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Facts About the Library

Library Mission Statement

The mission of the Becker Medical Library is to provide information resources and technology in support of the educational, research and patient care objectives of the School of Medicine.

In the pursuit of our mission we aspire to:

• Demonstrate in all that we do our commitment to personal, timely and professional service.
• Build and maintain a strong collection that is accessible anytime, anywhere and acknowledges the rapidly changing landscape of scholarly publishing.
• Establish partnerships with our school’s faculty, staff and students in an effort to anticipate and better serve their needs.
• Reflect in our strategic initiatives the school’s programs and priorities.
• Leverage information technology to improve access to information, teaching and learning, and collaboration within the school.
• Create an atmosphere of teamwork within the library to foster innovation at every level.
• Provide local and national leadership in defining the future role of medical libraries.

Who We Serve

The Bernard Becker Medical Library serves the Washington University School of Medicine, the Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and the St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

The Collections

The Bernard Becker Medical Library collections are available to the nearly 10,000 faculty, staff and students at the Washington University Medical Center. The collections consists of:

• 4,342 electronic journal titles (active and inactive)
• 3,592 electronic journal titles (active)
• 4,509 print journal titles (active and inactive)
• 169 print journal titles (active) – print-only or print+online
• 79 print-only journal titles (active)
• 1,500 electronic books
• 101,000 print books
• 1,200 audio-visual items
• 33 electronic databases
• 769 archival collections (institutional records, manuscripts, visuals, and oral histories)
• over 26,000 volumes of rare books, in 9 distinct collections

Library Staff

The library staff of 50 employees includes:

• librarians
• information technology specialists
• library assistants

About Dr. Bernard Becker

Dr. Bernard Becker is professor emeritus and emeritus head of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Washington University School of Medicine. A graduate of Princeton University and the Harvard Medical School, Dr. Becker trained in ophthalmology at the Wilmer Institute of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Upon completing his residency in 1953, Dr. Becker was recruited as professor and head of the Department of Ophthalmology at Washington University School of Medicine. He served as head of the department through 1988 and, during his tenure, developed one of the finest academic departments in the country. A recipient of numerous academic awards and the author of many scientific publications, Dr. Becker’s career is characterized by a steadfast devotion to excellence in biomedical research, patient care and clinical teaching.

Dr. Becker’s contributions to the School of Medicine extend far beyond the confines of the Department of Ophthalmology. In addition to playing a major role in advancing the physical facilities, clinical activities and scientific programs of the School of Medicine, Dr. Becker championed the cause of the School of Medicine’s library and played a major role in the design and construction of the current library building, completed in 1989. The library was renamed in honor of Dr. Becker in May 1995. The Bernard Becker Collection in Ophthalmology and Optics, one of the finest collections of rare books on ophthalmology and the visual sciences and personally acquired by Dr. Becker, is a major component of the library’s internationally recognized rare book collections.

 

• Bernard Becker Medical Library Strategic Directions – 2007-2010 (PDF)
• Directions to the Library
• Library Floorplan

 

Last updated: March 6, 2008