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On Tuesday, September 17th the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library will join Yale University Library in celebration of Constitution Day with a reading of the U.S. Constitution. The reading will take place from 12pm - 1:30pm at the entrance of the medical library. All are invited to listen and/or join in reciting this historic document. Free pocket-sized copies of the Constitution will also be available!  

The method for accessing Ovid will change in Fall 2019. Users who want to keep saved searches or auto alerts must follow the steps below to migrate their account.   How to migrate your saved searches and auto alerts:    Follow the steps below:   1. Go to the Ovid landing page   2. Select “Start Ovid”   3. Select “My Account” (top-right corner)   4. Select “Create Account”   5. When creating your account:  Your “Personal Account Name” should be your yale.edu email (e.g.: jane.smith@yale.edu) Your “Password” should be: password Note: You can change your password after saved searches have been transferred to your new account. 6. Once you have created your account, please contact AskYaleMedicalLibrary@yale.edu to initiate the account migration process.

The Medical Historical Library is pleased to announce the addition of a new collection to our archives: The Hall-Benedict Drug Company Logbooks and Ledgers (Ms Coll 66), a collection of seventy-five volumes and six boxes, that documents the history of one of the oldest independent drug stores in Connecticut. The collection includes bound prescription logbooks and bound and loose financial ledgers from the Hall-Benedict Drug Company, which was in operation from 1909 to 1998 in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut. The collection contains an almost continuous record of the pharmacy’s operations from 1909 to 1970 and is a wonderful resource for researchers interested in the history of pharmaceuticals, pharmacies in the twentieth century, and business in New Haven. The collection was a gift from Thomas F. and Helen Formichella. History The Hall-Benedict Drug Company was formed in 1909 when Alonzo Benton Hall took on Edward N. Benedict as junior partner. Both men had previous experience in the pharmacy business. Before forming the partnership, Hall operated a pharmacy on Chapel Street in New Haven and Benedict had worked as a druggist and a clerk. Following a national trend of small businesses opening in emerging neighborhoods, they opened the Hall-Benedict Drug Company at 767 Orange Street, a new three-story building located on the northern edge of development in East Rock, New Haven. The business and the business partners were well integrated with the neighborhood. Alonzo Hall and his family lived above the business and Edward Benedict and his family lived on Bishop Street, a few blocks south. The pharmacy provided a message service for local physicians, who would stop by after making house calls, had a bicycle delivery service for customers who couldn’t leave home, and the pharmacy’s soda fountain was a popular hang-out for children from nearby schools and busloads of visitors to East Rock Park. The Hall-Benedict Drug Company remained in operation at 767 Orange Street until 1998, when the business was closed. By that time, they had dispensed over a million prescriptions. During the eighty-nine years it was in operation the Hall-Benedict Drug Company was a family run business. After senior partner Alonzo Benton Hall's death in 1923, junior partner Edward N. Benedict purchased his share and became sole owner of the company and the property. In 1949, Edward N. Benedict died, and ownership of the business and property passed to his wife, M. Katherine Benedict, and after her death to the Benedict's children, Mary Benedict Killion, Frank D. Benedict, and Edward J. Benedict. In 1977 Thomas F. Formichella Jr., Edward N. Benedict’s nephew, who had been with the company since 1953, purchased the business and property and ran the pharmacy until the business was closed in 1998. He passed away in 2007 and his family retained ownership of the 767 Orange Street building until recently. You can still see the Hall-Benedict Drug Company building with the original pharmacy sign capped with the mortar and pestle emblem, ancient symbol of druggists, at the corner of Linden and Orange Streets in New Haven, CT. Prescription Logbooks The Hall-Benedict Drug Company collection includes fifty-two prescription logbooks dating from June 3, 1909 to March 14, 1970. The logbooks are organized by date and each hand-written entry includes a prescription number, the name of a medication, and a name, most likely that of the prescribing physician. In 1909, when the Hall-Benedict