The Library was built in 1941 as a Y-shaped addition to the Sterling Hall of Medicine designed by Grosvenor Atterbury with funds from the estate of John William Sterling. The Library was renovated and enlarged in 1990 with funds from Betsey Cushing Whitney. The architects were Alexander Purves and Allan Dehar. After the renovation, the Library was named for Betsey Cushing Whitney's father, Harvey Cushing, the pioneering neurosurgeon, Yale graduate and Sterling Professor, and her husband, John Hay Whitney, the businessman, Yale graduate and philanthropist.[2] The library was again renovated in 2019.[3]
The Library's collections cover clinical medicine and its specialties, the pre-clinical sciences, public health, nursing, and related fields. They also include the Historical Library's distinguished holdings. The library now holds over 416,000 volumes.[2] As of 2016, the Library provided Yale users with access to over 23,000 online journals in the health sciences, as well as licensing bioinformatics tools, clinical point-of-care reference tools, and systematic review software.[6][7] Library staff provide a range of information services[8] for Yale users, including interlibrary loan and document delivery;[9] classroom training on literature searching, citation management, and other research skills;[10] one-on-one consultations; expert searching for projects including systematic review and meta-analyses; and video production services for the Yale curriculum. The Library hosts an extensive collection of free online instructional videos on topics including database searching, citation management, evidence-based practice, and research impact.[11] In addition to its collections and information services, the Library hosts wellness programming including weekly drop-in mindfulness practice[12] and visits from a therapy dog.[13]
The Cushing Center
The Cushing Center, located within the Library, serves as a museum dedicated to the life and work of Dr. Cushing. It contains a collection of brain tumor specimens from Dr. Cushing's patients,[14] photos of the patients,[15] a range of personal documents and memorabilia related to Cushing, and some of the highlights of the Medical Historical Library's special collections. It is open to the public for visit, with weekly guided tours and group tours available upon request.[16]