"A Digital Future for the History of Medicine?"

Next Wednesday (23rd March), Dr Simon Chaplin, Head of the Wellcome Library, will be giving a talk at the Centre for the Humanities and Health (CHH), King’s College London, titled: "A Digital Future for the History of Medicine?"

The talk starts at 6pm and will take place in the Council Room (K2.29), King's Building, Strand Campus, King’s College London (directions).

More information is available through the CHH events webpage.

Image: The gyri of the thinker's brain as a maze of choices in biomedical ethics. Scraperboard drawing by Bill Sanderson, 1997 (Wellcome Library no. 40586i).

Jenner's Marvellous Medicine

As part of the BBC's History of the World series, BBC 1 West broadcast last night, Jenner's Marvellous Medicine, a documentary in which presenter Mark Horton told the story of Edward Jenner and smallpox vaccination.

The documentary drew extensively on Wellcome Images, our photographic library, and also featured our Head of Library, Dr Simon Chaplin, in his previous role as Director of the Hunterian Museum, discussing Jenner's friendship with John Hunter.

The documentary is available for seven days for readers in the UK, through the BBC's iPlayer.

New Head of the Wellcome Library

A new Head of the Wellcome Library has been appointed. Dr Simon Chaplin started his new position at the beginning of February.

Dr Chaplin was Director of Museums and Special Collections at The Royal College of Surgeons of England, where he managed the Hunterian Museum - an accredited public museum containing the designated collection of the surgeon John Hunter (1728-1793) - and the Wellcome Museum of Anatomy and Pathology, a modern medical teaching collection.

"I am very excited about this appointment," explains Clare Matterson, Director of Medical Humanities and Engagement at the Wellcome Trust. "Simon demonstrated a real passion for opening up the collections in the Library - and has shown how he can successfully lead a transformation during his time at the Hunterian."

Dr Chaplin commented: "The Wellcome Library's collections are a fantastic resource with appeal to a wide range of audiences. I am delighted to be joining the Library, and look forward to working with staff, users and stakeholders to develop and implement the Library strategy."

For more details on the appointment, see the Wellcome Trust's website.