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One of the nearly 4,250 rare books in the McGoogan Library’s newly-renovated rare book rooms. UNMC’s rare book collection costs nearly $3.4 million and contains texts from as far back as the 1300s. |
But the value of the nearly 4,250 volumes in McGoogan Library’s rare book collection goes beyond money.
That was the word Thursday from rare book expert Stephen J. Greenberg, Ph.D., coordinator of public services with the history of medicine division at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Md.
Dr. Greenberg, at a special lecture just before the ribbons were cut on McGoogan’s renovated rare book rooms, said texts such as those found in UNMC’s collection have incalculable value.
A current trend in the rare book world is to make old texts available on computers. This is nice, Dr. Greenberg said, but often these transcriptions contain only fractions of the old texts.
“A scholar who wants to study 16th century surgery can’t use these (electronic texts),” Dr. Greenberg said. “It doesn’t replace the actual book.”
The fact that today’s technology changes so fast — sometimes making the format in which a text was electronically saved obsolete — also lends value to having the genuine article, he said.
That’s part of what makes preserving texts such as those found in McGoogan’s rare book rooms so important, Dr. Greenberg said.
Preservation was the motive when renovation began on the rooms began 11 months ago, said Nancy Woelfl, Ph.D., director of the McGoogan Library.
The collection was displaced while the rooms underwent improvements, some of which were:
- Installing a waterless fire suppression system;
- Rerouting wet pipes and drains away from the rooms;
- Installing new temperature controls, humidifiers and ventilation systems;
- Redesigning ceilings and indirect lighting; and
- Adding updated security equipment.
UNMC employees and students are invited to tour the rare book rooms, which are on the eighth floor of the McGoogan Library, today between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The books cannot be checked out but the library staff can arrange tours for those interested in seeing the manuscripts.
UNMC’s rare books, the oldest of which is a handwritten text that naturalist Albertus Magnus penned in the 1300s, were a passion of Leon S. McGoogan, M.D., for whom the library was named.
Maintaining the books properly is a tribute to Dr. McGoogan, Dr. Woelfl said.
“During Dr. Mac’s lifetime,” Dr. Woelfl said, “the library was his baby. I’m reminded daily of how much we owe Dr. McGoogan.”
The renovations were supported by many organizations and people, Dr. Woelfl said, including The Friends of the McGoogan Library.
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UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., tours one of McGoogan Library’s newly-renovated rare book rooms on Thursday. |
Having the renovated book rooms is real coup for UNMC, Dr. Maurer said.
“It’s a whole new venue for our library,” Dr. Maurer said. “It will attract people who are interested in rare books, and it’s good for our students and faculty because these books contain information that is the basis for modern medicine.”