About Himmelfarb Library's Special Collections
Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library collections support the educational, clinical and research needs of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of Nursing and Milken Institute School of Public Health. Himmelfarb has some special collections to fill specific needs and areas of interest ranging from historical, leisure reading, health and wellness, and resource lists supporting specific populations. Some collections are mostly physical and located in specific shelf space in the library, while others are electronic. All collections and titles can be accessed through the library's Special Collections Gallery.
Humanities & Health Collection
Description: Literary accounts of illness can teach healthcare providers concrete and powerful lessons about the lives of sick people. Just as important, great works of fiction about medicine enable those in healthcare to recognize the power and implications of what they do. Himmelfarb Library has always selectively acquired books classified in the Literature in Medicine genre and made them available through the Humanities & Health Collection.
Himmelfarb invites anyone who wants to honor or remember a loved one to make a donation to the Humanities and Health Collection in addition to their regular contributions to the educational, clinical and research programs of SMHS, SON, and GWSPH.
To make a donation contact Himmelfarb's Acquisitions Librarian, Ian Roberts, at 202-994-3685 or email imroberts@gwu.edu.
Location: The print collection is located in the nook on the first floor.
Browse the Humanities & Health Collection.
New Titles:
The Doctors Blackwell by Call Number: R692 .N56 2021ISBN: 9780393635546Publication Date: 2021-01-19Exploring the Blackwell sisters' allies, enemies, and enduring partnership, Janice P. Nimura presents a story of trial and triumph. Together, the Blackwells founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, the first hospital staffed entirely by women. Both sisters were tenacious and visionary, but their convictions did not always align with the emergence of women's rights--or with each other.
Dopesick by Call Number: RC568.O45 M33 2018ISBN: 9780316551243Publication Date: 2018-08-07Journalist Beth Macy's definitive account of America's opioid epidemic "masterfully interlaces stories of communities in crisis with dark histories of corporate greed and regulatory indifference" (New York Times) -- from the boardroom to the courtroom and into the living rooms of Americans. In this extraordinary work, Beth Macy takes us into the epicenter of a national drama that has unfolded over two decades. From the labs and marketing departments of big pharma to local doctor's offices; wealthy suburbs to distressed small communities in Central Appalachia; from distant cities to once-idyllic farm towns; the spread of opioid addiction follows a tortuous trajectory that illustrates how this crisis has persisted for so long and become so firmly entrenched.
Homeland Elegies by Call Number: PS3601.K53 H66 2020ISBN: 9780316496421Publication Date: 2020-09-15This "beautiful novel . . . has echoes of The Great Gatsby": an immigrant father and his son search for belonging--in post-Trump America, and with each other.
Diversity in Dermatology
Description: Dermatology resources representing the full spectrum of human skin tones. Includes atlases and dermatology texts in both print and electronic format.
Location: Print texts are shelved in basement level stacks in the dermatology section (call number WR).
Browse the Diversity in Dermatology Collection.
Sample Titles:
Dermatology Atlas for Skin of Color by ISBN: 9783642544460Publication Date: 2014-07-19This atlas, containing more than 300 color photos, focuses on those dermatologic conditions that are most common in ethnic skin or skin of color.
Ethnic Dermatology by ISBN: 1118497783Publication Date: 2013-03-11Ethnic Dermatology: Principles and Practice provides a practical approach to the dermatology of nonwhite skin. Written from a global perspective to include Asian, African-Caribbean and North African skin types, it covers all the bases of dermatology including: Grading scales in dermatologic disease Pediatric dermatology Dermatology and systemic disease Drug eruptions Hair and scalp disorders Cosmetic dermatology.
The Full Spectrum of Dermatology: a Diverse & Inclusive Atlas by Call Number: WR17 .F855 2021ISBN: 9781733203333Publication Date: 2021-05-01Co-written by MFA author Adam Friedman, MD, FAAD, Professor and Chair of Dermatology
This new resource, The Full Spectrum of Dermatology : a Diverse and Inclusive Atlas, intends to provide a visual representation of dermatologic conditions that better supports the population of patients seen in the medical setting. As we know, dermatology encompasses skin, hair, nail and mucous membrane diseases in every skin tone. As dermatologists, we can refine our expertise across this span and become more prepared to care for the diverse patient population. This Atlas is one way that we can elevate our knowledge of the unique nuances that exist in common skin conditions across the spectrum of skin pantones.
Himmelfarb Library Streaming Video Collection
Description: Himmelfarb's collection of streaming videos, featuring documentaries related to public health and health policy. If there are any videos you'd like to see added to the collection, please contact Ian Roberts at imroberts@gwu.edu.
Location: All videos can be accessed online and are available to GW faculty, staff and students.
Browse the Streaming Video Collection.
