Global Health Nexus, Winter 2004

Waldmann Memorial Library Moves to Larger Facilities at the Manhattan VA Medical Center

In recent years, the Waldmann Memorial Library has swallowed up acres of cyberspace for its online collection of 6,000 electronic journals and over 100 bibliographic databases, but the windowless library located on the lower level of the Schwartz Hall of Dental Sciences had remained virtually unchanged since it opened in 1978. Then, last September, the physical space caught up with the virtual one, as the library moved into spacious new quarters on the second floor of the Manhattan Veterans Administration Medical Center located directly across the street from the college.

“We’ve melded virtual reality with on-the-ground technology,” said Waldmann Library Director Van B. Afes, as he surveyed the impressive glass-enclosed reading room where each seat is neatly appointed with a semi-private glass partition, Internet access, and laptop wiring.

The 8,000-square-foot new Library Technology and Study Center — home to 25,000 books on dentistry and related subjects, 575 professional journals, and 2,500 electronic textbooks — seats 158 students, more than double the old library’s seating capacity, has six group study rooms and a computer training laboratory, and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“By relocating the Waldmann Library to a larger, more professional environment,” said Dean Alfano, “ NYU Dentistry has provided optimal space for a collection that reflects the state of oral health science, improved services for students, faculty, and staff, and expanded information technology.”