Conjunction Junction, THAT'S Our Function

Abstract

Identifying an opportunity to harness the strength of collaborating across departments, institutions, and libraries, librarians from the Education and Clinical Services, and Research and Scholarly Communication Services of Lamar Soutter Library (LSL), University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), partnered with the librarian for the Hartford Medical Society Library at Lyman Maynard Stowe Library, UConn Health, to organize an exhibit of historical ophthalmology items at UMMS. The exhibit, “Eyes to the Past,” ran from the summer through the fall, 2019, and included textbooks from the 1800s, prints to test for color blindness, artifacts such as eye surgery kits, glass eyeballs, stereoscopes, and an early 20th century ophthalmoscope. A medical student with an interest in ophthalmology was recruited to research each item on display and provide text for identification cards. The exhibit proved an excellent bridge to form a partnership with the UMass Memorial Eye Center and the UMass Medical School Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. The Eye Center just welcomed its first class of residents in July, making the timing of the exhibit perfect for the LSL’s outreach efforts. A presentation and reception, co-hosted by the LSL and the Eye Center, proved the “eye-deal” culmination to this successful collaborative effort.