by Anthony Murisco, Public Engagement Librarian As the April showers (hopefully) dwindle down, out come May flowers. The passage of the month means the conclusion of April’s celebrations, including National Poetry Month, and the commencement of the festivities of May, including National Dental Care Month. We’re going to combine both, with a poem by a dental care worker. Anterior teeth model from Ash & Sons Catalogue (1886) John Thomas Codman (d. 1907) was the an active speaker at various dental gatherings. He was also one of the more prolific writers on dentistry. But he wrote about more t ..read more

by Anthony Murisco, Public Engagement Librarian On February 14th we observe Valentine’s Day, a day that has come to signify and celebrate all the love in our lives. Some may take loved ones out to dinner, some buy gifts, and some may even do a grand gesture, like ask for their lover’s hand in marriage. From our William H. Helfand Collection of Pharmaceutical Trade Cards. St. Valentine was a 3rd-century Roman priest, maybe even a bishop, who ministered to those persecuted by the church. It was believed that he delivered messages to lovers who had been torn apart. The Feast of St. Valentine was ..read more

by Anthony Murisco, Public Engagement Librarian On Monday, February 5th, we kicked off the eighth annual “Color Our Collections!” This initiative asks libraries, museums, and other cultural institutions to submit coloring books based on their collections. These coloring books don’t just live on our site for that one week; you can access them whenever you want! Over the years we have collected over 800 free coloring books for everyone to enjoy. Maybe you need an excuse to color? Well, besides just being a fun activity, coloring has been shown to provide other benefits. Research has shown tha ..read more

By Anthony Murisco, Public Engagement Librarian    Despite the name, Pet Milk isn’t for your furry friends! Formerly the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company, the company broke ground in Highland, Illinois in 1885. For years, they would be the standard for canned and condensed milk. If their own words are to be believed, they may have even given whole milk a run for their money.   Pet Milk’s messaging made them seem like the All-American brand of milk. They were there when future President Teddy Roosevelt fought alongside other soldiers in the Spanish-American War. The canned b ..read more

By Sean Purcell, The Media School, Indiana University-Bloomington and the Library’s 2023 Helfand Fellow  Mr. Purcell completed his Fellowship residency in the summer of 2023 and will present his research by Zoom on Thursday, December 7 at 4 p.m. (EST). To attend his talk, “A Portrait of Tuberculosis (as a Young Microbe): Representing Consumption at the Turn of the Twentieth Century,” register through NYAM’s Events page.  I spent a month over the spring and summer looking through the New York Academy of Medicine Library collections, working towards a mixed methods dissertation, title ..read more

By Paul Theerman, Director  The first panel of the AIDS quilt was put together in 1987—this year the Quilt is 36 years old!  Image courtesy of National AIDS Memorial. The AIDS Quilt was the brainchild of gay activist Cleve Jones. A protégé of Harvey Milk, the San Francisco city supervisor murdered in 1978, Jones honored Milk’s life and service with candlelight marches through the city. For the 1985 march he saw the ravages that AIDS was making in the gay community and asked that marchers write the names of friends lost to AIDS on posters. Placed on a wall, the posters resembled a qui ..read more

By Arlene Shaner, Historical Collections Librarian In July 2023, artist and teacher Dan Thompson brought a group of students to the Library’s Drs. Barry and Bobbi Coller Rare Book Reading Room. The students were here in New York for a week-long workshop organized by the Art Students League, “Musculoskeletal Gross Anatomy for the Figurative Artist.” We looked at anatomical atlases dating from the early 16th through the mid-20th centuries. Viewing items from our collection—like the first two images here—and engaging with the students made up the first day of the workshop. The balance took place ..read more

by Anthony Murisco, Public Engagement Librarian Relaxation is just what the doctor ordered! Specifically, Dr. George S. Stevenson of the National and International Association for Mental Health. In his book, How to Deal with Your Tensions (1957), he says that “anxiety and tension” are essential parts of being alive. If we did not experience these feelings, we wouldn’t be equipped to manage the high or low-intensity situations we experience day to day.  It is indeed an anxious time. We face threats such as climate change and the spread of misinformation. Writing in 1957, Dr. Stevenson spo ..read more

By Anthony Murisco, Public Engagement Librarian As we pass the longest day of the year, we arrive at summer!   We began our celebration of the summer with the annual Museum Mile Festival on Tuesday, June 13th. Each year, all the cultural institutions along 5th Avenue get together to highlight what we have to offer. Think of it as a block party for museums! The stretch starts around 85th Street with The Met and ends at 110th with The Africa Center.     This year the Museum Mile Festival celebrated its 45th anniversary. It also happened to be the 100th birthday of our neighboring ..read more

By Anthony Murisco, Public Engagement Librarian May brought us flowers and a lot to celebrate on social media! Throughout the month of May we observed Mental Health Awareness Month. This included sharing information and graphics from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. On May 11, we observed National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. Kids often imitate adult behavior. Passing down healthy habits, including ones related to mental health, is imperative! The popularity of Star Wars continues to this day. Just after the movie’s premiere in the late 1970’s, President Carter and the Na ..read more