The rare book gallery on Level 5 of the Wigton Heritage Center has reopened to visitors.
The gallery resumed its operations this month upon completion of repairs caused by a water pipe break this summer.
The gallery “is an inviting space that allows visitors to get close to historically important books from the history of the health sciences,” said Erin Torell, rare books librarian at McGoogan.
Currently, visitors to the gallery can enjoy a unique selection of anatomy books, which includes a first edition of Gray’s Anatomy, a text “that is significant not just to medicine but our culture as well,” Torell said.
Other available anatomy texts are published in English, Italian and French and feature dental, obstetric and more general illustrations, Torell said.
This summer’s flood damaged walls behind some exhibit cases, which were pulled out from the walls as part of the drying process, Torell said. Lighting components and door seals were repaired; the latter provides the needed barrier preventing “water from entering the book display,” Torell said.
Returning to their normal, Torell said librarians freshen the collection as they “turn the pages every three months.” While this small act of momentum represents “a preservation task, it also invites visitors to return to view new illustrations,” Torell said.
Learn more about the Wigton Heritage Center here.