Blogs

Valentine's Day Cards from the Medical Library

Valentine's Day is a great time to show your appreciation for someone special. And nothing says "I appreciate you" more than a delightfully corny, medically themed Valentine's Day card, created by Access Services Librarian Megan Nance. Stop by the Medical Library to fill one (or many!) out, or download the files below to send a pun-filled message!

Full Access to JoVE Journal

After years of requests for video content, the Medical and Marx libraries have extended access to JoVE, the peer-reviewed scientific video journal formerly known as the Journal of Visualized Experiments. Yale now has access to the full JoVE Journal, including all specialties. “Yale faculty have contributed to many JoVE clinical skills videos and as such we trust that the content aligns with our teaching. We use the JoVE videos to support our physical examination curriculum and are glad to have expanded access through the library.” - Joseph Donroe, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine In addition, we have a trial subscription for a year to JoVE’s educational videos, which include many clinical skills and physical examination videos. Many Yale authors are publishing in JoVE and some of the clinical skills videos were produced by Yale faculty. Quick facts about JoVE: Contains over 16,000 videos across a variety of disciplines and medical specialties including biology, genetics, and neuroscience Customized video playlists in JoVE can directly map to course syllabi or training programs

New Exhibition: The Medical Lens: Highlights from the Stanley B. Burns, MD, Historic Medical Photography Collection

