Stephen J. Greenberg, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine
On July 21, 2007 author J.K. Rowling and her publishers released the last of her record-breaking novels featuring the young wizard Harry Potter. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows sold 15 million copies in the first twenty-four hours following its release.
Three days earlier, a group of middle-school visitors to the History of Medicine Division at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, MD were shown an early 17th century treatise with an intriguing connection to J.K. Rowling and her tales. The visitors were fascinated and wanted to know more, so the staff of the History of Medicine Division began combing the collection in search of other historical materials that are conceptually linked to the fictional world created in Rowling’s stories. This labor eventually produced a lecture series, two Web exhibits, and a traveling exhibit that has been coordinated by the American Library Association.
Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic and Medicine, produced by the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland and coordinated by the American Library Association, will open in the Briscoe Library on October 11.
A complete schedule of events can be found on our website.
C. Mackenzie Brown, Ph.D., Jennie Farris Railey King Professor in Religion at Trinity University, will speak at the exhibit’s opening event on the topic “Renaissance Science and the Quest for Immortality: Lessons from Albus Dumbledore, Nicolas Flamel and Isaac Newton.” The opening will take place in the Howe Conference Room, 5th Floor of the Briscoe Library from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Annual Meeting of The Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library — November 1
Stephen J. Greenberg, Ph.D., Coordinator of Public Services for the History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine, will tell the story of the Harry Potter exhibit and how it took shape at the National Library of Medicine as the speaker at this year’s meeting of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Society. The dinner takes place November 1, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel, 37 NE Loop 410 at McCullough.
We invite Friends, their guests, and all those interested in the history of medicine to a terrific presentation.
Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library
40th Annual Meeting: Dinner and Presentation
“Magic & Monsters in the Stacks: How Harry Potter Came to NLM”
Monday, November 1, 2010 – Doubletree Hotel – 37 NE Loop 410 at McCullough
Cash bar: 6:30 p.m. Dinner: 7:00 p.m.
RSVP by October 27th to Pennie Borchers: Borchers@uthscsa.edu
Tags: 2010-10
