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FRIENDS OF THE P.I.

NIXON MEDICAL HISTORICAL LIBRARY

NEWSLETTER
The Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library are committed to the growth, development and use of an exceptional collection of books, manuscripts, and other materials relating to the history of medicine and the health sciences. The collection was originally established through the efforts of Dr. Pat Ireland Nixon (1883-1965), who was born in Guadalupe County, attended Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and later built a practice in San Antonio. Your membership in the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library and your gifts to the library are of enormous value. They help to assure that we will be able to maintain, build and promote the use of the collection, both on the campus of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and in the academic communities of the surrounding area. Contact the library: Telephone: 210-567-2400 Fax: 210-567-2490 7703 Floyd Curl Drive San Antonio, TX 78229-3900 http://library.uthscsa.edu

No. 27

Annual Newsletter

Fall 2011

Doctors and Dollars May Not Always Be Enough!


Fernando Guerra, M.D. to deliver annual dinner presentation
Dr. Fernando Guerra, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P., clinical professor of pediatrics at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and recently retired director of health for the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, will be the speaker at the 41st Annual Meeting, Dinner and Presentation of the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library. The event will take place Monday, November 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel Airport. The topic of Dr. Guerras presentation, Doctors and Dollars May Not Always Be Enough! will provide the occasion for him to reflect on the health care system and measurable progress in the delivery of health care over the past forty years. Dr. Guerra will also consider ongoing challenges and opportunities, especially in light of the Affordable Health Care Act. How is it possible to fill the gaps when doctors and dollars may not be enough? We invite the Friends, their guests, and all those interested in the history of medicine to a terrific presentation and an enjoyable evening of good food and conversation. Please send the enclosed invitation and membership renewal form by October 31 to reserve your place. We look forward to hearing from you!

41ST ANNUAL MEETING


Dinner and Presentation

"Doctors and Dollars May Not Always Be Enough!" Fernando Guerra, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P.
Monday, November 7, 2011 Cash bar: 6:30 p.m. Dinner: 7:00 p.m. Appetizer, entre, dessert, coffee or tea Doubletree Hotel 37 NE Loop 410 at McCullough Cost: $40/person; $30 for students includes Friends membership Advance registration required Please RSVP by October 31, 2011 (see enclosed reservation form)

No. 27

Annual Newsletter

Fall 2011

In 2010 a Gift from Virginia and Charles Bowden Enhanced the Archives
The Libraries received a generous gift in December, 2010 from Virginia Bowden, Ph.D., library director emeritus, and Charles Bowden, M.D., clinical professor of psychiatry and pharmacology, to enhance the development of the University Archives. The archives house historically significant records of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, including publications, correspondence of key officials, minutes of meetings and student yearbooks, as well as photographs and papers belonging to many early San Antonio physicians. Recently, materials from the archives have been used to research publications such as The Crown Jewel: The Story of the First 50 Years Drs. Virginia and Charles Bowden of The University of Texas Health Science Center, and for exhibits. Archival materials have been used in genealogy searches, by students exploring topics in medical ethics and public health, and by researchers interested in the history of medicine in San Antonio and Texas. Current archives projects include the development of a digital collection of important materials in the archives, processing of photographs and negatives received from Academic Technology Services and the Ruth Stewart nursing archives scrapbooks, and the creation of finding aids available via the Internet for manuscript collections of prominent San Antonio physicians. The Bowdens gift will provide salary support for the maintenance and ongoing development of the collection by a librarian devoted to the University Archives. Virginia and Charles Bowden encourage other members of the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library to make a financial contribution to support development of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio University Archives. Individuals who are considering a major gift should contact Rajia Tobia, executive director of libraries: 567-2413 or email Tobia@uthscsa.edu.

Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library Board of Directors, 2010-2011
President: Robert V. Blystone, Ph.D. Vice-President/President-Elect: David P. Cappelli, D.M.D., Ph.D. Past-President 2009-2010: Julie K. Brown, Ph.D. Secretary/Treasurer: Rajia Tobia, A.M.L.S. Members-at-Large: Adelita Cantu, Ph.D., R.N. James Henry, M.D. Charles W. Sargent, Ph.D.