The Medical Lens: Highlights from the Stanley B. Burns, MD, Historic Medical Photography Collection January 27, 2023 - March 10, 2023 (EXTENDED TO MARCH 19TH!) Join us at the Medical Library for our newest Rotunda exhibition! Medicine is a field grounded in the visual world. Over the centuries, illustration became increasingly embedded in the medical field via textbooks, posters, and other visual medium. With the development of photography in the early nineteenth century, medicine acquired a new way of viewing the patient. Besides being integrated in medical education and training, photography became a means of creating professional identity. To the larger world, medical photography helped shape the image of medical care and the profession, promoted technological advancements, sold products, and influenced public policy. The Medical Lens explores the importance of photography in medicine through images selected from the recently acquired Stanley B. Burns, MD, Historic Medical Photography Collection at Yale University. The collection encompasses a wide variety of photographic and print techniques including daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes from the earliest years of photography, cartes de visite, cabinet cards, lantern slides, photo albums and collections of prints assembled by medical practitioners, postcards, and publications. Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS, is an ophthalmologist and Research Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry, and Professor of Medical Humanities at New York University: Langone Health. He began collecting historic photography in 1975, and over time amassed over a million images that he curated in multiple books, articles, and exhibitions. Dr. Burns is pictured standing in front of his photo wall containing some of the most iconic images from the Burns Archive, which he established in 1977. This exhibition is curated by Katherine Isham, MLIS, and Melissa Grafe, PhD, with the valued expertise of Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS. The curators want to thank Chris Zollo, Kelly Perry, Laura O’Brien-Miller, Terry Dagradi, Dana Haugh, and Melanie Norton for their additional assistance in bringing this exhibition to life. Please see the exhibition object list to begin exploring the items on display. Click to open the object list Case 1: Introduction -F. R. Reynolds and classmate before and after receiving their medical degrees at Rush Medical College, tintypes, 1883 -Florence Nightingale photographed by H. Hering, “Photographer to the Queen,” carte de visite, circa 1856-1857 -James Samuel How (Howe), MD, dead from cholera epidemic, St. Louis, Missouri, daguerreotype with obituary notice, 1849 -Ava V. Chadwick-Herns’s Battle Creek Sanitarium pamphlet with added photographs and notations, Battle Creek, Michigan, 1906-1907 -“Synoviales de la main” (dissection of the hand to show synovial system), 1870 and “Pelvi-support contre-extenseur” (counter-tension pelvic support), 1873 from Revue Photographique des hôpitaux de Paris. Gift of Stanley B. Burns, MD, 2020. Case 2: Medical Identity and the Profession (1) Meade brothers studying medicine, Victor, New York, tintype, circa 1860-1865 To be replaced mid-February with: (1) Two medical students studying anatomy with book, bones, and dissected arm, tintype, circa 1860-1865 (2) Dental extraction staged scene, tintype circa 1855-1865 (3) Portrait of Dr. Matthew Gill, “A student of Esculapius,” photographer S. Krausz, Chicago, cabinet card, circa 1891-1892 (4) Portrait of a visiting nurse, photographer John Suchy, Chicago, cabinet card, circa 1898-1900 (5) “Dr. Gridley’s first operation,” amputation surgery staged in a photography studio, photographer W. A. Hopkins & Company, Rapid City, South Dakota, cabinet card, 1891 (6) Elderly pharmacist with bottles of medicines, hand-tinted ambrotype, circa 1860-1866 (7) Physician/pharmacist using microscope, New York, gelatin silver print, circa 1895 (8) Pharmacist and assistant in a pharmacy, gelatin silver print, circa 1900 (9) Portrait of Danish nurse with red cross armband, photographer Mary Steen, Copenhagen, carte de visite, circa 1893 (10) Three nurses on the steps of the Lincoln School for Nurses, Bronx, New York, gelatin silver print, circa 1930 (11) Fordham Hospital medics with horse-drawn ambulance, gelatin silver print, circa 1892-1900 (12) Group photo of women interns at the Children’s Hospital of San Francisco, gelatin silver print, 1925-1926 Case 3: Medical Spaces and their Meanings (1) Dr. Bernstein, dentist, in his office, gelatin silver print, circa 1945 (2) Surgeon William L. Rodman’s clinic in the operating theater of the Medico Chirurgical Hospital, Philadelphia, photographer C. E. Waterman, gelatin silver print, March 26, 1902 (3) Exterior view of Mount Sinai Hospital from series “Views in New York City and Vicinity,” stereoview card, 1893 (4) Operation taking place in a Bellevue ward circa 1880s-1890s, gelatin silver copy print, 1948 (5) Operation led by female surgeon, gelatin silver print, circa 1905-1920 (6) Receiving wards, from George Pfaler E.M.D.’s Old Blockley Hospital photo album, Philadelphia, gelatin silver print, 1900-1901 (7) Boston City Hospital Ward P, gelatin silver print, Christmas 1912 Case 4: The Boom of Medical Innovation and Technology (1) Man in bed with leg in an early traction device, tintype in thermoplastic case, circa 1860-1870 (2) “Artificial sunlight for children,” showing a child receiving a “light bath” treatment at New York Nursery and Child’s Hospital, Keystone View Company, Inc., gelatin silver print, circa 1920-1935 (3) “Making ‘movies’ of the heart,” Kymograph machine combining X-ray and moving picture technology built by Dr. Wendell G. Scott and Dr. Sherwood Moore of Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis, International News Photo, gelatin silver print, 1936 (4) “New electron microscope has great range,” Dr. Gordon Scott of Washington University Medical School using an electron microscope, Acme Chicago Bureau, gelatin silver print, 1940 (5) “Machine will act as heart or lung,” created by J. Jongbloed of Holland for use during surgery, shown at conference of surgeons at the Sorbonne, Paris International News Photos, gelatin silver print, 1951 (6) “Skin resistance to sun measured,” Dr. Robert C. Burt of Pasadena, CA demonstrating his device for measuring how long one may be exposed to sunlight without injury, gelatin silver print, circa 1920-1930 (7) “La formule ideale de sang artificiel” (the ideal formula for artificial blood), Dr. Gottendenker of Vienna with his new invention: artificial human blood, Agence Trampus, gelatin silver print, 1937 (8) The “Headshrinker” positron detector invented by James S. Robertson at Brookhaven National Laboratory, a direct forerunner of positron emission tomography scanning, photographer unknown, gelatin silver print, 1961 (9) “Une nouvelle methode de traitement pour le cancere” (a new way to treat cancer), radiation sphere invented by Anton Zeeman and Doctor Erwin Fuhrer for the treatment of cancer, Agence