Friends of the TMC Library
Supporting and promoting the TMC Library since 1958
Mission:
The mission of The Friends of The Texas Medical Center TMC Library (Friends) is to support and promote the Texas Medical Center Library (TMC Library).
Goals:
- Increase public awareness of the TMC Library
- Support the Library’s plan to collect, provide, and conserve bio-medical information
- Provide financial support for professional education and other TMC Library initiatives
- Serve in an advisory capacity to the TMC Library
- Support the preservation of TMC history
Learn more about the Friends of the TMC Library
How the Friends Support the Library
The Friends provide support to the Library through its leadership and/or significant support for initiatives related to the Library and the TMC, including:
- Funding for library staff development with an emphasis on technological advances affecting the Library and its users
- Organizing and funding a multi-year TMC Oral History
- Support of the Texas Medical Center Women’s History Project
- Organizing and hosting an Annual Book and Author Event
- Creation of note card sets that highlight the history of medicine and the TMC
Learn more about these initiatives:
- Oral History Project – The Friends is seeking nominations for future Oral History participants. Please consider nominating colleagues from all positions, educational backgrounds, and roles who may have something to share and preserve about their professional contributions to the development of the TMC. As a subset of this project, we are also seeking contributions to our “Moments in History.” If you or a friend or colleague has had an interesting personal experience involving the TMC, please reach out, or ask your friend or colleague to reach out, to the Library staff and arrange to have your “moment” recorded and preserved.
- Book and Author Event – In 2023, the Friends hosted a successful Book & Author Event featuring local physician and writer Dr. Ricardo Nuila, discussing his new book The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine. Stay tuned for information about the upcoming Book and Author Event which will be held on Friday, October 18, 2024. The success of this event is made possible by our generous sponsors, community donations at all levels, and ticket purchases.
- Historical Stationery Project – The Friends created two note card sets that highlight the history of medicine and those who practiced it. All card images are courtesy of the McGovern Historical Center of the TMC Library.
- Early Scenes of Nursing, 1909 through the 1950s: These folded notecards feature nursing students from the Houston area with six different pictures. The inside is blank for your personalized message.
- Memorial Hospital Children at Christmas, 1937: These folded notecards feature a striking image of patients and staff outside the Memorial Hospital Home for Sick and Disabled Children near downtown Houston on Christmas Eve 1937. The inside is blank for your personalized message.
- You can support the Friends through a purchase of these unique cards which make great gifts for anyone who appreciates the history of healthcare and nursing in the Houston area. The cards are priced at $10 per box and may be purchased by contacting Rebecca Denkeler at 713.799.7108.
Organization & Governance
The Friends has been recognized as a tax-exempt charitable organization described in Section 501(c)(3). All donations to the Friends organization are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Governed by a Board of Directors composed of community volunteers, the Friends’ Board is comprised of an outstanding group of medical, academic, and business professionals. The Friends meet every other month throughout the year..
Current Board of Directors
- John E. Wolf, Jr., MD, MA, President
- Adrian Melissinos, PhD, RN, Vice President
- Lynn C. Yeoman, PhD, Treasurer
- Christine Attar
- Jennifer M. Bell, MBA
- Judy Blissard, JD
- Eugene V. Boisaubin, MD, FACP
- Ms. Shanna Doucet, RN, MBA
- Ms. Carolyn Moody Drake, BSNRN, RN
- Stephen B. Greenberg, MD, MACP
- Christine Waller Manca, MA
- Janet Mehlhoff
- Shirley Margaret Morrison, PhD, RN
- Arlo Weltge, MD, MPH, FACEP
Become a Member Today
Levels of Membership
- Student: $25
- Friend: $50
- Sponsor: $100
- Benefactor: $250
- Patron: $500
- Leader: $1000
Your membership benefits include:
- Subscription to the TMC Library Newsletter
- Invitations and discounts for certain special events
- Recognition of contribution at events and on the website
Join Today
Join today with our two-step online process or at any in-person event. Please complete the online membership form and then complete your payment using our secure online system.