Notable Veterinary Medical Librarians
Mia Reinap (1917-1993)
- 26 years in veterinary librarianship
- Veterinary Medical Librarian/College Librarian, 1954-1978, Assistant Librarian, 1952-1954; Flower Veterinary Library, Cornell University
Major Contributions to Veterinary Librarianship:
Mia Reinap’s contributions to veterinary librarianship pre-date the establishment of the Veterinary Medical Libraries Group. Mia devoted considerable effort in building and cataloging the Flower Veterinary Library’s collection and serving the information needs of Cornell University Veterinary College’s students and faculty. She remained interested in interlibrary loan activity and other means of shared collection building throughout her 26-year veterinary career.
Originally from Estonia, Mia earned a bachelor of science degree in zoology from the University of Massachusetts in 1940 followed by a Bachelor of Library Science diploma from Simmons College in 1941. In subsequent positions, she was cataloger at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University [1941-1943], cataloger at Brown University [1943-1946], acting librarian for biology and chemistry at the University of Texas [1946-1947], and assistant librarian at the College of Dentistry (New York) [1947-1952]. She then served as assistant librarian and cataloger at the New York State Veterinary College at Cornell for two years before becoming head librarian in 1954 replacing Alice M. Purrington. These varied professional credentials and experience in the life sciences undoubtedly enabled Mia to meet immediate space challenges in the 1950s and guide the library ahead through to the late 1970s.
Much of what can be said about Miss Reinap’s contributions to veterinary librarianship reside in activities of the Flower Library. When Mia assumed responsibilities as college librarian, the collection numbered over 20,000 volumes with approximately 365 periodical subscriptions. Over the years, print resources increased to over 65,000 volumes plus 1,200 periodicals and series acquired by subscription or exchange. To her credit, when a national comparative survey of veterinary library facilities was conducted in 1965, the Flower Library was ranked first in book volumes and periodical holdings as the largest separate animal health-related collection in the United States and Canada.
As the College grew over the years since its founding in 1894, it became necessary to construct a new veterinary campus in the 1950s. The overcrowded Library moved into its significantly enlarged reading room and three levels of adjacent stacks in July 1957. In anticipation of moving, library staff actively tried to reduce the binding backlog for several years in advance. Not surprisingly, it was noted in Annual Reports that both attendance and circulation of books doubled within the first three years thereafter.
Under her capable direction, occupation of the new facility offered distinct advantages for Mia, her assistant librarian, and other staff to extend use and develop services. Among these included transforming the accessions list into an informative newsletter, preparing mimeographed guides concerning use of the library and research methods, compiling bibliographies, and offering guided tours for graduate student. By 1964, the card catalog was divided into author/title and subject sections and later microfilmed, college photos were organized, and reference source materials rearranged. The Veterinary Library also contributed serials holdings for Cornell campus and State University of New York (SUNY) printed union lists. Acquisition policy evaluation resulted in further strengthening the book and periodical collections in support of the D.V.M. curriculum and graduate research program. Later in 1968, “a series of ‘programmed’ text and question sets were designed and used as part of an augmented library orientation program for first-year students. A study of audiovisual techniques for the purpose of further individualizing the instruction in library research methods has been initiated.” By the late 1970s, bibliographic databases were become available that enabled the Library to implement a new computer-assisted literature search service, called COMPASS at Cornell.
With rapid advancements taking place in science, Mia was looking toward “translation services to make veterinary and scientific developments in the U.S.S.R. available to our workers.” Annual Reports indicate that she was pleased by “the recognition of veterinary science within the medical framework by increasing the number of veterinary journals included in medical indexes.” Moreover, “the interests of our readers….show that there is just one medicine” as “the veterinarian has been turning to the medical journals, since they are carrying an increasing number of articles on animal experiments.” She was also concerned about adequate coverage of veterinary medicine within the Library of Congress classification.
Both interlibrary loan borrowing and lending activity enabled the Veterinary Library to “act as a ‘reservoir’ library for the dissemination of scientific knowledge.” In 1966, it was noted that 200 orders were filled from libraries outside the Ithaca area and cooperative arrangements enabled the borrowing of materials from medical libraries around the state.
Miss Reinap’s long-standing interest in exchange activity continued unabated both in receiving needed items and donating surplus materials to other veterinary libraries over the years. She often utilized the Medical Library Association Exchange to fill gaps in the collection and shipped duplicates to the flooded Veterinary Institute Library in Florence, Italy in 1967.
Success in public service and collection development activities through the 1950s resulted in the hiring of a third professional librarian in 1963. Then, by late 1970s, growing demands necessitated expanding the Library’s schedule to 87 hours per week. In addition, as cataloging utilities, such as OCLC, became available, the outsourcing of cataloging and book-ordering responsibilities to other campus libraries offered further opportunity for helping the Flower Library staff handle the additional work load.
Always the consummate cataloger and wide-ranging subject expert, Mia is responsible for issuing “an oblique invitation” to emeritus professor Dr. Ellis P. Leonard in 1970 to begin organizing the papers of the six original faculty members. This archival activity and research ultimately resulted in Dr. Leonard’s publication of two volumes on the history of veterinary medicine at Cornell in 1979 and 1982, respectively.
Beyond the Flower Library’s daily functions, Mia attended various meetings and participated in cooperative opportunities. For example, during the summer of 1964, she “visited veterinary libraries in Oslo, Stockholm, and Copenhagen, and had a welcomed opportunity to exchange some ideas.” Later in 1966, it was noted that “the librarian was a member of a panel on ‘Medical Library Problems’ at the October meeting of the New York Regional Group of the Medical Library Association and also attended the national MLA meeting in Boston.” Mia traveled to the Third International Congress of Medical Librarianship held in Amsterdam in 1969. As reported in 1970, “the veterinary library, therefore, actively sought to supply the needs of its readers through cooperating services with other libraries and through investigation of new technologies of information retrieval. To this end, the librarian continued to serve on the Advisory Committee of the Medical Library Service, which met twice during the year.”
On the national level, Henley, MacNeil and Stephens’ VMLS history indicates that “perhaps Mia Reinap, Librarian of the Flower Veterinary Library, New York State College of Veterinary Medicine” may have had a role with Ann Kerker and Elsie Bergland in organizing a veterinary librarians group.
When Mia retired in 1978, the College hosted a gala retirement party to honor her and Dr. Robert E. Habel, a professor of veterinary anatomy. From time to time, some alumni still ask about her at reunions. During her tenure, Mia possessed a genuine respect for the literature of veterinary medicine and succeeded in nurturing and advancing the Flower Library for her successor, Susanne Whitaker.
Publications About Mia Reinap:
Reinap, Mia. In: A biographical dictionary of librarians in the United States and Canada, 5 th ed. Chicago: American Library Association; 1970. p. 907.
Mia Reinap. [Obituary]. The Ithaca Journal. 1 May 1993. p. 4A.
Other Publications and Resources:
Leonard EP. In the James Law tradition 1908-1948. Ithaca, NY: New York State College of Veterinary Medicine; 1982. p. 261-2.
Reports of the New York State Veterinary College Cornell University for the years 1952/1953 through 1977/1978.