Library Staff, 2010-2011


Pennie Borchers, M.L.S. (retired), special collections librarian Susan Hunnicutt, M.A., M.L.I.S, special projects librarian

No. 27

Annual Newsletter

Fall 2011

Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library Noon Lecture Series: Anatomists and Their Art
October 5, 2011 Howe Conference Room, Briscoe Library 5th floor Charleen M. Moore, distinguished teaching professor in the Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, will speak on the topic Anatomists and Their Art in the Howe Conference Room at noon on Wednesday, October 5, 2011. Dr. Moores lecture will include the stories of artists who dissected, anatomists who illustrated their own works, and anatomist/artist teams who worked together to produce some of the most important anatomical texts of all time. After the presentation, a display of twenty-eight rare anatomical books from the collection of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library will be on display in the Special Collections Reading Room. Among the texts that will be on display: Bernhard Siegfried Albinus and Jan Wanderlaar, Tabulae Sceleti e Musculorum Corporis Humani, London 1749. Andreas Vesalius, De humani corporis fabrica libri septem, Basil, 1543. Hooke, Robert, Micrographia, London, 1667. This program is open to the public. For more information, contact Susan Hunnicutt, Special Projects Librarian at 567-2406, or email hunnicutt@uthscsa.edu.
Bernhard Siegfried Albinus and Jan Wanderlaar:Tabulae Sceleti e Musculorum Corporis Humani, London 1749. Image courtesy of the National Library of Medicine.

New Catalog: Noteworthy Books of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library
The treasures of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library include more than 4500 rare medical texts, dating from the 15th to the early 20th century. Among them are a 1481 edition of De Medicina, written in 30 A.D. by Aulus Cornelius Celsus; a first edition of Vesalius De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem (1543), and Robert Burtons classic, Anatomy of Melancholy (1632). Future visitors to the library will benefit from the creation of a new print catalog of noteworthy books in the collection by Pennie Borchers, special collections librarian, who recently retired after 13 years of service in the Briscoe Library. (See story on page 5.) During her years in the Nixon library, Pennie was frequently approached about the possibility of a print catalog. She has produced an impressive volume arranged by medical specialty that will serve to familiarize users with the scope, as well as the special strengths, of the collection. The catalog also highlights books dealing with Texas and San Antonio history, Spanish language texts, and texts about Mexico.

No. 27

Annual Newsletter

Fall 2011

Classic neurology text is the Nixon Librarys most recent acquisition


A Series of Engravings, Explaining the Course of the Nerves (1803), by Charles Bell
Scottish surgeon Sir Charles Bell (17741842), a pioneer in the study of the human nervous system, is the author and illustrator of the newest addition to the collection of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library. Bell, who practiced medicine and taught anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburg, was the first to establish that nerves of the senses can be traced from specific regions of the brain to their end organs. He showed that spinal nerves carry sensory and motor functions, and that sensory information traverses the posterior roots whereas the motor information runs through the anterior (Bells Law). In addition to his scientific accomplishments Charles Bell was also known primarily through his book The Anatomy of Expression in Painting (1806) for being an exceptionally talented artist. A Series of Engravings, Explaining the Course of the Nerves can be viewed in the Special Collections area of the Briscoe Library. Contact Anne Comeaux (567-2428) or Mellisa De Thorne (567-2470) for an appointment.

Other books by Sir Charles Bell that are held in the collection of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library: Manuscript of drawings of the arteries 1797 Engravings of the arteries 1801 The hand: its mechanism and vital endowments 1833 A dissertation on gun-shot wounds 1814 Letters concerning the diseases of the urethra 1811 Idea of a new anatomy of the brain 1811 A system of operative surgery 1816 Essays on the anatomy of expression in painting 1806 Illustrations of the great operations of surgery 1821 Engravings from specimens of morbid parts 1813

Illustration from A Series of Engravings, Explaining the Course of the Nerves by Charles Bell.