Trampus, gelatin silver print, 1938 Case 5: Diseases, Vaccines, and Treatments (1) Child with smallpox, New York City, gelatin silver print, 1881 (2) Scenes from pneumonic plague in China, gelatin silver prints, 1911. Pictured are four doctors with thick face masks standing in front of a train; a doctor being sprayed with disinfectant; a doctor and medical assistants with horse-drawn carts for living and dead plague victims; and a doctor and military personnel standing outside an infected building that’s being burned down to stop the spread of disease. (3) Hookworm Disease Commission in Jamaica, gelatin silver prints, circa 1918 In these images from a larger album, medical personnel are using microscopes to examine samples and encouraging local people to see the hookworm eggs under the microscope as part of a health demonstration. (4) Elizabeth Kenny demonstrating physical therapy treatment on a young polio patient for nurses at General Hospital, Minneapolis, gelatin silver print, circa 1940 (5) Female scientists preparing vaccines in the Pasteur Institute toxins and antitoxins department, Photograph Trampus, Paris, gelatin silver print, 1943 (6) Adding formalin to transform toxin into antitoxin at the Pasteur Institute, Photograph Trampus, Paris, gelatin silver print, 1943 (7) U.S. Army Captain Daniel Staples administering typhoid vaccine to a young refugee from a flood area, Forrest City, Arkansas, International Newsreel, gelatin silver print, 1927 (8) Man being vaccinated at Pasteur Institute, photo postcard published by Neurdein et Cie, Paris, 1916 (9) Catholic missionary staff administering vaccines, photo postcard published by La Propagation de la Foi, Paris/Lyon, circa 1920 Case 6: War and Medicine (1) Civil War contract surgeon in his tent with books, medications, and medical bag, tintype, circa 1862-1865 (2) Surgical scene in front of a tent at Camp Letterman, Gettysburg, partial stereoview card, July 1863. Gift of Stanley B. Burns, MD, 2022 (3) American Women’s Hospital ambulance driver with her vehicle, photographer E. Belval, France, gelatin silver print, circa 1918 (4) World War I military doctor treating soldier with leg wound in multi-patient clinic, gelatin silver print, circa 1914-1918 (5) Back view of World War I soldier with severe chest injury recovering at Walter Reed Hospital, gelatin silver print, circa 1917-1920 (6) Wounded soldiers posing after recovery with wax models of their facial wounds from Kriegszahnklinik der IV. Armee in Lublin, a German army maxillofacial surgery album, 1916 (7) French World War I veteran photographed with his leg prosthesis from Considérations sur la Rééducation Professionelle Dans les Industries du Bâtiment (Considerations on vocational retraining in the construction industries), one of the first state-funded veteran rehabilitation programs, Charles Vallee, MD, France, 1917 (8) World War II medics administering plasma to battle casualty “on the run” to an L-5 plane for evacuation, Mindanao, Philippines, U.S. Army photograph, gelatin silver print, circa 1941-1942 (9) American Army surgeon operating on wounded soldier in underground surgery, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, U.S. Army photograph, gelatin silver print, 1943 Case 7: Patient Photography and Diagnostics (1) Civil war veteran receiving morphine injection from a physician, photographer B. Perry, Chamberlain, South Dakota, cabinet card, circa 1865-1866 (2) Nurse taking the pulse of female patient in a wheelchair, photographed by Altman and Edelman, Battle Creek, Michigan, cabinet card, circa 1894-1895 (3) Portrait of an obese man with edema of leg, tintype, circa 1865-1875 (4) Portrait of man with facial and neck tumor, photographer J. G. Ellinwood, Manchester, New Hampshire, carte de visite, circa 1871-1910 (5) Photograph documenting the spinal alignment of a young woman from Berkeley Gymnasium log book on student posture, photographer M. K. Wallin, MD, gelatin silver print, circa 1904-1909 (6) “Tubercular sylphide (on a woman’s back). From the collection of photographs of skin diseases of Dr. George Henry Fox,” page from The Medical Record: Weekly Journal of Medicine and Surgery, December 31, 1887 (7) Man with carcinoma of neck before and after treatment and with his family, Allentown, Pennsylvania, gelatin silver prints attached with surgical tape, circa 1915 (8) Lantern slides of a woman with fractured arm: x-rays and with her arm splinted, circa 1920-1930 (9) “Dr. Bordiu, marquis of Villa Verde, studies X rays during operation performed on Spanish child born with heart ailment,” photographer Jose Maria Lara, Pix Incorporated, New York City, gelatin silver print, circa 1950-1969 (10) Microscopic photography by Carlos Finlay, MD, from his research on yellow fever in Havana, Cuba: “Yellow fever blood, first day, fatal case x1450” and “Yellow fever blood, 5th day, fatal case x1450,” cabinet cards, 1879 Case 8: Teaching Medicine -Cartes de visite documenting Civil War veterans’ wounds and recovery, compiled by Dr. Reed Bontecou, Surgeon-in-Charge of Harewood U.S. Army General Hospital, Washington DC, circa 1863-1864, and donated to Army Medical Museum. Gift of Stanley B. Burns, MD, 2022. AND -Annotated teaching prints of injured Civil War soldiers: James Middleton with gunshot wound through the left shoulder and unidentified soldier with wound on left thigh, Dr. Reed Bontecou, enlargements of albumin prints, circa 1864-1865. Gift of Stanley B. Burns, MD, 2020. -Stereo prints from Lernt helfen (Learn to help), a 3D first aid guide for lay helpers that was packaged with a small folding stereoscope viewer, Germany, 1952 -Lantern slides created by Dr. Cutler using pre-made mats from William Garrison Reed, Boston, circa 1890 - On view are slides on “Purpurra haemorrhagica on leg” and “Herpes zoster on eye.” -To be replaced mid-February with slides on “Purpura rheumatica” and “Tinea Versicolor.” -“Tying the artery after the anastomosis is made” stereoview photograph from Transfusion of Blood by G. W. Crile, from Howard Kelly’s Stereo-clinic series, 1913 AND -“Closing the wound. Drainage.” stereoview photograph from Thyroidectomy for Exophthalmic Goiter by A. H. Ferguson, from Howard Kelly’s Stereo-clinic series, 1911. With stereoscope, circa 1890-1915 Opening Tour and Special Program: Thursday, February 9th 4:15pm – 4:45pm - Meet the curators and Dr. Burns and explore The Medical Lens through a short opening tour. Light refreshments will be served. Cushing Rotunda, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library 5pm – 6pm - “Medical Photography and the Humanities: Connecting History to Practice,” a session with Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS and Chitra Ramalingam, PhD. Co-sponsored by The Program for Humanities in Medicine at Yale School of Medicine. Room 115, just off the Cushing Rotunda, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library. The recording of the session is now available online through The Program for Humanities in Medicine website. Stay tuned for additional tour announcements for this limited time exhibition!

