Harriet Wheelock

Dun's Librarians




National Library Week is scheduled for the 11th to the 15th of November 2013 which is only 3 weeks away. We have a fantastic library here in the Heritage Centre called Dun’s Library which was established in 1713 due to a bequest by Sir Patrick Dun (1642-1713). From its foundation to the 1960s, the library was a working research library for medics. Since the 1960s, Dun’s Library has stopped collecting current medical texts, and now focuses on historical medical works and the history of medicine in Ireland. While Library Week will be all about the library we thought that it would be nice to focus on the librarians and honorary librarians that have made Dun’s library what it is today in the weeks leading up it.

The most recent librarian, Robert Mills, retired in May of this year. He had held the position of RCPI librarian since 1978. However, the position of Dun’s Librarian has been in existence since 1787 and was first held by Dr Stephen Dickson. The Dun’s Librarian has always been a Fellow of the College, and appointed by RCPI to look after the library collections. Originally, it was a working position and the holders of the title worked as librarians as well as being trained doctors.

In 1865 H.J. Fennell, the first lay librarian, was hired for the college but the position of Dun’s Librarian remained as an honorary position for Fellows. The Dun’s Librarian is still appointed by RCPI’s Fellows and their role is to oversee the management of the Heritage Centre and to chair the Library Committee. The current Dun’s Librarian is Dr Paul Darragh.

When Robert Mills retired, Harriet Wheelock took over as Keeper of Collections, looking after both the archive collections and the library. Harriet is ensuring that the archive and library catalogues are up to date by following international standards to ensure that the items in the collections can be easily found. To help with her work, Harriet has employed us, two new library interns, Sarah Kennedy and Jenny O’Neill. We will be cataloguing the collections, assisting with genealogical research and other bits and pieces including adding to this blog.

This internship is a fantastic opportunity for us to work with a very unique and interesting collection; a collection that wouldn’t be available today without the hard work and care of the librarians. So let’s celebrate them and their contributions.

Sarah Kennedy
Library Intern