Guidelines for donations of books to the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library
The Briscoe Library and the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library appreciate gifts of books that enhance the collection. Items donated to the library are accepted with the understanding that, upon receipt, these materials become library property. Cataloging treatment and the right to determine retention, use, or disposition of the rare books will be at the librarys discretion. The donor will receive an acknowledgement letter specifying number and type of items, but IRS regulations prohibit library staff from assigning a value to gifts. You may also wish to make a monetary gift to the library for the purchase of a book as a memorial or in honor of someone. The book will bear a label identifying it as a gift. Although library staff will make the final book selection, donors may specify the choice of subject related to the health sciences. A fitting tribute to a health care professional is a book in his or her speciality. Arrangements for donations are made through the library at (210) 567-2406.

No. 27

Annual Newsletter

Fall 2011

Nominees to the Board of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library:


Gregory Anstead, M.D., Ph.D. and Susan Seale Jarvis, J.D.
Gregory Anstead, the nominee for president-elect of the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library, trained as a medicinal chemist, obtaining a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois prior to entering medical school at the same institution. He was an internal medicine and pediatrics resident at the University of Kentucky, completed an infectious diseases fellowship at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and joined The University of Texas Health Science Center as an Assistant Professor in July of 2000. Dr. Anstead currently serves as director of the Veterans Administrations immunosuppression and infectious diseases clinics. In addition to clinical teaching, Dr. Anstead has a teaching role in the 1st-year microbiology course, the introduction to medicine course for 2nd-year students, and the international health course for 4th-year students. He has also taught in the physical therapy program and has given grand rounds in the Departments of Medicine, Surgery, Neurosurgery, Geriatrics, Pediatrics, and Podiatry. He has an active interest in the history of infectious diseases and has given talks on the history of plague, murine typhus, influenza, syphilis, hookworm infection, AIDS, brucellosis, and the spongiform encephalopathies to residents, fellows and other groups. Members of the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library know Dr. Anstead through the excellent series of lectures on infectious disease discovery and epidemiology that he presented in the Howe Conference Room last spring. Watch for more lectures in this series later in the year, Dr. Anstead has published 21 book chapters and over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles. He has been a principal investigator for several clinical trials of HIV and antifungal drugs. In addition, his basic research on malnutrition and its effect on immunity has been funded by two Veterans Administration Career Development Awards. Dr. Anstead is currently a member of a University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Institutional Review Board. He has also participated in medical mission projects in Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Senegal.

Susan Seale Jarvis, who is nominated to be a member-at-large of the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library, received her Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Tulane University College of Law, New Orleans. After graduation, she served as a federal attorney with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in New Orleans for five years. She was Professor of Business Law at the University of Texas Pan American for over 20 years. While there she won the Outstanding Faculty Award three times. She is currently a Faculty Associate at the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics at The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Dr. Jarvis is the author of three law books and numerous refereed professional articles. She is also the author of three published childrens stories. One of her short stories was the Literature Category Winner in the latest edition of Connective Tissue, the literary journal for The University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Susan attended the University of Iowa Summer Writing Program for the fifth time this past summer.
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No. 27

Annual Newsletter

Fall 2011

A message from the president of the Executive Board


The P. I. Nixon Medical Historical Library has been served by wonderful people through the years; Ms. Pennie Borchers is one of those people. Although we are saddened by her departure, we recognize that the Nixon library can continue to build upon her good deeds in its behalf. We of the Board thank Ms. Borchers upon her retirement from the library. The library is a true treasure in San Antonio. Most people associated with the collection are bibliophiles who appreciate holding a 19th century text in a gloved hand rather than having a PDF of the book on a jump drive. If medical professionals still rely on the therapeutic touching of patients, then medical historians see therapeutic benefits in touching historically important medical documents. The Nixon collection provides the opportunity to follow through time ideas that involve health care and practices. Thus the collection is the essence of our collective health culture. By your reading of this statement, I can assume that you support the ideals associated with the Nixon collection. If you know other like-minded people, invite them to the 41st annual dinner meeting of the Friends of the Nixon Library to be held November 7, 2011. We are especially interested in students (undergraduate, medical and graduate) who could benefit by an association with older individuals who appreciate the study of historical medical documents. A thriving and potentially growing Friends membership base is important to the continued and future success of the Nixon library. It has been my pleasure to be the President of the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library this past year. I hope to see you at the annual meeting, and if you have ideas and suggestions for how the library can be better represented and strengthened, please share your comments with any board member. Robert Blystone, Ph.D. 2011President, Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library Professor of Biology, Trinity University

