In our newest Getting to Know the Center, we’re highlighting some of the incredible people, projects, and resources in Countway's Center for the History of Medicine.
This month, meet the Center's Manager of Research and Instruction, Special Collections and Archives, Jessica Murphy, MLIS!
Jessica Murphy is the Manager, Research and Instruction, Special Collections and Archives for Countway’s Center of the History of Medicine in Countway Library. She began her role as Reference Archivist in early 2007 and was later appointed to Public Services Librarian in 2018.
Jessica manages public services, including research, teaching and learning for the Center. This includes reference services, reading room activities, course instruction, curriculum support and exhibit curation*. She works with researchers from Harvard and around the globe to engage with primary medical and public health resources to support their work.
Jessica has been involved in several activities and programs that help promote how historical resources are essential for current research. Currently, she serves as the Hinton Society Librarian and supports the T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health Liaison group. She is former staff chair for the Joint Committee on the Status of Women. She also has served on the Harvard-wide Special Collections and Archives Public Services committee and various working groups. She has maintained consistent involvement with projects such as Perspectives of Change, which focused on the history of diversity and inclusion at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.
For Jessica, being a point person for where medicine, public health and the humanities converge has been extremely rewarding. As technology changes so rapidly, history serves to answer the how and why of current issues.
Prior to joining the Center in 2007, Jessica was Assistant Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts in the Burndy Library at the former Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology at MIT.
*Exhibits: Grete L. Bibring: the First Modern Woman; Conceiving the Pill: Highlights from Reproductive Health Collections; Bridging the Gap: Contributions of African American surgeons at Harvard; and Pioneers in Family Planning: The beginning of Pathfinder Fund’s movement for global reproductive health.