Tai Sophia Institute for the Healing Arts Library, Laurel, MD
by Mary Mannix, Frederick County Public Libraries
Published with permission. First published in The Crab: a Quarterly Print and Electronic Publication of the Maryland Library Association, Volume 36, Number 2 Winter, 2006
Maryland has long been a leader in medical research and education. The names Johns Hopkins, University of Maryland, and National Institutes of Health easily spring to most people’s minds. The name “Tai Sophia Institute for the Healing Arts” probably does not, but it should. Tai Sophia (http://www.tai.edu), located on 12 acres in Laurel, is “the anchoring institution for the nations emerging wellness system.”
The Institute began in nearby Columbia in 1974 as the College of Chinese Acupuncture; in 1978 it became the Traditional Acupuncture Institute. By 1985, it was the first program accredited by the National Accreditation Commission for Schools and Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. In 2002, the school underwent a name change, becoming Tai Sophia. Tai is Chinese for Great, Sophia is Greek for Wisdom. Two new graduate programs were also added — Master of Arts in Botanical Healing (the first in the US), and Master of Arts in Applied Health Arts. At that time, it moved from downtown Columbia, to the present spacious surroundings.
As a center of graduate education, Tai Sophia, of course, has a library. Located on the first floor of the school’s building, the library has a two-part mission. The first is to support the curriculum of the school. The second is to be an “information resource in wellness, alternative medicine, herbal medicine, acupuncture (for humans and animals), oriental medicine, and various forms of bodywork.” Tai Sophia has a very strong outward orientation.
The faculty and students are active in many ways in the surrounding communities. This is reflected in the library. It too, serves the community. Individuals not affiliated with the school may use the library facility and easily acquire a library card simply by registering a valid credit card. Sixteen percent of the current patrons are so registered. The Tai Sophia library is one of 20 consumer health libraries listed for Maryland on the NLM webpage. Until the expansion of the school, the library was small and staffed by only a part-time librarian. The library’s holdings now total over 11,000 books, periodicals, and audiovisual materials. There are two full-time staff members.
The library’s growth was spearheaded by Virginia (Ginny) Rodes, Tai Sophia Director of Library Services and Information Technology, who also oversaw the move into the new facility. The collection is diverse, yet focused. While they do collect the work of popular alternative health professionals, they concentrate their acquisitions on those more esoteric and academic materials not likely to be acquired by the average public library. They direct their patrons to local libraries for more mainstream works.
Of special interest is that the recent addition of the collection of Dr. James A. Duke, the author of Green Pharmacy (http://greenfarmacy.com). Duke worked for over 30 years as a USDA botanist. His donation of over 2,200 volumes reflects his work as an ethno botanist and has, for example, added significant non-American and historical materials to the library’s offerings.
The one room library is open and well lit, with plenty of table space for research. It is set up to promote patron self-sufficiency. Students are expected to master the basic arrangement of the library and learn to use the online catalog. The library’s staff, of course, spends time with bibliographic instruction and information literacy. They attempt to train graduate students to be as independent as possible. Interestingly, the students in these allied programs have much different relationships with print materials and therefore library use. The acupuncturists come out of a tradition that is not text heavy. Botanical medicine, on the other hand, is a very literature-rich discipline. It is possible for anyone with Internet access to search the library’s catalog (http://www.tai.edu) via the library link on the school’s webpage.
The library is open Monday through Fridays 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. When classes are in session, the library is open Tuesdays and Thursdays until 8:00 pm. At night, it is generally staffed by student workers. The library is also open occasionally on Saturdays. Most items circulate for three weeks and are renewable if not on hold. Reserve materials circulate for one week with the same possibility of renewal. Parking is free and abundant. Visitors may also be interested in the bookstore and cafe also located on the first floor. Tai Sophia is located at 7750 Montpelier Road. For further information please contact the library at 401-888-9048, 301-725-1674, or 800-735-9628, extension 6644, fax 401-888-9305. Virginia Rodes can be reached at vrodes@tai.edu DOCLINE LIBID: MDUJJG
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