Dartmouth Library Collection Development Policy

The Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) was founded by Nathan Smith on November 22, 1797. Its early graduates received M.B. degrees, beginning in 1798. The M.D. degree was first awarded in 1812. The first Ph.D. degree was awarded in 1966.

The 1910 Flexner Report on medical education nationwide found that DMS had an inadequate patient base for clinical training. As a result, the final two years of the M.D. program were suspended in 1913. DMS concentrated on preparation of students in the basic sciences; the students transferred to other institutions to complete their degrees. In 1970, the M.D. program was reinstated with a 3-year curriculum; the first M.D. degrees since 1914 were conferred in 1973. A 4-year curriculum was adopted in 1979. The New Directions curriculum, including a "longitudinal clinical experience," was adopted in 1994.

The Center for Evaluative Clinical Studies, the nation's first graduate program in evaluative clinical sciences was established in 1993.

The Genetics Department became DMS's newest academic department in 1999.

Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital (MHMH) was founded in 1893 with DMS faculty as its medical staff. Graduate medical education was offered at MHMH beginning in 1894. The MHMH School of Nursing operated from 1893 to 1977. The Hitchcock Clinic was established in 1927. The White River Junction Veterans Administration Hospital (WRJ-VA) became a teaching affiliate in 1946. The Norris Cotton Cancer Center opened in 1972. DMS, MHMH, and WRJ-VA joined in 1973 to form the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC). A new facility called the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, incorporating the hospital, physicians' offices, research labs, and teaching space, opened its doors in October 1991.

The Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital is part of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Alliance, a federation of hospitals in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic has regional clinics in New Hampshire and Vermont. (The Alliance and the Clinic both added the Dartmouth name in 1999 to become the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Alliance and the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic.) DMS has teaching affiliations with health care practitioners and clinical facilities throughout the region and beyond.

Dana Biomedical Library opened in 1963. Matthews-Fuller Health Sciences Library opened in 1992 at the new medical center. The Libraries serve DMS faculty and students wherever they may be - in Hanover, Lebanon, or across the country. The Libraries also serve personnel based at DHMC in Lebanon or at hospitals which have contracted for services.

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GENERAL PURPOSE

The Dana Biomedical Library on the Dartmouth College campus and the Matthews-Fuller Health Sciences Library at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center are two units of the Dartmouth College Library system and comprise the Biomedical Libraries. The mission of the Biomedical Libraries is to identify, develop, and provide resources and services that are responsive to the biological and medical information needs of the Dartmouth Medical School, the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (The Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital and The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic/Northern Region), and Dartmouth College -- principally the Department of Biological Sciences. The collection is split between the primarily clinical Matthews-Fuller Health Sciences Library and the primarily research and teaching collection in the Dana Biomedical Library. For the purposes of this policy, the split collections are considered as one.

The collection in medicine is used not only by the Dartmouth Medical School but also by the Dartmouth College Departments of Biological Sciences, Anthropology, Chemistry, Environmental Studies, Psychological and Brain Sciences, and others. The many old and rare books are of particular interest to scholars in history, literature, classics, and the fine arts.

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DARTMOUTH MEDICAL SCHOOL PROGRAM

The Dartmouth Medical School consists of 15 departments: Anatomy, Anesthesiology, Biochemistry, Community and Family Medicine, Genetics, Medicine, Microbiology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Physiology, Psychiatry, Radiology and Surgery. It also encompasses the Center for Evaluative and Clinical Sciences, the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Psychiatry Associates, and the C. Everett Koop Institute. Faculty research interests include all areas of clinical medicine, cancer and its prevention, health services and medical outcomes, epidemiology, cell and molecular biology, immunology, genetics, and professional ethics.

The Medical School has more than 600 full-time faculty members and over 800 part-time and adjunct faculty. There are about 300 medical students and about 150 graduate students. The Graduate Medical Education program at DHMC supports 33 residency and fellowship programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education for a house staff of over 250.

The courses of instruction in the School lead to the M.D., M.D./Ph.D., M.D./M.B.A., M.S., or Ph.D. degrees. The combined M.D./Ph.D. program integrates medical studies with the College's doctoral programs in other disciplines: Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Mathematics, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Physics and Astronomy, Physiology, or Psychological and Brain Sciences. Medical students may also work on a combined M.D./Ph.D (in biomedical engineering) with the Thayer School of Engineering or an M.D./M.B.A. degree with the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration. The Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences (CECS) offers M.S., Ph.D., and Post-Doctoral Fellowships programs focusing on health care evaluation, medical decision-making, and health policy. CECS also offers a dual degree program with the Tuck School.

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GENERAL SUBJECT BOUNDARIES

The Biomedical Libraries' collections cover the clinical, research, and teaching interests of faculty and students in the Dartmouth Medical School, the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and the Department of Biological Sciences. There are general strengths in anatomy, physiology, and Dartmouth Medical School history.