A farewell message from Pennie Borchers, special collections librarian


Since December, 1998, it has been my good fortune to work in the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library and serve as liaison to the Friends board. Ones environment is important, and I could not have wished for a more handsome setting than the librarys Reading Room. The magnificent collection of medical historical classics has been an inspiration. Over the past years I coordinated activities of the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library, answered reference questions, developed an oral history program, and assisted with a digitization project. I also managed the Friends membership database, edited the Friends annual newsletter, and publicized Friends events on campus and throughout the community. I participated in the librarys orientation and instruction programs, conducted tours of the Nixon library, hosted two art & anatomy workshops and welcomed history of anatomy students from San Antonio and from Italy. The National Library of Medicine/American Library Association approved three proposals to bring major traveling exhibitions to The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio: Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature (2003); Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating Americas Women Physicians (2008); and Harry Potters World: Renaissance Science, Magic and Medicine (2010). Some of you know that for the past two years I have been working to create a special print catalog featuring some of the Nixon librarys outstanding holdings, grouped according to medical specialty. I hope this volume will be a useful resource in your search for medical historical materials. Creating library exhibits has been a source of tremendous satisfaction, but my personal contact with faculty and Friends members - sharing your appreciation for the Nixon librarys collection and working together to create interesting programs to showcase the collection has been the highlight of my career. Thank you for all your kindness and support.
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No. 27

Annual Newsletter

Fall 2011

P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library: Highlights of 2010-2011


Dr. Charleen Moore, Ph.D. of the Department of Cellular and Structural Biology; Constance Lowe, M.F.A. and Jayne Lawrence, M.F.A., of the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA); and Penelope Borchers, M.L.S., Special Collections Librarian (retired) in the Briscoe Library, organized the Art and Anatomy Workshop as an interdisciplinary experience in the representation of the human body. The workshop is featured in the current issue of Anatomical Sciences Education: Moore, C. M., Lowe, C., Lawrence, J., & Borchers, P. (2011). Developing observational skills and knowledge of anatomical relationships in an art and anatomy workshop using plastinated specimens. Anatomical Sciences Education, 4(5), 294-301.

Art and anatomy workshop, Howe Conference Room, Briscoe Library, April 8, 2011.

A dozen books from the collection of the P.I .Nixon Medical Historical Library are now available as ebooks through the Portal to Texas History, an Internet gateway created and maintained by the University of North Texas. The Libraries contributions to the Portal to Texas History were made possible by a Rescuing Texas History minigrant awarded to Anne Comeaux, Assistant Library Director for Special Collections.
Shown at left: An artists rendering of San Pedro Springs Park, from Fisher, C. E.. Queer, Quaint Old San Antonio: Its Climate in Throat and Lung Diseases (1895).

In January The Libraries received a Preservation Assistance grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to benefit Special Collections. Special Collections include the P. I. Nixon Medical Historical Library, as well as the University Archives. The Nixon library and the University Archives are housed in several different locations on the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th floors of the Briscoe Library. The NEH grant, in the amount of $5,547, paid for an assessment of the collections by Rebecca Elder, a professional materials conservator. Elder spent several days in the library, examining policies, practices and conditions affecting the care and preservation of the rare book and other collections. She made recommendations for improving storage, prioritized steps to be taken in the care of aging materials, and suggested appropriate preservation techniques and supplies. The NEH grant also paid for the purchase of equipment which allows library staff to track environmental conditions in the various collection locations, and recommend adjustments in temperature, humidity, and dew point to create the best preservation conditions possible.
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No. 27

