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By Karen Fox

One of the American Dental Association's most-treasured assets is celebrating its 80th birthday this month.

The ADA Library features an extensive collection of books and journals covering all areas of dentistry and oral health—including clinical, research, practice management and historical topics—and a team of professional librarians and support staff who maintain the collection and respond to inquiries from a variety of sources.

	Expertise: Mary Kreinbring, director of the ADA Library since 1995, shows off a bound version of one of the more than 600 domestic and international journal titles annually received by the Library.

It's also a resource that many don't realize exists. For those in the know, the Library is one of their most valued benefits of membership.

"Dr. Donald Washburn (the former director) used to call it 'the ADA's best-kept secret'," said Mary Kreinbring, the Library's current director. "We have visitors and callers who keep coming back, so we know the word is out. But when there's a tour of the Headquarters and people visit the Library and learn about all that we do, most say, 'I had no idea you offered these services.' "
According to Dr. Washburn's "A Short History of the American Dental Association Bureau of Library Services 1927-77," collecting books and journals for Headquarters office use began around 1921.

The need for library service for ADA members came into focus in 1923 with President J.B. Buckley's address to the House of Delegates, in which he stated: "The standing or character of a profession can best be judged by its literature. In this respect, dentistry need offer no apology; but organized dentistry should have a library of its own equal to the best. The library should contain everything in the way of reference, be complete in every particular, all dental literature, national and international, properly indexed … This would not only augment and encourage our research workers; but would reflect greatly to the credit of our profession."

With the hiring of the first librarian, the ADA's Department of Literary Research was founded in 1927. "At the time of its inception," Dr. Washburn wrote, "it was primarily concerned with garnering the current dental literature in order to provide the 'latest information' asked for by the members."

That is a constant that has remained to this day.

"The ADA Library fills a unique need for all ADA members," said Ms. Kreinbring. "First of all, most dentists do not have ready access to a dental library. Hospitals, academic centers and medical libraries have limited resources on dentistry, and access to library services is usually only for physicians on staff. The ADA Library tends to be the only resource for most private practice dentists seeking information and references from dental literature."

Circa 1927: This early photo displays the ADA Library's pamphlet cases, and was likely taken for a 1929 JADA article that reported progress of the Library to the membership.
1950: Librarians at work in the ADA's second headquarters in Chicago. Josephine Hunt (left) was the ADA's first librarian, serving from 1927-1948. Dr. Donald Washburn (right) led the Library from 1949-1977.

In order to meet the needs of the profession and some public inquiries, the Library offers a variety of services—everything from book loans to historical references to assistance with PubMed/MEDLINE and comprehensive reference packages.

A milestone in the Library's evolution was its 2001 conversion from the card catalog to the Web-accessible Online Library Catalog (www.ada.org/prof/resources/library/catalog.asp). Members and nonmembers can now search the Catalog, but only members may use the book request option.

While using the popular online reference PubMed/MEDLINE, members can also request article copies using the Loansome Doc feature. In 2004, the ADA Library added the ability to scan and send articles via e-mail to members—which now accounts for nearly half of the articles distributed.

"One of our goals is to be able provide these services more efficiently to members," said Ms. Kreinbring. "For a PubMed/MEDLINE search from a commercial publisher, you'll pay as much as $30 per article. For ADA members using the Library, you pay $7 and we supply print or electronic copies. People are surprised to find out they've been paying commercial rates when it's a benefit they have as an ADA member."

Online search engines are another way to access information on a given topic, but searches often turn up mixed results.

"There is a lot of information out there, but it doesn't compare to the expertise of the professional librarians at the ADA Library," said Ms. Kreinbring. "We generally help save people time, and it's a more effective way to obtain relevant information."

In fact, the ADA Library staff has a combined 176 years of experience in health sciences libraries—with 146 years in dental libraries alone. In addition to three full-time reference librarians, there is a full-time ADA archivist who manages the ADA Archives and historical references.

"We receive over 600 domestic and international journal titles a year, and we know the dental terminology and the dental literature," said Ms. Kreinbring. Using component and constituent society journals as an example of resources at the ADA Library but not on PubMed/MEDLINE, she added: "We have a range of resources specific to the dental profession to draw upon that the average dentist does not have."

Some requests received by the Library are timely (information on meth mouth or cone-beam imaging), while others are perennial (the history of the toothbrush). Examples of common reference requests include:

• What kind of plaque control techniques should be used when a person has a cleft palate?
• What is the salivary pH level of the oral cavity after chewing gum?
• What are the oral complications of chemotherapy?
• I'm experiencing a lot of back pain and I'd like some information on back pain in dentists.

Recent requests for practice management topics have covered informed consent, adding an associate and how to value a practice. An historical reference request was also completed for a member studying the history of dental insurance.

Dental societies use the Library for society historical records, too. "We have regional dental histories in our collection, which are often not available within the state," said Ms. Kreinbring. "The information is valuable to societies especially when they're planning anniversary celebrations."

The ADA Library encourages in-person visits. Along with the collection of books and journals, there are a number of historical artifacts and Association gifts on display, such as a set of G.V. Black's original histological slides, mother-of-pearl-handled dental instruments, dental instrument that belonged to Lucy Hobbs Taylor and more. It's a frequently visited site during the Chicago Dental Society's Midwinter Meeting and during ADA events and council and commission meetings.

"A lot of members just stop in from time to time to see what the new books are, or spend a day or two here to prepare for an upcoming presentation or workshop," said Ms. Kreinbring.

Library hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Central Time. For more information about using ADA Library services, call the Association's toll-free number, Ext. 2653.