The collections at Dana Biomedical Library cover the scope of research, clinical, and curriculum needs of the Libraries' users. The collections at the Matthews-Fuller Health Sciences Library are primarily clinical and include a small consumer health collection. To provide dual adequate collections at two sites, the goal is to minimize duplication and to maximize usefulness, insofar as possible, by tailoring each site's collection to the probable users at that site. The underlying assumption is that the collections at the Matthews-Fuller Library serve a user base with primarily clinical interests. However, since some strong basic science research programs are based at DHMC, non-clinical research journals are also required. After the initial collection split in early 1992, many adjustments have been made to accommodate changing needs and departmental relocations. Matthews-Fuller is a very small facility; many journals that should be at Matthews-Fuller are housed at Dana.

Medicine is increasingly interdisciplinary and the boundaries of research and clinical medicine continue to blur. There is much interest in molecular and cellular biology as they relate to medicine; sociological and economic issues influence the practice of medicine and research interests. Any of the Dartmouth libraries might collect material that is relevant to medical research. For example, Baker Library collects in psychology, anthropology, ethics, sociological and political perspectives in medicine, and economic health care issues. It maintains most of the U.S. government documents. Feldberg collects materials in biomedical engineering, medicine and business, health care administration, and biotechnology.

See the policy statements for Anthropology , Biology, Business Administration, Chemistry, Engineering , Environmental Studies, Geography, Government Documents - U.S., History of Science, Nursing , Psychology , Sociology , all of which indicate areas of common interest.

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LANGUAGES

English is the predominant language of world-wide medical publishing. Non-English titles, especially German and French, are acquired when needed.

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GEOGRAPHIC AREAS

Medical publishing describes subjects which are largely independent of geography. Comprehensive coverage of medical issues particularly relevant to Vermont and New Hampshire is attempted.

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TYPES OF MATERIAL COLLECTED

The emphasis is on serials, with nearly 90% of the information resources budget going towards subscriptions or licenses. Monographs are none-the-less an important part of the collection. Dana has a collection of U.S. government documents; after Baker/Berry opens in 2000, the Dana SuDocs collection in print and microform will be transferred there. There is a small but significant collection of books, journals, and videos for patients and their families.

The collection includes both current material and rare and antiquarian materials. Except for antiquarian materials, most books considered for purchase are quite current; materials published more than five years ago are purchased very selectively. Monographs are weeded regularly since clinical material becomes obsolete rapidly. Older editions of prominent textbooks may be kept for historical perspective but most monographs are withdrawn as they are superceded by new material.

While emphasis is on the collection of current materials, the Library continues to acquire (primarily through gifts) rare and antiquarian books and good facsimiles of early works in medicine to enhance the existing strong historical collections of anatomy, physiology, and Dartmouth Medical School history.

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FORMAT OF MATERIALS COLLECTED

No format is excluded. Print is still the predominant format but digital information resources, primarily Web-based, are increasing rapidly in importance. The Biomedical Libraries have a widely dispersed clientele and electronic full-text books and journals are essential to providing service to users at the two main campuses and across the region. Audiovisual, slide, realia, and computer-assisted instruction programs are purchased as they are requested or appear relevant.

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SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND MANUSCRIPTS

There is a significant special collection at the Dana Biomedical Library that contains old and rare materials in the biomedical sciences. For example, we have a series of original and facsimile works by and about Andreas Vesalius, including:

Valverde, Juan de. 1560. Anatomia del corpo humano composta per Giouan Valuerde di Hamusco; & da luy con molte figure di rame, et eruditi discorsi in luce mandata. Roma, A. Salamanca et A. Lafrerj.
Vesalius, Andreas. 1542. Andreae Vesalii suorum De humani corporis fabrica librorum epitome. Patauij.
Vesalius, Andreas. 1555. Andreae Vesalii Brvxellensis, invictissimi Caroli V. Imperatoris medici, de humani corporis fabrica libri septem. Basileae, per Ioannem Oporinum.
Vesalius, Andreas. MDXXXIX. Epistola, docens uenam axillarem dextri cubiti in dolore laterali secandam: & melancholicum succum ex uenae portae ramis ad sedem pertinentibus, purgari. Basiliae [In officina Roberti VVinter, mense aprili, anno M.D.XXXIX]

Another treasure is:

Hooke, Robert. 1665. Micrographia: or, Some physiological descriptions of minute bodies made by magnifying glasses. With observations and inquiries thereupon. By R. Hooke. London, Printed by J. Martyn and J. Allestry.

Dartmouth Medical School and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center publications are also archived.

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OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE

Other libraries in the Dartmouth College system acquire resources that are important to DMS, DHMC, and Biological Sciences. The VA has a small library and the Biomedical Libraries have a cooperative relationship with personnel there. Various departments in DMS and DHMC maintain small libraries, including Medicine, Physiology, Radiology, and the Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC).

The Biomedical Libraries are a Resource Library in the National Network of Libraries of Medicine program of the National Library of Medicine. This program and others support the Biomedical Libraries' interlibrary loan services. The Biomedical Libraries rely heavily on interlibrary borrowing to supplement the local collections.

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