Friday 30 September 2011

Collection of the month: the class of 1911


This month, as students prepare for the start of a new academic year, we are looking back at the London School of Tropical Medicine official staff and student photograph taken 100 years ago to mark the autumn term in 1911. The photograph shows fifty-seven students and members of staff, including laboratory assistants, lecturers and administrators, and notes the absence of a further twenty.

Seated in the second row at the centre of the photograph sits Sir Patrick Manson, the founder of LSTM and (by general agreement) ‘the father of tropical medicine’, then one year away from retiring for health reasons. Next to him is his close friend Dr Charles Daniels (sixth from left), who had distinguished himself by confirming Ronald Ross’ 1898 discovery of the complete life-cycle of avian malaria, in Calcutta. The then director of the School, Dr Hugh Newham sits in the same row (fifth from right). Recently returned from a four month stint at the Georgetown laboratory and hospital in British Guiana, he was in the first year of his directorship, which continued, interrupted by a couple of years as consultant in tropical diseases to the East African forces during the First World War, until the School received its Royal Charter in 1924.

Some of those pictured are ex-students who stayed on to become demonstrators after completing their studies. One of these is Philip Bahr (third row, fourth from right), who later married Manson’s daughter and became a leader in the field of tropical medicine as Philip Manson-Bahr. Also shown is Robert Mackay (standing at the front on the far left), labelled as ‘Robert’, a laboratory assistant who served at the school from its foundation, when he was only 14, until his accidental death in 1928. His skill was already well respected within the School, especially since his discovery of the organism in the first case of human trypanosomiasis in England in 1902.

Sixty-four students enrolled for the 37th session, which ran from October to December 1911. Those shown include William Moore (back row, fourth from left), who went on to receive an OBE for his work in the Hong Kong Government Medical Service, where he rose to become deputy director of medical and sanitary services, and Hugh Stannus (third row, second from left), who received a number of honours in recognition of his contribution to tropical medicine, including a CBE. He served as principal medical officer to the Nyasa-Rhodesian Forces during the First World War and worked for Ministry of Health in the Second World War. Three of the students were women, who went on to work as medics in India and China after leaving the School. By this time, around 5 per cent of the students who had passed through the school were female.

If you would like to find out more about the history of the School or our archive collections visit our webpage here or email us at archives@lshtm.ac.uk

Philippa Mole

Thursday 29 September 2011

Interloans is changing

The process for requesting interloans is changing. From Monday 3rd October interloan requests should be placed through the Library catalogue. We hope this will make it easier for you to request the material you need for your research as you will no longer have to print or scan paper forms.

All the information you need about this new service can be found on our webpages.

New students - find the information you need fast.

Welcome to all new MSc students.

The Library is running a series of training sessions to help you find the information you need and allow you to get started on your studies straight away.

1. Finding an item on a reading list

•Deciphering a reading list and differentiating between different reference types.
•Finding printed books and journals in the Library.
•Accessing electronic journals and books, wherever you are in the world.

This class will run twice a day (13.00-14.00 and 17.30-18.30) between 3rd and 7th October.

2.Searching for information on a topic and assessing its quality

•Planning and executing an effective literature search using Google and PubMed.

This class will run twice a day (13.00-14.00 and 17.30-18.30) between 10th and 14th October.

All sessions take please in the Library. Just turn up. Maximum of 30 students per class. You only need to attend once.

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Module Reading lists (ORC)

For your MSc modules, you can now access essential and additional readings using ORC (Online Reading for Courses). To access the ORC, log onto to Blackboard and choose the module you are studying. In the Library tab will be the ORC, this will let you get to the full text of each article in the reading list.

Monday 26 September 2011

Open House is a great success



Over 400 members of the public visited the School during Open House on Saturday 17th September; the majority of these were taken on tours of the building including the North and South Courtyards and the Library. The visitors were very enthusiastic about the event and we received very positive feedback. Many commented on the great use of space in the South Courtyard and enjoyed looking at the original features in the Library.

The Archives team will be running two tours of the building in the Autumn term which will be advertised to all staff and students, more information soon.

Saturday 24 September 2011

Library closing 12.45pm-1.45pm on Friday 30th September

The Library will be closed between 12.45pm and 1.45pm on Friday 30th September to enable all LAS staff to attend the Director's Meeting.

Thursday 22 September 2011

Access Journal of Biological Chemistry and Journal of Lipid Research from your mobile

Full text access to Journal of Biological Chemistry and Journal of Lipid Research is now available from any mobile device. Go to http://m.jbc.org (for JBC Mobile) or http://m.jlr.org (for JLR Mobile).