Lane Medical Library: A Legacy of Medical History and Innovation
Lane Medical Library, situated on the Stanford University campus near Palo Alto, California, stands as a cornerstone of biomedical and historical resources. As the library of the Stanford University School of Medicine, its mission is to "accelerate scientific discovery, clinical care, medical education and humanities through teaching, collaboration, and delivery of biomedical and historical resources." Its rich history, dating back to 1882, reflects the evolution of medical education and practice on the West Coast. The library's dedication to preserving the past while embracing the future makes it an invaluable asset to the Stanford Medicine community and beyond.
Origins in San Francisco: From Cooper Medical College to Stanford
The story of Lane Medical Library begins with the Medical Department of the College of the Pacific, the first medical school in the Western United States, established in San Francisco in 1858 by Elias Samuel Cooper. Levi Cooper Lane, Cooper's nephew, played a pivotal role in the school's development. After Cooper's death in 1862, the medical school ceased operations, but Lane revived it in 1870, becoming its president and renaming it the Medical College of the Pacific. In 1882, he further honored his uncle by renaming it Cooper Medical College.
Dr. Lane's commitment to medical education extended beyond administration. As an assistant surgeon in the U. S. Navy from 1855-59, he traveled extensively, broadening his understanding of medicine. Prior to Dr. Lane's arrival in San Francisco, Dr. Cooper received his M.D. St. of medicine in Danville, Illinois. He decided to leave Illinois for points west. In a frontier community with a small population, he established Dr. Cooper's school, advertising extensively. He believed in a well-rounded medical education, emphasizing studies in Europe. Upon returning to the United States in 1861, Dr. Cooper became professor of physiology. Although the medical school owned a significant library.
Levi Cooper Lane's death in 1902 marked a turning point for the college. In August 1902, his widow, Pauline Lane, bequeathed a third of his estate to Cooper Medical College, a donation intended to establish a medical library in his memory. In August 1906, the directors of Cooper Medical College officially established the Lane Medical Library.
In 1908, Stanford University acquired Cooper Medical College, using it as the foundation for the Stanford Medical Department, now the Stanford University School of Medicine. Two years later, in 1910, Stanford also acquired the assets of the Levi C. Lane Medical Library Trust, which included 30,000 volumes, a building site, and funds for constructing a library building. Lane Library was dedicated November 3, 1912. Despite its location in San Francisco, it became an integral part of the Stanford library system.
Read also: Stanford Admission GPA Guide
The Special Collections: A Treasure Trove of Medical History
The Special Collections of Lane Medical Library are a repository of invaluable historical materials, encompassing the History of Medicine Collection and the Lane Medical Archives.
History of Medicine Collection
The historical collection's inception is credited to Dr. Adolph Barkan, with its development guided by Dr. Karl Sudhoff of the Institute of the History of Medicine of Leipzig. They built upon the historical materials in the 28,000 volume collection of duplicates acquired in 1906 from the New York Academy of Medicine, the scholarly collections of the early faculty, and the purchase in 1920 of the 5,000 volume collection of Dr. Ernst Seidel. This last collection is notable for its Arabic and Persian manuscripts and printed materials, along with linguistic aids for their study.
The Special Collections are supported by complete runs of early medical journals from Europe and the United States, journals in the history of medicine, an open collection of monographs on the history of medicine, and an extensive collection of theses from the great universities of Europe.
The collection includes:
- Incunabula: 21 titles
- 16th century: 403 records
- 17th century: 613 records
- 18th century: 1,635 records
- 19th century: 9,555 records (approximately 3,000 in Special Collections)
- Theses: 28,648 (major European universities)
- Near Eastern manuscripts: 51
- Open history: 11,000
Lane Medical Archives
The Archives of the Stanford University School of Medicine and its predecessor schools, including Cooper Medical College, contain administrative and clinic records as well as personal papers and manuscripts. Photographs and medical instruments are also collected.
Read also: Explore Stanford
The Archives include:
- Archives and Personal Papers: 876 linear feet
- Medical instruments: 40 linear feet (1,000 card entries)
- Pictorial materials: 20 linear feet
- Pre-1850 journals: 353 linear feet
Records for pre-1850 monographs and journals are available on Lane Online Information System (LOIS) and also in RLIN.
Relocation to Palo Alto and Continued Growth
In the 1950s, the School of Medicine decided to relocate from San Francisco to Palo Alto. While there was initial consideration of consolidating Stanford’s science libraries, Lane Library remained independent. In 1959, it opened in its new location as part of the new School of Medicine’s buildings, designed by Edward Durrell Stone.
The Enduring Legacy of Levi Cooper Lane
Levi Cooper Lane was a physician and surgeon in San Francisco in the 1800s. He served on the faculty of the Medical Department of the College of the Pacific, which was the first medical school on the Pacific Coast, founded in 1858 by Lane's uncle Elias Samuel Cooper. After Cooper's death in 1862 the medical school stopped operating. In 1870 Lane revived it, became president, and renamed it Medical College of the Pacific. In 1882 he changed the name to Cooper Medical College, named for his uncle, its founder.
Lane died on February 9, 1902, and his widow died in August 1902; in his widow's will, one third of Lane's estate was given to Cooper Medical College to establish a medical library.
Read also: Navigating Stanford Scholarships
The relationship between Dr. Lane and Dr. Cooper was close. Lane arranged for Cooper's organs to be preserved in a separate glass jar. In 1890 Cooper Medical College expanded when Dr. Lane provided funds for new laboratories. In addition to his surgical practice Dr. Lane traveled extensively and wrote numerous erudite and scholarly papers. In England Dr. Lane was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. In France Dr. Lane attended lectures in French, in which he was fluent. He also received an honorary degree from Wilhelms Universität of Berlin.
In 1896 Dr. Lane published a book entitled Surgery of the Head and Neck. The book was the first comprehensive treatment of the subject published in the United States. Unfortunately, Dr. Lane did not live to complete it.
As his friend Dr. Wilson noted, "The very first book treasures. . . came to Stanford through the scholar, surgeon and staunch upholder of medical honor: Dr. C. Lane."
Services and Resources
Lane Medical Library offers a wide array of services to support the Stanford Medicine community, including:
- Reference services
- Selective photocopying
- Extensive online resources
- Classes and workshops on topics such as literature searching, reference management, data management, and research impact
The library's commitment extends to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice through its D-CORE (Diversity, Community, Representation and Empowerment) initiatives. It also collaborates with the Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge.
A 13th-Century Treasure
The Medical History Center, located within Lane Library, houses thousands of rare books. One of the most remarkable is a 13th-century Arabic manuscript, "The Comprehensive Book on the Art of Medicine" (الشامل في الصناعة الطبية, al-Shāmil fī l-ṣināʿa al-ṭibbiyya). Written in Egypt by Ibn al-Nafis, this encyclopedia represents an ambitious project to compile all medical knowledge of the Arab world.
tags: #Stanford #University #Lane #Medical #Library #history