Drug Company opened, pharmaceutical companies were producing some medications, but most prescription medicines were made to order by local pharmacies, a process known as “compounding.” Entries in the earlier logbooks of this collection often include the formulas for compounding the medication and directions for patients, which makes them especially interesting. The pharmacists also used the blank spaces inside the book covers to write down useful information, such as formulas for non-prescription medications and products sold by the pharmacy and contact information for local vendors, or to paste in newspaper articles about new medicines or other topics of interest. These logbooks provide researchers with a wealth of details about the use and preparation of medications during a significant time in the history of medicine. Financial Ledgers The Hall-Benedict Drug Company collection also includes 22 volumes and six boxes of financial ledgers dating from May 7, 1909 to December 31, 1967 that contain hand written entries recording income and expenses for the pharmacy. Most of the financial ledgers contain daily income and expense entries with monthly totals, but there are also expense details, summaries and adjustments, balance sheets, profit and loss reports, and a payroll journal. The financial ledgers trace the growth of the business and relationships with vendors, including many local businesses, over a span of almost sixty years. Even for those unfamiliar with accounting, these ledgers provide a wonderfully detailed glimpse into the financial realities of operating a pharmacy in the twentieth century and operating a local family owned business in New Haven. See the Collection All materials in Ms Coll 66 The Hall-Benedict Drug Company Logbooks and Ledgers are open for research and may be requested through Archives at Yale. Selected materials are currently on view in the exhibition cases in the Medical Historical Library reading room through November 2019. Images from top to bottom: 1. Three pharmacists at the Hall-Benedict Drug Company look through prescription logbooks to refill an old prescription. Photo from “A Pioneer Drug Store Fills a Million Prescriptions.” New Haven Register Magazine, December 18, 1960, page 4. 2. John H. Korn, who started with the Hall-Benedict Drug Company in 1917, working at the soda fountain. Orange Street and the lower portion of the sign are visible through the front window. Photo from “A Pioneer Drug Store Fills a Million Prescriptions.” New Haven Register Magazine, December 18, 1960, page 4. 3. Hall-Benedict Drug Company building today with the original sign, East Rock Park is visible in the background. 4. Page from the first prescription logbook used by the Hall-Benedict Drug Company. Prescription entries in this logbook include formulas for compounding medicines and instructions for patients. 

Grant Wood’s American Gothic Repurposed and Several Anti-Smoking Acquisitions on view now at the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library. “American Gothic” is one of the best known works by an American artist. Iowa native Grant Wood was inspired by the small town Iowan home in Gothic Revival style and asked his sister and his dentist to pose for the painting as father and daughter residents of the well kept property.   To many viewers of “American Gothic” the scene was, and is, interpreted as a satire on rural life, but Wood avowed that the painting portrayed traditional American values, pointing out the residents’ resilience, fortitude and pride. The painting was first exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1930 where it won a prize of $300. It remains on view at the Art Institute.   Currently on display in the medical library hallway leading to the rotunda are:   Bruce McGillivray's Recycling, An Iowa Way of Life, Iowa Recycling Association, 1988. Purchased through the John F. Fulton Fund 2018   Marcia Cooper's We Can Live Without Nuclear Power, 1979. Purchased through the John F. Fulton Fund 2018   S. Cooper's Crop Rotation Pays, no date. Screen print. Copyright Compass Points, Memphis, Tenn. Purchased through the Lucia Fulton Fund 2016   About our collection This year, sixty-seven posters were acquired for the Historical Medical Poster Collection, a few of which are currently on display in the Cushing/Whitney Medical Library. The library regularly acquires posters, prints, drawings, instruments, manuscripts, rare books, and other objects and materials of interest in the understanding of medical and public health issues over time.  The library’s special collections holdings are available for use in classes and for study. To use these materials, contact the Historical Library or your departmental librarian.

