More than 50 years ago, the medical school library was located in three buildings at the corner of 13th and H Streets NW. As Ross Hall and the Himmelfarb Library were built, Daniel Yett, the Science Librarian at GW’s existing undergraduate library, was tasked with planning and managing the move to the new building.
At the time, the medical library’s collections were spread out over multiple locations due to space limitations. Newer materials were housed at 13th and H Streets in the existing and cramped library; some recent-ish journal runs were stored in the basement at 13th & H Streets, and other even older journal runs were held in off-site storage locations. The task before Mr. Yett required careful documentation and planning as he needed to intershelve holdings from three separate locations to create a single consolidated journal collection.
Dr. Shelley Bader, retired Associate Vice President, GW SMHS, remembers Mr. Yett for the contributions that he made to Himmelfarb Library’s early years, and for his development of a history of science lecture series at GW. Mr. Yett also provided crucial support for Dr. Bader early in her career. As preparations were underway for the move to the newly built Himmelfarb Library, Dr. Bader had been working in Circulation at the old medical library, providing reference services, and was completing the final three credits of her Master’s in Library Science. Mr. Yett supported Dr. Bader’s application for a newly available reference librarian position, which she assumed upon the move to the new building.
Following his time at GW, Daniel Yett became an officer with the United States Information Agency (USIA) and continued his career at postings around the world. To honor his memory, Dr. Bader has donated funds to support environmental health acquisitions.
