Memories of Countway Library

Michael Quiñones, MD ’86
While perusing a Charles Street antique store, I came across leaflets which looked like original prints by Andreas Vesalius. It was revealed to me that this was a republication done in the early 20th century from the original wood blocks that were found in a Munich library. I noticed that some of the edges of the drawings appeared defective, thus I took it upon myself to look at the original 16th-century Vesalius prints in the Countway and make a comparison to my prints from the early 20th century. It was amazing!

Michael Droller, MD ’68
At my 55th HMS reunion, I took my wife to the Countway to view the exhibits. A painting depicting the first renal transplant was hanging. As a surgical resident at the Brigham, I had worked with some who were pictured: Joe Murray, MD ’43, John Merrill, MD ’42, Hartwell Harrison, and Leroy Vandam. As I explained everything to my wife, I noticed a woman listening and smiling. When I asked what her interest was, she broke into an even broader smile and said, “Joe Murray was my father.” We reminisced enjoyably for the next half hour.

Ann Durbin, PhD ’16
As a first-year PhD student in the Division of Medical Sciences, I remember exploring the fifth-floor exhibit of artifacts from the Warren Anatomical Museum and being stunned to find the skull of Phineas Gage. I learned about Phineas Gage in my high school psychology course, and the connection between biology (brain structures) and personality was part of what drove me to pursue biology for a career. That day in the library as a new student solidified my resolution that I was meant to be here, on this journey.

Toshi Uchida, MD ’98
When I was an undergraduate in the early ’90s, I did a year of research at the Boston Children’s Hospital. My PI sent me to Countway Library to locate and photocopy a large number of articles. I spent hours in the stacks tracking down the exact volumes, but I was concerned about the amount of paper used in the copies, so I decided to copy the articles and leave off the references!

Charles Karaian, MD ’77
I was overwhelmed when I first walked into the Countway Library as a first-year medical student. I suddenly realized that its contents represented everything that can go wrong with the human body. Talk about providing perspective for the journey ahead.

Kenneth Dardick, MD ’71
I was not there, but I believe in 1968, New England Journal of Medicine editorial offices were in the Countway. Imagine this scene, described in a journal editorial from that year: “Journal editors … retired to a darkened men’s room to watch each other munch Wint-O-Green Life Savers,” where they were surprised to confirm that “wintergreen wafers briefly glow when they are fractured by the dental impact … but not as surprised as a stranger who ‘for usual and customary’ purposes happened to burst onto this incredible scene.” [For the editors’ full story of this illuminating effect, see: The Challenge of the Checkerberry, or Safe in Space with Wintergreen. N Engl J Med. 1968;279:322.]

Anthony Chen, MD ’00
Surrounded by the smell of old texts, looking out from the study carrels into the open air at the center of the library, I felt like I was looking at a past vision of the future of medicine — it was a unique mix of feelings.

Peter Dean, MD ’71
During the summer after my first year, I applied for permission (and was somewhat reluctantly allowed) to retake my failed biochemistry final exam so that I could continue with the Class of 1970. So, I was at the front doors of the Countway every morning at 8 a.m. and went straight to a cubicle overlooking the atrium. There I memorized Peter Karlson’s Introduction to Modern Biochemistry textbook and passed the exam. At my 55th Reunion, I was told that the cubicles are now used by staff, regrettably no longer by HMS students.

Thanks to the HMS alumni who shared memories of Countway Library. We hope you will share your thoughts on our new question: What has been the most significant change to the practice of medicine so far in the 21st century? We welcome responses at alumni.hms.harvard.edu/rounds. Submissions will appear in print, online, or both in the next issue of Harvard Medicine.