Heidi, the (Anatomy) Lab-rador Retriever, Boosts Wellness at Yale School of Medicine

Written by Abigail Roth Originally posted on the Yale School of Medicine website Heidi, the Yale Police Department’s (YPD) yellow Labrador Retriever service dog and community engagement ambassador, was a frequent—much appreciated—visitor to the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) campus during the fall semester, especially outside the anatomy lab. Heidi greeted first-year medical students, and many stopped to play with her. Providing comfort after anatomy lab Sundari Birdsall, MSW, MPH, RYT500, wellness counselor from the medical school's Student Mental Health & Wellness (SMH&W) Program, came up with the idea for Heidi’s post-anatomy visits. Birdsall then reached out to YPD Officer Rich Simons, Heidi’s “partner,” to coordinate. In explaining the thinking behind her idea, Birdsall says she thought “students could benefit from touching something warm and alive after being in the anatomy lab.” Additionally, she and Lisa Ho, LCSW, YSM’s student mental health & wellness program manager, often brainstorm about “creative ways to support students who wouldn't necessarily seek out therapy or wellness sessions.” Yale School of Medicine and Yale Mental Health and Counseling (MHC) launched the SMH&W Program in October 2021, to provide YSM students more immediate access to mental health counseling. The program provides access to one-on-one counseling, group counseling, and student wellness activities. In addition to Birdsall and Ho, a third member, Kathlene Tracy, PhD, has joined the team and will be available to meet students starting this month. Heidi’s post-anatomy visits, Birdsall says, have been effective. As students are petting Heidi, always with hands washed before leaving anatomy, many make informal, reflective comments about their anatomy lab experience, often related to the five senses. For example, they might mention the contrast of Heidi’s warm body to the cold bodies in the anatomy lab, or Heidi’s sense of smell picking up the lingering scents from the lab. Many students simply express relief to see and get to play with Heidi after what can be an emotional experience, with statements such as, “You knew I needed this today." Additionally, the engagement has led several students to pull Birdsall aside and informally debrief, or ask questions about their lab experience. Because Heidi's visits have been effective, Birdsall plans to expand the initiative in the spring to include anatomy lab visits for both medical students and Physician Associate Program students. Helping to promote wellness services Another outreach strategy Birdsall has initiated, in collaboration with Simons and Melanie Norton, MLIS, head of access and delivery services in the Cushing Whitney Medical Library (CWML), relates to the library. Birdsall explains she had been spending lunchtime on Fridays in the library, since the start of the academic year, to promote the SMH&W Program’s services. “Our wellness programming is robust and open to student interests and ideas,” Birdsall says, adding that frequently changing wellness events are posted on a calendar. To make sure students are of aware of these opportunities, “I'd sit for an hour by the circulation desk or outside the library at the time students were leaving class, offering hot cups of tea and info on our program.” Norton told Birdsall that pre-COVID, the library had had its own therapy dog that students loved, and suggested Birdsall might want to bring a similar dog to the library. Thinking it was a terrific idea, Birdsall reached out to Simons to arrange regular Friday visits. Birdsall appreciates the time Simons and Heidi devote to YSM. “Despite Heidi’s busy calendar, Rich has done a wonderful job of prioritizing the medical school,” she says. Birdsall explains that she books Heidi a month in advance using the LiveSafe app, “and we have been flexible about cancellations during times when Heidi has been needed somewhere else on short notice.” Simons, who refers to Heidi as his “wonderful best friend,” explains that “Heidi’s mission is to make friends and place smiles on everyone’s faces.” Birdsall also expresses gratitude for Norton’s support of the CWML outreach initiative—which includes bringing in candy for students and even giving up her chair and desk for Birdsall. Norton says that the CWML staff enjoy having Birdsall, Simons, and Heidi visit weekly, adding, “There is nothing like the unconditional love of a dog.” Reflecting on Heidi, Birdsall shares, “I've felt Heidi's empathic compassion first-hand.” Simons once gave the command, "Heidi, tell me a story," and, Birdsall explains, Heidi “lay down right on my lap and held still while looking up at me. As I petted her in this position, I started to tear up, seemingly out of the blue! Her caring touch was powerful."

