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Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology

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TheDibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology(1992–2006) was a research institute established atMIT,and housed in a renovated building (E56) on campus at 38Memorial Drive,overlooking theCharles River.[1][2][3]

Description

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At the heart of the Institute was theBurndy Libraryon the ground floor, initially containing 37,000 volumes on thehistory of science and technologycollected by the Dibner Fund. The Library also possessed a large collection of antique scientific instruments, such asastrolabes,telescopes,microscopes,earlyspectrometers,and aWimshurst machine,which were on public display in a dedicated gallery outside the library. Also on display was a large collection of antiqueincandescent lightbulbs,gas discharge tubes,electronicvacuum tubes,and other early examples of electrical and electronic technology. The Library would mount occasional special exhibits, such asThe Afterlife of Immortality: Obelisks Outside Egypt.[4]

The building was a modestArt Decostructure, fronting onMemorial Driveand theCharles River.Above the Library and display space, on the second and third floor were offices and lecture and seminar rooms. The Institute held regular lectures, seminars, study programs, and an annual symposium in the history of science and technology. Over the period of its existence, the Institute supported over 340 short- and longer-term fellowships.[3]

History and development

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The Institute was named in honor ofBern Dibner(1897–1988), who had conceived of it before his death. The Institute was developed and supported by the Dibner Fund he had established in 1957, directed by his sonDavid Dibner.[3]The institute, from its inception, was run by executive director Evelyn Simha. On the academic side, the Institute was supported by a consortium of MIT,Boston University,Brandeis UniversityandHarvard University.[1]

In 1995, the 600-volume Babson Collection of historical material related toIsaac Newtonwas placed on permanent deposit with the Burndy Library. The collection had been assembled byRoger Babson,founder ofBabson CollegeinWellesley, Massachusetts,and was previously housed at the College.[5]In 1999, the addition of the 7,000-volume Volterra Collection from Italy increased the Burndy Library collection by more than a third.[6]

In 2004 MIT decided not to renew its affiliation,[why?]and the Dibner family began looking for a new location to house the collection. David Dibner died unexpectedly in 2005.[7]The Dibner Institute closed in 2006,[3]and the Burndy Library and associated collections were transferred toThe Huntington LibraryinSan Marino,California,which now offers a Dibner History of Science Program to fund fellowships, a lecture series and annual conference.[8]The acquisition of the Burndy Library (by then numbering 67,000 volumes) transformed the Huntington Library's collections in the history of science and technology into one of the world's largest in that field.[9]

The Huntington houses a permanent exhibition,Beautiful Science: Ideas that Changed the World,in the 2,800-square-foot (260 m2) Dibner Hall of the History of Science that displays approximately 150 books, manuscripts, photographs and objects from both the Burndy Library and the Huntington's non-Burndy holdings in the history of science and medicine.[10]Approximately 200 antique light bulbs from the Burndy Collection are on display in theBeautiful Scienceexhibition. The light bulbs are not available for reference or research use, except by special arrangement. The status and accessibility of the Burndy collection ofgas tubes,vacuum tubes,andelectronic artifactsis not clear from the Huntington website.

The Dibner Institute's former building was demolished in early 2007 to make way for new buildings for theMIT Sloan School of Management.[11]The Dibner name remains at MIT, in the endowed Frances and David Dibner Professorship of the History of Engineering and Manufacturing.

See also

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References

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  1. ^abCharles H. Ball,MIT to House New Dibner Institute,MIT Tech Talk,September 23, 1992
  2. ^"Dibner Dedication Is Thursday".MIT Tech Talk.MIT News Office.Retrieved2011-05-17.
  3. ^abcdAlex Roland (April 2006),David Dibner, 1927–2005,Technology and Culture,47(2) 472–475
  4. ^"Burndy Library exhibit examines obelisks over the centuries".MIT Tech Talk.MIT News Office.Retrieved2011-05-17.
  5. ^"Babson collection of Newtonia to be housed at Burndy Library".MIT Tech Talk.MIT News Office.Retrieved2011-05-17.
  6. ^Weiss, Benjamin."Library marks major acquisition".MIT Tech Talk.MIT News Office.Retrieved2011-05-17.
  7. ^Wright, Sarah."David Dibner, philanthropist, dies at 78".MIT Tech Talk.MIT News Office.Retrieved2011-05-17.
  8. ^"Institutes at The Huntington Library".Archived fromthe originalon 2010-12-01.Retrieved2010-11-18.
  9. ^"The Huntington's History of Science Collections"(PDF).Huntington Library [website].The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.Retrieved2011-05-17.
  10. ^"Beautiful Science: Ideas that Changed the World"(PDF).Huntington Library [website].The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.Retrieved2011-05-17.
  11. ^New home for Dibner trees,MIT Tech Talk,December 20, 2006
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