William K. Beatty (1926-2002) Papers

The William K. Beatty Papers fill 29 boxes and span the period 1944–1994. They are arranged in seven categories: biographical materials, correspondence, teaching files, consulting files, professional organizations, papers presented before professional organizations, and publications. Most of the material related to Vital Notes on Medical Periodicals is in the Medical Library Association Archives at the National Library of Medicine.

The biographical materials include a curriculum vitae (1994) and a small collection of clippings.

The general correspondence deals with various professional and academic matters. The subject correspondence contains material dealing with several individuals and organizations. This includes some personal correspondence.

The teaching files deal primarily with courses in the history of medicine and medical writing. Some student evaluations are in a separate folder; others are with the various courses.

The bulk of the consulting files consists of material related to the National Library of Medicine's Index Medicus. Also included are other journals and indexing projects.

The professional organizations category pertains mainly to the Medical Library Association and the Special Libraries Association. There are also substantive materials related to the American Association for the History of Medicine, American Medical Writers Association, and the selection of the Midwest Regional Medical Library.

The papers presented before professional organizations include a wide variety. Most important are the Chicago Literary Club and the Society of Medical History of Chicago. The Dana and Davis Lectures rank highly in the fields of special librarianship and the history of medicine.

The publications category is the largest, occupying ten boxes. This includes an early draft of The Medical Garden and notes on and drafts of many articles and book chapters. Of special importance are “Searching the Literature Comes Before Writing the Literature” which appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 1973, was the subject of an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, and received over 500 requests for reprints; and “Some Medical Aspects of Rudyard Kipling” which appeared in 1975 in The Practitioner (London) and also received over 500 requests for reprints. Most of the 40 biographical articles on Chicago physicians are represented here in the form of reprints.