- Found In
- (CStRLIN)NYPW92-A12
- Description
- 41 linear feet (48 boxes, 70 volumes).
- Summary
- Collection documents Billings' seventeen years as Director, from 1896 to 1913.
- Subjects
- Genre/Form
- Minutes.
- Architectural drawings.
- Terms of Use (note)
- All rights reserved. Permission to quote must be obtained in writing from the New York Public Library.
- Location of Other Archival Materials (note)
- Billings' personal papers are held by NYPL Manuscripts Division.
- Biography (note)
- John Shaw Billings (1838-1913) combined careers in both medicine and library science. He served as a U.S. Army surgeon and was responsible for creating the nation's foremost medical library - now the National Library of Medicine. He served as special advisor to the Trustees of Johns Hopkins Hospital in planning and organizing that institution. After retiring from the Army in 1895, Billings was named the first Director of the New York Public Library. He helped create the N.Y.P.L. by combining the Astor and Lenox Libraries into a public research library and building a branch library system for three of the boroughs of New York City (Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx.) Billings assumed responsibility for most acquisitions of library materials and personally built up the collections. He also planned and oversaw the constuction of the Central Library Building which was opened to the public in 1911.
- Indexes/Finding Aids (note)
- Unpublished finding aid available at repository and on Internet
- Linking Entry (note)
- The history of the Director's Office is described separately.
- Processing Action (note)
- Call Number
- MssArc 4937
- OCLC
- NYPW92-A13
- Author
New York Public Library. Central Administration. Director's Office.
- Title
John Shaw Billings records, 1885-1915.
- Terms Of Use
All rights reserved. Permission to quote must be obtained in writing from the New York Public Library.
- Biography
John Shaw Billings (1838-1913) combined careers in both medicine and library science. He served as a U.S. Army surgeon and was responsible for creating the nation's foremost medical library - now the National Library of Medicine. He served as special advisor to the Trustees of Johns Hopkins Hospital in planning and organizing that institution. After retiring from the Army in 1895, Billings was named the first Director of the New York Public Library. He helped create the N.Y.P.L. by combining the Astor and Lenox Libraries into a public research library and building a branch library system for three of the boroughs of New York City (Manhattan, Staten Island and the Bronx.) Billings assumed responsibility for most acquisitions of library materials and personally built up the collections. He also planned and oversaw the constuction of the Central Library Building which was opened to the public in 1911.
- Indexes
Unpublished finding aid available at repository and on Internet
- Location of Other Archival Materials
Billings' personal papers are held by NYPL Manuscripts Division.
- Linking Entry
The history of the Director's Office is described separately.
- Connect to:
- Occupation
Librarians.
- Found In:
(CStRLIN)NYPW92-A12
- Research Call Number
MssArc 4937
RG 6