Marcia Crocker Noyes, medical librarian: the shaping of a career

Abstract

This study explores the accomplishments of Marcia Crocker Noyes (1869-1946) in depth and examines how her unobtrusive, yet extremely influential, personality contributed to success in medical librarianship. In the library of the state medical society of Maryland and in the Medical Library Association, this pioneer medical librarian acted as a revitalizing force, and thus was in part responsible for the survival and subsequent growth of both institutions. Perhaps as important as her concrete contributions to medical libraries was the legacy which Miss Noyes bequeathed to her colleagues. She not only shaped the vocation of medical librarianship, but also by her example, stressed the dedication to the future necessary for one to be termed a professional.