The Maurice and Laura Falk Library of the Health Professions opened its doors in 1957 in the newly constructed Scaife Hall.
1957
The first medical library at Pitt was established in 1912. Falk Library in Scaife Hall expanded upon this collection, housing over 1,000 current journals and 100,000 volumes by 1960.
c. 1977
Barbara Epstein (then a reference librarian at WPIC, and now Director of HSLS) searches MEDLINE, a state-of-the-art tool that allowed reference librarians to search online for medical journal articles. In 2006, she reflected, “It was fun to be viewed as a magician who could solve research problems with a keyboard terminal and a printer.”
1984
A librarian looks at a rare book in the History of Medicine Room, constructed in 1972 with a grant from the Maurice Falk Medical Fund.
April 9, 1992
Dr. Charles Watson speaks at the dedication of the Mark M. Ravitch History of Medicine Room. Dr. Ravitch (Watson’s late colleague) owned an extensive collection of rare books on surgery that his family donated to the library in 1992.
1998
Director Patricia Mickelson served as the library’s leader from 1986-2003. She shepherded HSLS into the digital age by establishing the library’s online catalog in 1987 and introducing HSLS’s website in 1996.
1998
Library photocopiers were much more popular before information was widely accessible online. This photo shows that HSLS had at least six photocopiers in 1998; today we have one.
1998
Though HSLS research and instruction librarians are always available for consultations during business hours, this photo shows that the Main Floor formerly housed a dedicated Reference Desk area. You can read more about the decision to switch out the Reference Desk for more study seats in this HSLS Update article from 2011.
December 1998
At the end of 1998, Falk Library expanded onto Scaife Hall’s second floor. The 6,000 square feet of added space included a new library entrance (shown here), a relocated circulation desk, study areas, and meeting rooms.
December 9, 1998
Dr. Arthur Levine (Dean, School of Medicine, 1998-present), Sigo Falk (Chairman, Falk Medical Fund), and Phil Hallen (President, Falk Medical Fund, 1963-1999) speak at the dedication ceremony for the newly expanded Falk Library.
