Driscoll Hall, the new home of the College of Nursing, is also home to the Nursing Historical Book Collection. Attractively displayed behind sliding glass doors, these books and pamphlets collectively tell the story of the nursing profession. Over 200 of the approximately 600 items were donated by Dr. M. Louise Fitzpatrick, Dean of the College, and nearly 400 were transferred from Falvey Memorial Library’s main and special collections.

Taras Ortynsky, Descriptive Services Librarian, supervised the cataloging and processing of the collection, ensuring its availability by October 6, the day of Driscoll Hall’s dedication. Users searching Falvey’s online catalog will be able to identify the books and pamphlets by their location indicator: College of Nursing SPEC-Rm 205-Driscoll Hall. The items are limited to room use only.

One of Falvey’s goals is to catalog collections located throughout the University that have value and could be more effectively discovered through library search tools. Previously cataloged collections that also appear in the Falvey online catalog are the Augustinian Historical Institute, the Nursing Learning Resource Center, the Health Promotion Resource Center and the School of Business information center materials.

In addition to Taras, project coordinator, other Falvey Memorial Library staff members participated: Kathleen O’Connor, co-leader, Technology team and Systems Librarian, as well as Anne Ford and Frances DiLenge, both Academic Integration technical specialists. Barbara Quintiliano, liaison to the College of Nursing, also provided assistance at various stages of the project.

Dr. Fitzpatrick expressed her gratitude for the Library’s continuing support of the College of Nursing and especially for its assistance in making the Nursing Historical Book Collection a reality.

Also contributing to this article: Taras Ortynsky, Natalie Tomasco and Chris Barr