The Library

Dr. Sawin was fascinated with the history of endocrine investigation and clinical endocrinology, and spent many years pursuing his passion. Now, through a generous grant by his widow, Mrs. Leslie Sawin, the Clark T. Sawin Memorial Library will be established within The Endocrine Society national office. In addition to starting the endowment, Mrs. Sawin donated Dr. Sawin’s personal library collection, which includes more than 5,300 books, meeting programs from endocrine organizations circa 1930 through current day, professional and personal research papers, slides and many historical articles. By cataloging and preserving unique historical endocrine literature and artifacts the library plays an important role in the Society's mission to support the field of endocrinology.

Collection Highlights

The Sawin Library will not only house a large collection of written endocrine works, but will also maintain the largest collection of endocrine “oral histories.” Over 60 oral histories currently in the Society’s possession will serve as a starting point for what will be a continuing project, made possible by the research endowment. A library database will be established with the initial collection constituting a pivotal and auspicious beginning for a growing collection that will serve Society members, students, historians, and other libraries for future generations.

Visitors to the Sawin Library will enjoy working from the same conference table used by many distinguished physicians and scientists in endocrinology before them. Originally from the New England Medical Center, Division of Endocrinology, the table is a piece of history in itself.

The Research Fellowship

The research/education endowment will support an annual fellowship to provide scientists the opportunity to continue Dr. Sawin’s documentation of endocrine history. A fellowship will be awarded to one recipient annually for scholarly work on the history of endocrinology at the Sawin Library, and for the preparation of an article to published, or a lecture presentation to be featured at The Endocrine Society’s annual meeting.

The Endocrine Society Commitment

The Endocrine Society has committed funding to build the library and is working to establish a one million dollar endowment to support the library, future projects and acquisitions, and the research fellowship. The Endocrine Society Council earmarked $250,000 from its strategic planning initiative for construction and start up costs for the library.