as this one are not uncommon for the staff at ASA’s Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology. All media questions are first routed through ASA’s Communications Department, and the WLM staff often does the research. For this particular inquiry, the writer from Fox was referred to a renowned expert on the historical development of chloroform.

Working for an association library is both satisfying and rewarding. Whether we are assisting a student on a National History Day project or supplying images for an upcoming lecture, each day is unique. Inquiries to the WLM cover a wide range of topics and keep the librarians and archivist exceptionally busy. We field more than 100 requests per month and each in a timely manner. In addition, the WLM also does other projects such as reference verification for the ASA’s Self-Education and Evaluation (SEE) Program.

Many patrons are referred to the recently updated ASA Web site for a wealth of information. Information on practice parameters, ASA standards, guidelines and statements, the ASA Physical Status Classification System and practice management articles are sometimes just a “click” away. The newly expanded “Career Information” page is a help to students of all ages looking for information on a career in anesthesiology. Over the years, the increasing number of inquiries regarding the ASA Physical Status Classification System prompted the September 2002 “Ventilations” column by Editor Mark J. Lema, M.D., Ph.D., in the ASA NEWSLETTER and can be read online along with the other NEWSLETTER articles. Older issues are available in the library.

Along with the many historical questions that the library receives, including requests regarding the historical background of the Relative Value Guide and the American College of Anesthesiologists, the library staff also performs literature searches. Searches are done on a wide range of topics that run the gamut from preoperative evaluation to postoperative care, critical care, pain management, pharmacology, subspecialties and many more topics. Searches on anesthesia for bariatric surgery, postoperative nausea and vomiting, epidural steroid injections and the shortage of anesthesiologists are several of the recent inquiries put to the staff.

Although ASA has never surveyed its members for salary information, the library receives many requests for this type of data. To help provide such information, we carry the most recent editions of the American Medical Association’s Physician Socioeconomic Statistics and the Medical Group Management Association’s Physician Compensation and Production Survey in our collection.

Whether you are looking for a copy of a refresher course lecture, Annual Meeting scientific paper abstract or anesthesia journal article, it can all be found at the WLM. If we are unable to answer a particular question ourselves, we will do our best to refer you to the appropriate resource. We recently provided photos from our collection for enlargement to enrich a department’s anesthesia reading room. The WLM contributed photos for Julie M. Fenster’s Ether Day, published by HarperCollins, and has supplied countless images for PowerPoint™ presentations by ASA members as well as reference material.

Information regarding the WLM and its services, publications and programs can be found on our Web site at <www.asahq.org/wlm>. Please contact us by e-mail at <wlm@asahq.org>, by telephone at (847) 825-5586 or by fax (847) 825-1692.

WLM Anesthesia Historian Laureate 2004 Nominations Invited

The Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology (WLM) is now accepting nominations for the third WLM Anesthesia Historian Laureate. The deadline for receipt of nominations is July 1, 2003.

Established in 1994, this program seeks to recognize the work of scholars who have made significant contributions to the rich history of our specialty. The honor is awarded every four years by the WLM to an individual selected from nomination applicants who has a demonstrable record of contributing outstanding, original materials related to the history of our specialty as reflected by articles published in peer-reviewed journals and/or in monographs. The first Laureate, Gwenifer Wilson, M.D., of Sydney, Australia, was honored in 1996. The second Co-Laureates recognized in 2000 were the late Norman A. Bergman, M.D. (1926-99), and Thomas B. Boulton, M.D., Ch.B.

The Laureate Program is international in scope, and all physician and medical historian nominations are welcome, not just anesthesiologists.

Additional information may be obtained by contacting the WLM Laureate Committee at the Wood Library-Museum, 520 N. Northwest Highway, Park Ridge, IL 60068-2573; telephone (847) 825-5586; or by visiting the WLM Web site at <www.ASAhq.org/wlm>.

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