Annual Newsletter

Fall 2011

Membership Roster for 2010 2011


Honorary Members Drs. Charles & Virginia Bowden Mrs. Robert S. Sparkman Life Members Dr. Louise A. Box-Hutchinson Dr. & Mrs. John E. Carter Dr. & Mrs. Alfonso Chiscano Mrs. Helen K. Groves Dr. John P. Howe, III Dr. Milton S. Jacobs Dr. & Mrs. Robert B. Krause Mrs. Brooks B. McGimsey Mrs. Catherine Meaney Dr. & Mrs. P. I. Nixon, Jr. Dr. James E. Pridgen Dr. Rajam Ramamurthy Dr. & Mrs. John D. Rugh Mrs. Vernie A. Stembridge Mrs. Albert Steves, III Mr. & Mrs. Marshall Steves Dr. Edwin M. Sykes, Jr. Mrs. Zula Vizard Dr. Janet F. Williams Mr. & Mrs. A. Jerome York Patron Members Dr. & Mrs. Robert V. Blystone Drs. Julie K. & John P. Brown Dr. Adelita Cantu Dr. & Mrs. David P. Cappelli Miriam & Leslie Ellison Dr. & Mrs. Marvin Forland Mrs. Cornelia D. Herff Dr. & Mrs. Frank Kiel Dr. George B. Kudolo Dr. & Mrs. Robert Leon Dr. & Mrs. Arthur S. McFee Dr. Milka M. Montiel Dr. Charleen M. Moore Dr. & Mrs. Malcolm Orr Dr. & Mrs. Basil A. Pruitt, Jr. Dr. & Mrs. Waid Rogers Dr. & Mrs. Harlan D. Root Dr. & Mrs. Daniel Rosenthal Dr. & Mrs. Lorence W. Trick Dr. & Mrs. Philip T. Valente Dr. & Mrs. Vick Williams Dr. Yanko Yankov Regular Members Mrs. J. Bradley Aust Ms. Patricia L. Brown Mr. Keith W. Cogdill Dr. & Mrs. Marc Feldman Dr. Susan Jarvis Ms. Constance Lowe Dr. Richard F. Luduea Dr. Ron Philo Ms. Katie Prentice Dr. Charles W. Sargent Ms. Rajia Tobia Mrs. JoAnn Wigodsky Student Members Mr. Daniel Barron Ms. Brianna Bal Ms. Liz Chang Ms. Cita Dunn Ms. Lori Fisher Ms. Katie Gong Ms. Christina Huynh Ms. Lindsey Jackson Mr. Neil Klein Ms. Symphony Ovalles Mr. Greg Petershack Ms. Anne Porter Mr. Josh Shandera Ms. Helen Smith Ms. Joi Stevens Ms. Melissa Vanover

Past Presidents
John L. Matthews, M.D. P. I. Nixon, Jr., M.D. Robert B. Krause, M.D. Milton S. Jacobs, M.D. J. W. Winter, M.D. A. O. Severance, M.D. David McCullough, M.D. James E. Pridgen, M.D. S. Perry Post, M.D. Edwin M. Sykes, Jr., M.D. J. Bradley Aust, M.D. Perry W. Nadig, M.D. David McMahon, M.D. Mrs. Lila Cockrell William V. Healey, M.D. Mrs. Charles W. Finley Maurice S. Albin, M.D. Charles A. Hulse, M.D. Joyce G. Schwartz, M.D. Mrs. Zula Vizard Harlan D. Root, M.D., Ph.D. Herman S. Wigodsky, M.D., Ph.D. John M. Smith, Jr. M.D. August F. Herff, M.D. Janice A. Mendelson, M.D. Daniel Rosenthal, M.D. Arthur S. McFee, M.D. Daniel H. Jones, M.L.S. Basil A. Pruitt, Jr., M.D. Erle K. Adrian, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. Emilio F. Romero, M.D. Charleen M. Moore, Ph.D. Ron Philo, Ph.D. Richard F. Luduena, Ph.D. Kirsten Gardner, Ph.D. Philip T. Valente, M.D. Julie K. Brown, Ph.D. Robert Blystone, Ph.D.

Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library: Become a member


The Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library provides a forum for individuals who are interested in the history of the health sciences. The Friends have a deep appreciation for the Nixon librarys remarkable rare book collection and have joined together to see that the special collections are preserved, augmented and introduced to those who have not yet discovered them. The society meets periodically throughout the year for lectures, films and a dinner-presentation in November. Membership is open to everyone! Dues are $10/year for students, $25 for individual members and $50 for patrons. If you are interested in joining or would like to know more, please contact Susan Hunnicutt, Special Projects Librarian, at 567-2406 or hunnicutt@uthscsa.edu. 8

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