The Sammy and Harry Ginsburg Health Sciences Library started serving students in June, but will officially open Oct. 31.
Though the opening of the Sammy and Harry Ginsburg Health Sciences Library won’t be official until Oct. 31, the building has been open and fully functional since June. Unlike Paley Library on Main Campus, the brand-new Sammy and Harry Ginsburg Library specializes in one thing – health sciences – and caters to post-graduate medical students.
“The new library is a massive upgrade,” Health Sciences Library Circulation Clerk Derrick Russell said. “It’s the greatest thing that’s happened to the Health Sciences campus.”
Donations funded the new facilities. Walking through the building, students can see the names of the philanthropists on plaques mounted in the rooms, doorways and stairwells. The building is named after the parents of a 1971 Temple Medical School graduate, Dr. Howard Ginsburg, generously donated $2.5 million toward the project.
The library was designed specifically for students pursuing careers in the medical profession.
“It’s more for post-graduate students,”
Russell said. “We have an older student base, which also means there’s a more serious atmosphere. They already picked their professions and are more focused. There’s no messing around, these kids are here to jumpstart their careers.”
It hosts a wealth of resources for a variety of medical fields, catering not only to students of the Dentistry, Pharmacy, Health Profession and Medical schools, but also to the Temple Hospitals. The Health Sciences Library hosts a collection of rare medical journals and textbooks that cannot be found at Paley.
“I really like it. I’m here daily,” second-year medical student Tyson Newby said. “They have books you can’t find at other places. It’s a big improvement over last year.”
The new library has 30 study rooms, 10 smart rooms, two health science classrooms and 175 computer workstations. The library has medical books and journals both in print and online, but students looking for media resources have to request the materials from Paley.
“Paley has a much larger collection … we have a print book focus. We have media resources and special collections that can only be found here … there’s a very strong collection here, ” said Associate University Librarian Steven Bell.
Paley Library has the advantage of closer proximity to Main Campus and the majority of the student body. It also has resources for every major and attracts a vast range of students. Paley also employs students, while the Health Sciences Library does not.
However, it lacks technological resources and study rooms compared to the Health Sciences Library. The new Health Sciences building covers more ground and provides a relaxing study setting. The lower level is scattered with workstations and large windows looking out to Broad Street.
According to circulation desk records, approximately 8,000 students visit the Paley Library daily, while only 2,000 or 3,000 use the Health Sciences Library.
Bell explained the difference in the numbers.
“Our library sees more students … because we have materials for all the majors. We still have to deal with the humanities, social sciences and art students,” Bell said.
Most undergraduate students at Main Campus said they’d use Paley rather than the Health Sciences building, citing its convent location and variety in materials as reasons.
“[Paley’s staff is] really helpful. I only go to Paley since I’m a communications major, and they have more stuff for my major,” said sophomore communications major Samantha Shotz.
The Health Sciences Library is open 24 hours a day, Sunday at 10 a.m. until Friday at 10 p.m., with public hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Oct. 31 ceremony will mark the official opening of the new Ginsburg Health Sciences Library.
Cait Berry can be reached at c.berry@temple.edu.
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