Sample Titles:
Power to heal : Medicare and the civil rights revolution by ISBN: 9781948745147Publication Date: 2018Power To Heal tells a poignant chapter in the historic struggle to secure equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans. Central to the story is the tale of how a new national program, Medicare, was used to mount a dramatic, coordinated effort that desegregated thousands of hospitals across the country in a matter of months
- Love in the Time of Fentanyl
As deaths in Vancouver, Canada reach an all-time high, the Overdose Prevention Society opens its doors to a renegade supervised drug consumption site that employs active and former drug users. Its staff and volunteers do whatever it takes to save lives and give hope to a marginalized community in this intimate documentary that looks beyond the stigma of people who use fentanyl and other drugs. - Medicating Normal
One in five Americans takes one or more commonly prescribed psychiatric medications on a daily basis. While these drugs can sometimes provide effective relief, they are prescribed far too often, frequently without discussing with patients the possible alternatives and potential adverse outcomes, both physical and mental. MEDICATING NORMAL follows five people who are harmed by the very medications they believed would help them. It is the untold story of the serious consequences that can occur when market-driven medicine intersects with human beings in distress.
Other Himmelfarb Special Collections
- MD Program Required Books: Years 1 and 2Required readings for MS1 and MS2 students at GWSMHS. Records provided for print and online access.
- Public Health ReservesPublic health titles in the Himmelfarb Library reserves collection. Records provided for print and online access.
- Equipment for Check OutEquipment available at Himmelfarb Library including headphones, dry erase markers, laptops, etc. Request items at the Circulation Desk.
- Doctor of Nursing Practice ProjectsBrowse and link to full-text of Doctor of Nursing Practice projects completed by GW SON DNP graduates.
- Himmelfarb Library New BooksBooks added to Himmelfarb Library's collections in the past month. Select print titles are shelved in the nook on the first floor.
The Rotation: A Himmelfarb Library Blog
Historical Collection
Description: Himmelfarb Library has a limited Historical Collection including titles from the Classics of Medicine Library series and some archival materials from the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Classics of Medicine titles are facsimile reproductions of historical titles including Osler's Aequanimitas and Galen's On the Usefulness of the Parts of the Body.
Location: Items in the collection can be used in Himmelfarb on request. Contact the Circulation Desk at 202-994-2962 or email mlbcir@gwu.edu. Contact the Reference Desk at 202-994-2962 or himmelfarb@gwu.edu for more information about the Historical Collection at Himmelfarb.
Browse the Historical Collection.
Sample Titles:
The Facemaker by Call Number: RD27.35.G555 A3 2022ISBN: 9780374282301Publication Date: 2022-06-07Lindsey Fitzharris, the award-winning author of The Butchering Art, presents the compelling, true story of a visionary surgeon who rebuilt the faces of the First World War's injured heroes, and in the process ushered in the modern era of plastic surgery. From the moment the first machine gun rang out over the Western Front, one thing was clear: humankind's military technology had wildly surpassed its medical capabilities. Bodies were battered, gouged, hacked, and gassed. The First World War claimed millions of lives and left millions more wounded and disfigured. In the midst of this brutality, however, there were also those who strove to alleviate suffering. The Facemaker tells the extraordinary story of such an individual: the pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies, who dedicated himself to reconstructing the burned and broken faces of the injured soldiers under his care. The Facemaker places Gillies's ingenious surgical innovations alongside the dramatic stories of soldiers whose lives were wrecked and repaired. The result is a vivid account of how medicine can be an art, and of what courage and imagination can accomplish in the presence of relentless horror.
Quackery by Call Number: R730 .K36 2017ISBN: 9780761189817Publication Date: 2017-10-17What won't we try in our quest for perfect health, beauty, and the fountain of youth? Well, just imagine a time when doctors prescribed morphine for crying infants. When liquefied gold was touted as immortality in a glass. And when strychnine--yes, that strychnine, the one used in rat poison--was dosed like Viagra. Looking back with fascination, horror, and not a little dash of dark, knowing humor, Quackery recounts the lively, at times unbelievable, history of medical misfires and malpractices. Ranging from the merely weird to the outright dangerous, here are dozens of outlandish, morbidly hilarious "treatments"--conceived by doctors and scientists, by spiritualists and snake oil salesmen (yes, they literally tried to sell snake oil)--that were predicated on a range of cluelessness, trial and error, and straight-up scams. With vintage illustrations, photographs, and advertisements throughout, Quackery seamlessly combines macabre humor with science and storytelling to reveal an important and disturbing side of the ever-evolving field of medicine.
Diversity and Disparities in Health Care
Description: Resources addressing issues of disparity and representation of minority communities in health care. Includes titles on social justice and racial disparities, LGBTQ healthcare issues, and cultural competence.