How to Write a Data Management Plan - Email Course

On January 25, 2023, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will update its Data Management and Sharing Policy to further accelerate biomedical research discovery through scientific data sharing. The policy includes two main requirements: submission of a data management and sharing plan and agreement to comply with that plan, including sharing and preserving data for the long-term. The Medical Library welcomes this new policy and supports its emphasis on translating research results into accessible knowledge on human health. Get step-by-step guidance on how to compile a data management plan in our new email course, “How to Write a Data Management Plan.” In this six-part email course, you will explore the main components of a data management plan. By the end, and through a series of three action items, you’ll complete a draft data management plan, ready to submit to a funder or to put into use within your research team. This course unfolds over a period of several weeks, and you can expect your first email to arrive within a few days, after sign-up. For more information on research data management, visit our "Manage Data" page.

New Collection: Gary C. Burget Papers

Written By Laura Juliano, Processing Archivist The Medical Historical Library is pleased to announce the Gary C. Burget M.D. papers are now open for research. Gary C. Burget, M.D. (1941-2017), was a plastic surgeon specializing in facial and nasal reconstruction, working in both Miami, Florida and Chicago, Illinois for over 40 years of medical practice. Burget attended Yale University as an undergraduate and went on to graduate from Yale School of Medicine in 1967. The processed collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, publications, patient records, illustrations, photographs, slides, and other materials created or acquired by Burget in the course of running his plastic surgery medical practice, teaching, writing, and publishing. The collection, donated by Burget shortly before his death in 2017, provides the opportunity to study historical trends over time regarding surgical techniques and methods in the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st. With a large collection of slides, photographs, and patient charts, methods and diagnosis can be analyzed in the aggregate. As researchers identify techniques and procedures in the visual materials, library staff can update the description of the materials, providing greater levels of detail to future users of the collection. While the majority of the collection consists of patient files, there is a series dedicated to the writing and publishing of Burget which includes notes, drafts, illustrations, and correspondence concerning medical procedures, techniques, and expertise throughout his medical career. Of particular note, the illustrations and artwork created for publications and teaching afford insight into the ways in which Burget sought to advance plastic surgery techniques and how he continually pushed the field into the future. Included are two publications by his brother, Dean E. Burget, M.D., from the time when they were both at Yale University. The collection contains patient information that will be restricted for 50 years past the end date of the collection. Unrestricted materials in the collection include Burget’s writings and publishing files, personal papers, travels abroad for international volunteerism and teaching, and art and illustrations. A list of materials in the Gary C. Burget M.D. papers may be viewed in Archives at Yale. The Burget papers are a welcome addition to the Yale Archives of Plastic Surgery, which includes the M. Felix Freshwater papers. The Historical Library gratefully acknowledges a generous gift supporting processing of the collection from Dean E. Burget, M.D. and Gabriella M. Burget, honoring the memory of Gary Burget. At 267 linear feet, with 259 boxes of patient files, personal papers, photographs, slides, and artwork, the Burget collection offers insight into the world of plastic surgery that will provide research value for many years to come.

