The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1938-06-11
ARMY LIBRARY
OF HIGH VALUE
New Building Urged; Sen
ate Told Rare Tones
Kept in Fire Trap

WASHINGTON, June IL. (UP)
Sen. Morris Sheppard, D., Tex,
has asked congress to spend 3d.
100000 to rehouse the Army
Medical Library, greatest in the
world, and the Army Medical Mu-
scum, the finest in America, now
located in dilapidated quarters
dating from 1887.
The library, begun by the sur
geon general of the army in 1886,
when it occupied a corner of his
office, now contains nearly $780,
600 books on medical subjects.
Counting pamphlets, theses and
other manuscripts, the collection
numbers more than a million vol
umes.
1t contains more complete
file Of French theses than the
library of the medical faculty of
Paris. 1t possesses the only COM
plete file of the Confederate
States Medical and Historical
Journal. Of the 600 existing med
ical "incunabula," OF books pub
lished before 1900, the library
owns 400, some being the only
examples surviving.
OLDEST VOLUME DATED 1867
The oldest is Johannes Ger
sons Ode Pollutione Nocturna,"
Cologne, 1467. There is also a
perfect copy of the first printed
book on child care, Bagellardo's
De Infantium Aegritudinibus,"
Padua, 1472, an account of the
most advanced" parctices at the
time of it's publication.
Of equal value is the library's
stupendous index catalogue, call
ed by the late DR.. VIM. H. Welch
of Johns Hopkins Americas
greatest gift to medicine" Sir
William Osler, father of modern
surgery, once said of it: "In no
other field of knowledge is there
a work comparable to this, the
worlds standard Of medical bibli-
ography."
"The unique feature of the sur
geon generals library is that it
contains all worthwhile medical
literature, which is made avail
able by the most complete index
catalogue in existence" Sheppard
said. Concentrated in one insti-
tuition, and administered by the
government on a most liberal
plan, this institution makes avail
able source material for medical
study, research and education.
It's influence on the progress of
medicine has been fundamental"
BOOKS LENT TO
UNIVERSITIES
BY an "inter-library loan sys-
tem," all but the rarest books are
sent out to scholars of repute
throughout the country. The lead
ing users of the $4,000 volumes
sent out last year were Yale, Nc
Gill, Columbia and Michigan uni
versities, as we'll as many hos
pitals and clinics, including the
Mayo Foundation.
The library also indexes the
important articles from the 1000
medical periodicals it receives
from almost every country.
The musuem, begun during the
Civil War, contains pathological
specimens from all theatres of
war since that time, as we'll as
exhibits showing the progress of
medical practice. Its seven sec
tons or "registries" deal with
eye, ear, nose and throat pathol-
ogy, tumors of all sorts, skin, |
dental and oral pathology.
REAL GROWTH SINCE 1900
Though it was begun 100 years
ago, the real founders of the IL
brary were Colonel John Shaw |
Billings and his assistant, DR..
Robert Fletcher, who took charge
of it Immediately after the Civil ,
war, when it numbered only 1000 !
volumes. In 20 years it had be- |,
come the largest and finest in the |
world, Billings also designed the
Johns Hopkins hospital, and the!