Visitors to Falk Library, located in Alan Magee Scaife Hall, are encouraged to check out these opportunities and displays:
Make Your Own Trail Mix
Wednesday, November 19 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Take a custom-made snack with you. Select from a variety of chocolate, Craisins®, pretzels, peanuts, and other small snack foods. This is offered as both a lunchtime and an evening session – pick which time works best for you. Pack your own tight-seal bag with your favorite goodies and enjoy throughout the day.
Look for our Guess-the-Candy game at the trail mix table. Winner with the closest guess to the number of candy pieces wins a prize!
Animal Friends Donation Drive
Wednesday, November 5 through Friday, December 5
Join HSLS in supporting Animal Friends during this month of thankfulness and giving. Our donation drive supports both pet-owner families and shelter pets. Look for the donation table near the library classroom.
Anyone inclined to donate can drop off pet food at the library in support of the Chow Wagon. The Chow Wagon supports financially struggling pet owners and feeds hungry companion animals across our region. According to Animal Friends, they serve 37 local food pantries and Meals on Wheels programs by distributing more than 14,000 pounds of food each month. A list of food donations accepted is posted at the donation table, or visit the Animal Friends Wish List page for details.
Our Giving Tree will feature shelter pets and supplies that they need. Simply take a pet ornament with you, and return it with the item(s) listed. If you prefer, monetary donations and online wishlist purchases through Chewy, Amazon, and CUDDLY are also accepted.
Faculty, staff, students, and anyone with pets close to their heart, we welcome your support! As a bonus, students who choose to participate can enter our prize drawing until December 5. Winners can receive a Panera Bread gift card or HSLS gear; winners will be contacted the week of December 8.
Escape Room Event: The Case of the Charming Clinician
Monday, December 1 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
A new health product, the Sensational Silver Smoothie, has recently gone viral! Influencers are endorsing it, customers are loving it, and sales are through the roof… but is everything as it seems? In this escape room game, you’ll work as a team to race against the clock – and competing teams – to solve a series of puzzles and uncover the truth about this smoothie sensation.
This escape room event will be held in the Library Classroom. All supplies will be provided for you to participate. Light refreshments will be provided.
Registration for the event is requested; walk-in participants are welcome if space permits.
On Display
Uncovering the Mystery of Measles (Display Cases, Main Floor)
Measles is a highly contagious virus that puzzled early physicians and alarmed communities who didn’t understand how it was spread. This exhibit features writings by Thomas Sydenham (1676) and Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Rhazes (9th century), who were the first to identify measles as a separate disease from smallpox and scarlet fever. Other items in the exhibit show how physicians and public health officials pieced together strategies to identify and slow the transmission of measles from recurring epidemics in Boston, Denmark, and England.
Gifts That Shaped Our Collection (Rare Book Room Window Display, Lower Floor)
This display highlights just four donors among many library supporters over the years to illustrate the scope, importance, value, and beauty of books received for the historical collection through generous donations. Several of the items on display have been previously featured in the Treasures from the Rare Book Room article series, including:
- Bartholin, Thomas: Anatome, donated by T. Osial
- Enderlen, Eugen: Stereoskopbilder zur Lehre von den Hernien, donated by M. Ravitch
- Pirckheimer, Willibald: Apologia seu podagrae laus [First edition], donated by family of G. Rodnan
- Withering, William: An account of the foxglove, and some of its medical uses, donated by J.D. Heard
As the Years Go By – Scope and Scalpel Poster Retrospective (Wall Gallery, Lower Floor)
Newly framed posters from the Scope and Scalpel collection adorn the gallery walls outside the Rare Book Room and Quiet Study Rooms. Braille descriptions are available below each poster.
Scope and Scalpel memorabilia are accompanied by an array of digitized production materials. Selected ones are presented in the Scope and Scalpel online exhibit, and more digitized materials are available through the Scope and Scalpel collection finding aid.
Nine Ages of Man Sculpture (Study Area, Main Floor)
Nine Ages of Man is a Randolf W. Johnston work from 1970 that was donated to the School of Medicine in 1984 by Peter Winter in honor of Peter Safar, the renowned Pitt Med professor who co-developed CPR and helped establish Pittsburgh’s groundbreaking Freedom House Ambulance Service. The sculpture has been on view for visitors to Alan Magee Scaife Hall, and during building construction is on loan for temporary display in Falk Library.
While our focus is on the Pitt Health Sciences community, all Pitt affiliates are welcome to participate. Unless otherwise noted, all activities and displays are available during Falk Library Operating Hours.