24/7 Computing & Study Space Becomes Designated Masking Area

Beginning Monday, November 21, 2022, the Medical Library’s 24/7 Computing & Study Space will become a designated masking area when the Medical Library is open. This space is equipped with 13 computing workstations and is accessible by both stairs and elevator during regular library hours. We appreciate your cooperation in making our spaces welcoming and accessible for all.

Lexicomp replaces Micromedex as clinical medication reference provider

On September 27, 2022, the Yale New Haven Health System will replace Micromedex with Lexicomp as the clinical medication reference provider. Links to the Lexicomp website will replace the current Micromedex links in the Library Services Epic Toolbar Menu and in the MAR. Additionally, links to Micromedex will be removed from the Medical Library website. Lexicomp offers a comparable, full-featured drug information database as a direct competitor to Micromedex. View the YNHHS announcement.

Holly Grossetta Nardini Selected as NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellow

Associate Director Holly Grossetta Nardini has been selected as a Fellow in the 2022/2023 NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program. Selection for participation in this program is highly competitive and a testament to Holly’s experience, talent, and recognized potential for future leadership within health sciences librarianship. The NLM/AAHSL Leadership Fellows Program prepares emerging leaders for director positions in academic health sciences libraries. The jointly sponsored program matches fellows and mentors in a one-year leadership development program. Since the program began in 2002, over 52 percent of fellow graduates have assumed director positions. The program provides a combination of in-person and virtual learning experiences for fellows and offers the opportunity to work collaboratively with a cohort of participants. Fellows are paired with mentors who are academic health sciences library directors. Mentors work closely with their fellows throughout the year and host their fellow’s visit to their library. Congratulations Holly!

“Natural Interactions in the Book as Art and Making Knowledge”

Post by curator Renata Nagy, Ph.D. Candidate, History of Art and Renaissance Studies, Yale University Explore our newest online exhibition: “Natural Interactions in the Book as Art and Making Knowledge” When readers call up early printed books in libraries, they expect to see clean copies. It is a fair belief, for most rare library collections include books with the least signs of wear, which were often cherished by collectors. In addition, a lot of used books either perished over the centuries or remained in private collections. This falsely gives the impression that books were barely used in the past. Books were widely engaged with in Europe between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. This was especially true for books about nature. Readers at the time interacted with their books and created art in them in an attempt to better understand nature and produce knowledge about it. In Spring 2022, art history Ph.D. candidate and GSAS Professional Experience (GPE) fellow Renata Nagy conducted extensive research into the Library’s holdings. She uncovered books that readers engaged with in relation to their studies about nature. Rich and diverse, the Library’s collection allows for a better understanding of how people thought about natural specimens in the early modern period. Renata curated and authored the exhibition with the generous help of the Library’s colleagues, particularly the John R. Bumstead Librarian for Medical History and Head of the Library, Melissa Grafe. Featuring over seventy images from fifteen different books from the Medical Historical Library’s collection, the exhibition showcases how elite collectors, interested laymen, artists, and naturalists shaped the book as an active work of art and a site of knowledge production about nature via various reading and learning practices. Illustrations of richly colored flowers, book collections of pasted dried plants, translations of wobbly annotations about the rose root plant, and videos of unfolding the oversized microscopic flea in Robert Hooke’s Micrographia (1665) demonstrate the variety of ways in which users processed information and invented new ones about natural specimens. We invite you to explore “Natural Interactions in the Book as Art and Making Knowledge,” which is a safe platform to browse the often fragile pages of these remarkable materials.