Location: Print titles in this collection are shelved in Himmelfarb's book stacks in the basement level.
Browse the Diversity and Disparities in Health Care Collection.
New Titles:
The Case Against Conversion Therapy by Call Number: RC558 .C326 2022ISBN: 9781433837111Publication Date: 2021-11-23Many LGBTQ youth are still forced into harmful "treatments" with devastating mental health consequences. This volume explores the history, effects, and danger of so-called conversion therapy. Because conversion "therapy" is not actually therapeutic, it is now more accurately referred to as sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) or gender identity change efforts (GICE). What does the record show about the efficacy and effects of SOCE and GICE? What motivates individuals to seek these harmful treatments, either for themselves or for their children? This book synthesizes findings from a vast literature base to answer these and other important questions, in hopes of fully discrediting SOCE and GICE once and for all. Over the last four decades, considerable research has showed SOCE to be not only ineffective, but harmful. As a result of these findings, professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association (APA) have denounced the practice and recommended affirmative, supportive treatment instead.
Just Health by Call Number: RA563.M56 M28 2022ISBN: 9781479802661Publication Date: 2022-02-22With the rise of the Movement for Black Lives and the feverish calls for Medicare for All, the public spotlight on racial inequality and access to healthcare has never been brighter. The rise of COVID-19 and its disproportionate effects on people of color has especially made clear how the color of one's skin is directly related to the quality of care (or lack thereof) a person receives, and the disastrous health outcomes Americans suffer as a result of racism and an unjust healthcare system. Timely and accessible, Just Health examines how deep structural racism embedded in the fabric of American society leads to worse health outcomes and lower life expectancy for people of color. By presenting evidence of discrimination in housing, education, employment, and the criminal justice system, Dayna Bowen Matthew shows how racial inequality pervades American society and the multitude of ways that this undermines the health of minority populations.
Transgender and gender diverse health care : the Fenway guide by ISBN: 9781260459944Publication Date: 2022Transgender and Gender Diverse Health Care: The Fenway Guide offers a roadmap for clinicians to provide culturally responsive care that meets the primary, preventive, and specialty health needs of transgender and gender diverse adult patients.
Under the skin : racism, inequality, and the health of a nation by Call Number: RA448.5.B53 V55 2022ISBN: 1912854023Publication Date: 2022-03-10Linda Villarosa lays bare the forces in the American health-care system and in American society that cause Black people to 'live sicker and die quicker' compared to their white counterparts. Today's medical texts and instruments still carry fallacious slavery-era assumptions that Black bodies are fundamentally different from white bodies. Study after study of medical settings show worse treatment and outcomes for Black patients. Black people live in dirtier, more polluted communities due to environmental racism and neglect from all levels of government. And, most powerfully, Villarosa describes the new understanding that coping with the daily scourge of racism ages Black people prematurely. Anchored by unforgettable human stories and offering incontrovertible proof, Under the Skin is dramatic, tragic, and necessary reading.
Healthy Living Collection
Description: The Healthy Living Collection includes books that support physical and mental health and a variety of other items for exercise and leisure. Find everything from recipe books, to hula hoops and board games in this eclectic collection. See our Health Living Guide for more information on this collection and other resources supporting health and wellness.
Location: Items are shelved on the first floor in front of the library elevator.
Browse the Healthy Living Collection.
Sample Titles:
Managing Stress by Call Number: RA785 .S434 2022ISBN: 9781284199994Publication Date: 2020-12-22Updated to provide a modern look at the daily stressors evolving in our ever changing society, Managing Stress: Skills for Self-Care, Personal Resiliency and Work-Life Balance in a Rapidly Changing World, Tenth Edition provides a comprehensive approach to stress management, honoring the balance and harmony of the mind, body, spirit, and emotions.
Run Healthy by Call Number: RC1220.R8 A38 2024ISBN: 9781718203747Publication Date: 2023-02-02If you are a serious runner, you are well aware of the aches and pains associated with the sport. Run Healthy: The Runner's Guide to Injury Prevention and Treatment was written to help you distinguish discomfort from injury. It provides the latest science-based and practical guidance for identifying, treating, and minimizing the most common injuries in track, road, and trail running. Gain a better understanding of how the musculoskeletal system functions and responds to training. Develop a practical and effective training plan to address the regions where injuries most often occur: feet and toes, ankles, knees, hips, and low back. Learn how a combination of targeted strength training, mobility exercises, and running drills can improve running form, economy, and performance.
Slow Cook Modern by Call Number: TX827 .K76 2017ISBN: 9781419726675Publication Date: 2017-09-12In Slow Cook Modern, Krissoff shares more than 150 recipes, including quick, fresh side dishes created for the adventurous home cook.
