About the Library
National Jewish Health's Library & Knowledge Services Team, 2024
National Jewish’s library services have long been intertwined with both patient care and scientific discovery. The institution’s first library space, located in the Joseph E. Shoenberg Memorial Building built in 1912, served as a reading and writing room for patients and housed more than 2,000 volumes; carts of books were even wheeled to bed-ridden patients so they could continue learning and reading during their treatment.
As National Jewish established its first research department in 1919—aimed at finding a cure for tuberculosis—a dedicated research library was created on the second floor of the Grabfelder Building to support this growing scientific mission. Over the next several decades, library services continued to expand across campus: what is now the May Building opened in 1953 with a 94-bed medical facility, outpatient clinics, and its own patient library.
In 1945, former tuberculosis patient Ned Eig became the institution’s first certified librarian and continued developing the research collections until his retirement in 1977. The library’s research and reference collections were housed in the Neustadt Building until 1977 when, with support from the Tucker family, the collection was moved into the recently built Gerald Tucker Memorial Medical Library in the Goodman Building. In 1999, the Helen L. Rider Health Information Center was created as a donor-named space to provide consumer health resources to patients and families. In 2017 the library moved to its current home in the Smith Building, retaining the patient-centered education and research support that the library is known for. See more library and NJH history here.
Location
1400 Jackson St.
Smith Bldg, Rm L110
Denver CO, 80206-2671
Library front desk: 303.398.1482
Fax: 303.270.2149
library@njhealth.org
M-F: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Located in Smith Building, near the cafeteria entrance.
