Claude Moore Health Sciences Library

Our third stop on the library tour brought us to the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library at the University of Virginia, adjacent to the UVA Hospital.  The Health Science Library is situated over Jefferson Park Avenue in the large raised walkway that connects Hospital buildings on either side of the road.  Ambulances and doctors wearing scrubs abound near the entrance, giving this library a distinctly medical setting.  The interior also has sparse, minimally-decorated feeling of a hospital.  This is certainly not inappropriate, but for two humanities scholars accustomed to forests of bookshelves, it felt a bit bleak.  The fluorescent lights and low ceilings make it feel a bit like a laboratory and less like a library.  I cannot say that I found the setting particularly conducive to creative writing, but of course that is not what this space was designed for.  The place is clearly very popular among medical students; it was packed on the day that we went, and a friend in the nursing school confirmed that he loves it as a place to study.  I have no doubt that it is an excellent resource for medical students and a wonderful place to conduct scientific, digitally-based research.

Before we arrived, I mentioned to Anne that the name "Claude Moore" reminded me of Clement C. Moore, the author of The Night Before Christmas.  I joked that in his portrait (which would no doubt grace the walls of the lobby) he probably looked like Santa Claus.  But when we got inside, there was no portrait to be found.  Unlike the warm and inviting Tracey W. McGregor Room of our last stop, the namesake of this particular library did not make his presence known anywhere.  Not in the plain, businesslike lobby.  Not on the walls in the low-ceilinged, fluorescent-lit study area.  However, as we were leaving, we noticed a small plaque on the outside of the building.  We walked closer to get a better look, and then we saw him:  Claude Moore.  White beard and all: I'm not even joking.

I am very glad we stopped to read the plaque, not only to confirm my notion that he indeed resembled Santa Claus, but because the brief biography that accompanied his picture opened with the best line ever.  It began, "Claude Moore, a colorful and outspoken millionaire..."  Anne and I agreed that when we died, we would both like to be remembered as colorful and outspoken millionaires.  At the Health Sciences Library, inspiration is found in unexpected places.  And even though it wasn't really my style, I am very glad to have visited.