Would you like to grow and thrive professionally in a collaborative, supportive, and user-centered environment? Do you enjoy working with students? Come work with us!   The Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library (CWML) at Yale seeks a proactive, service-oriented, and creative Research and Education Librarian (Librarian I-II) to support the research and education needs of medical and graduate students at the Yale School of Medicine.   As a member of the Research and Education Team, the successful candidate will be responsible for the coordination, development, and refinement of the CWML Personal Librarian program for students at the Yale School of Medicine. The Research and Education Librarian will also participate in the library's general education program and provide reference and research services to the wide range of library patrons that the CWML serves. This position reports to the Assistant Director for Research and Education Services.   For a complete position description and to apply please visit bit.ly/YaleCareers-57215BR.  Application review will begin on September 3, 2019 and continue until the position is filled.   Please note: The successful candidate's start date will be on or after January 2, 2020. FULL POSITION DESCRIPTION Research and Education Librarian Cushing/Whitney Medical Library Yale University Rank:  Librarian I-II Schedule: Full-time (37.5 hours/week); standard work week (M-F, 8:30 – 5:00) Start date: January 2, 2020 Position Focus: The Research and Education Librarian will design and participate in the medical library's efforts for reference, instruction, and outreach to students in the School of Medicine. The librarian will  teach in the medical library's general instruction program; and offer reference services to the general clientele of the medical center. The Research and Education Librarian will oversee strategic planning and day-to-day coordination of the medical library’s Personal Librarian (PL) program. This enthusiastic, user-centered individual will primarily design and implement the library’s outreach program to students in the Yale School of Medicine, as well as assist and advise on PL outreach efforts across the Medical Center.  Through instruction and consultation, the librarian works to enable students, faculty, clinicians, and researchers to leverage information and data resources to the fullest. With experience using a wide range of bibliographic databases, both biomedical and general, the librarian develops and provides training/instruction in the use of knowledge management, information and data resources, tools, and strategies including evidence-based searching, systematic reviews, and content management tools. This position reports to the Assistant Director of Research and Education Services and is a member of a dedicated team of research and education librarians. Position Responsibilities: Directs the Personal Librarian program for School of Medicine students, including the creation of marketing materials, implementation of outreach strategies, planning new student orientations, and other outreach initiatives. Collaborates with colleagues on the Research and Education Team who support students of all levels throughout the Medical Center, including the Yale School of Nursing, the Yale School of Public Health, the Yale Physician Associate Program, the Yale Physician Assistant Online Program, and the Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences to prepare outreach materials, orientation sessions, and other resources. May also collaborate with Clinical Librarians in support of outreach initiatives to clinical departments. Participates in the medical library's general education program and prepares and presents a range of in-person classes on various topics, including biomedical databases and platforms (e.g., PubMed, Ovid, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus), citation management tools, biomedical research strategies, enhancing research impact, and in-depth citation analysis. Classes may be held in the library or other campus locations. Provides in-depth reference, information, research and consultation services for students, faculty, and researchers throughout the research life cycle. Provides training in the use of knowledge management and information resources, tools, and strategies including evidence-based searching, systematic reviews, content management tools, databases, mobile apps, etc. Serves as point person for referrals from the Information Desk, which is staffed by a team of clerical and technical staff members. Creates and maintains online guides, websites, and other research support tools. Collaborates with fellow librarians and other providers of information resources to support research and education. Participates in departmental, library, and system-wide planning, and engages in campus, regional and national professional organizations and collaborative activities. Monitors developments and best practices elsewhere to help ensure the excellence of Yale’s research and education support services and collections. May work with the Collection Development and Scholarly Communication Librarian and the Marketing Committee to evaluate and select information resources in all formats and to promote these resources to library users. May serve as a project manager for a variety of short-term and long-term projects. May serve as a liaison to departments or centers within the Medical Center. Serves on departmental and library system-wide committees. Demonstrates professional development and service through publication and/or active membership in professional organizations. May be required to assist in disaster recovery efforts. May perform other duties as assigned. Skills and Abilities Demonstrated commitment to providing excellent customer service and a passion for engaging with learners at all levels. Demonstrated ability to prioritize, multi-task, and meet deadlines, and to conceptualize new solutions to problems with creativity and flexibility. Innovative, resourceful, flexible, and collegial. Ability to work successfully both independently and collaboratively in a diverse team environment, and to effectively build partnerships and promote the library. Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing and work well with colleagues and library patrons, individually and in groups. Required Education and Experience Master’s degree from an ALA-accredited library school Demonstrated excellent interpersonal, analytical, and communication skills, both oral and written, including the ability to actively listen, understand and articulate user needs. Experience working collegially and cooperatively within and across organizations. Experience working collaboratively and independently with varied groups within a complex organization and rapidly changing, team environment. Demonstrated ability to plan, prioritize, coordinate, and implement projects and bring them to a conclusion in a timely fashion. Preferred Education, Experience and Skills Familiarity and experience with adult learning theory and instruction with adult learners. Experience designing and conducting library instruction. Experience working with and knowledge of biomedical research resources. Experience with assessment, educational technology and instructional design. Experience working in an academic or health sciences library.