Dorothy R. Hill, 1931–2007

For almost forty years, librarians working with health sciences, nursing, and allied health books and journals relied on the “Brandon/Hill Selected Lists” to inform their collection development decisions. Few publications were as eagerly awaited as the new editions of these lists. Librarians looked for validation of their purchases, and publishers hoped for a mention, as the items listed became best sellers. The lists and, more significantly, the authors behind the lists had an enduring impact on library collections worldwide.

Dorothy R. Hill, a distinguished medical librarian and long-time coauthor of the “Brandon/Hill Selected Lists,” passed away on September 4, 2008, in New York City, after a long illness. Ms. Hill was a renowned collection development professional, and her extraordinary work as an author, speaker, and mentor was honored by her fellow medical librarians and the Medical Library Association (MLA). Her many contributions to collection development and medical librarianship were significant. The words of wisdom offered in the essays that introduced the yearly lists, most specifically the “Brandon/Hill Selected List of Print Books and Journals for the Small Medical Library,” were awaited by many.

Dorothy R. Hill was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on October 20, 1931. She received her bachelor's degree in biology, with a minor in English, from Atlantic Union College in South Lancaster, Massachusetts, in 1954. It was while working as a library assistant in the college library that she met Alfred N. Brandon and began a career-long association with him that ended only with his death in 1996. Over the years, she helped to build numerous medical library collections and collaborated on all editions of the “Selected List.” Ms. Hill went to Loma Linda University, California, in 1953, when Mr. Brandon was recruited to direct the building of the university's dental library collection. While there, she continued her education and earned a master's degree in anatomy. In 1957, Ms. Hill moved to the University of Kentucky Medical Center Library and worked with Mr. Brandon to develop its new medical center library collection.

In 1963, her next stop was the Welch Medical Library at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, as the serials librarian. Here, she was instrumental in organizing, weeding, and updating a huge serials collection. Ms. Hill moved on in 1969 to the library at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where she worked as an assistant professor of medical education and as collection development librarian. She expanded the hospital library to a collection that would support not only the existing hospital, but also the new medical school and the research departments of the medical center. It was here during the 1970s that she became much more involved in the “Selected List” projects. In her capacity as the collection development librarian, she viewed and handled many books every day. She began to call to Mr. Brandon's attention books that she thought should be considered for the “Selected List.” Ms. Hill's remarkable ability to make appropriate book and journal selections was exceptional.

As a result of the detailed information that had to be gathered in preparing the lists, Ms. Hill acquired an extensive knowledge of the publishing business. Not only did the list include items that were already in print, but special efforts were made to inquire about forthcoming new editions as well as plans for pricing. With her insider's view, Ms. Hill was able to mentor numerous junior faculty members and graduate students who were attempting their first publications. She advised them on searching the literature for background information and suggested what publications might be interested in specific research topics. She consulted on manuscript preparation and submission and worked with many on their dissertations.

Ms. Hill gradually became more and more engrossed in the “Selected Lists” and eventually became its coauthor with the publication of the October 1979 “Selected List of Nursing Books and Journals.” Over time the “Selected Lists” slowly evolved into the “Brandon/Hill Lists.” The original “Selected List” and its many subsequent editions achieved national and international recognition and were at one time referenced in the Joint Commission standards as well as in the New York State and MLA standards for hospital libraries. After twenty-five years of library practice, Ms. Hill attended the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at Queens College of The City University of New York and received her master's degree in library science in 1988. That same year, Ms. Hill received the first MLA Louise Darling Medal for Distinguished Achievement in Collection Development in the Health Sciences.

She worked with Mr. Brandon on two “Selected List” spin-offs: nursing (1979) and allied health (1984). Ms. Hill continued to coauthor the “Brandon/Hill Lists” after Mr. Brandon left Mount Sinai in 1973. After Mr. Brandon's death in 1996, Ms. Hill continued authoring the “Brandon/Hill Lists” and edited the quarterly newsletter, A Major Report. This publication served as an interim supplement to the books section of the “Brandon/Hill Lists” and was published by Majors Scientific Books. Starting with the 1998 version of the “Brandon/Hill Selected List of Nursing Books and Journals,” Ms. Hill enlisted Henry Stickell, a long-time colleague and friend, to assist her. He eventually became her coauthor for the “Brandon/Hill Lists.” Suzanne Crow served as an additional coauthor on the final edition of the small medical library list and continues to receive frequent inquiries and requests for new editions of the list, demonstrating both the prominence the list retains as well as the continuing strong desire on the part of long-time readers for further lists.

Throughout her career, Ms. Hill championed print media. She was a firm believer in the ability of print to survive the broad advancement of digital publications. In the late 1990s, the word “Print” was added to the titles of all three lists to emphasize that the authors' work and expertise was limited to print. With the publication of each edition, Ms. Hill was surprised at the longevity of this project and pleased that the “Selected Lists” remained useful and relevant. Print preferences aside, Ms. Hill participated in a panel providing advice to the New York Academy of Sciences at the time they were determining how to move their Annals to the electronic publishing environment. She continued to serve as collection development librarian at Mount Sinai, and preparation of the “Selected Lists” was her second job, one that often began at 5:00 p.m. and consumed her weekends. When Ms. Hill retired in 2002, the longstanding “Selected Lists” project came to a close. Work on the lists was a labor of love, and working with books and journals brought her true enjoyment.

Ms. Hill's other pleasures included theater, especially musical theater, and she was a devoted “mom” to her chihuahua, Muffin. She enjoyed museums, especially the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and was a collector of costume jewelry, especially enjoying animal pins.

Ms. Hill leaves behind her sister Dawn, her long-time friend and collaborator Henry Stickell, and many medical librarians whom her life's work has benefited professionally. Ms. Hill's library work was her pleasure and life's passion. She will be greatly missed.

Note: A history of the Brandon-Hill Lists appears at http://www.mssm.edu/library/brandon-hill/history.shtml.