{"id":12197,"date":"2017-08-17T11:00:57","date_gmt":"2017-08-17T15:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/?p=12197"},"modified":"2023-06-29T16:35:44","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T20:35:44","slug":"reflections-on-history-and-harry-potter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2017\/08\/17\/reflections-on-history-and-harry-potter\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on History and Harry Potter"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jill L. Newmark ~<\/em><\/p>\n

One of the joys of working in the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine is engaging with a world-renowned historical collection spanning ten centuries and representing nearly every part of the globe, including beautifully-illustrated unique and rare books authored by great Renaissance scientists and thinkers like Nicolas Flamel<\/a>, Paracelsus<\/a>, Cornelius Agrippa<\/a>, and Ambrose Par\u00e9<\/a>. If these names sound familiar to you, it is probably because you have read about them in the enormously popular Harry Potter book series. The research undertaken by J. K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter, is evident throughout the books and movies. The historical figures above are all incorporated into Harry Potter\u2019s world, for example, the character Nicolas Flamel is the maker of the philosopher\u2019s stone, believed to be a key to immortality and Cornelius Agrippa is featured on a wizard card found inside a Chocolate Frog treat collected by Harry Potter and his friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.<\/p>\n

The history documented in these scientific books and the popular story of Harry Potter converged a few weeks ago at the National Library of Medicine, which celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first publication of J. K. Rowling\u2019s Harry Potter and the Philosopher\u2019s Stone<\/em> (published in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer\u2019s Stone<\/em>).\u00a0 The celebration featured the Harry Potter\u2019s World: Renaissance Science, Magic and Medicine<\/em><\/a> traveling banner exhibition alongside a display of the 15th, 16th and 17th century books that influenced the Harry Potter series.<\/p>\n

During the week-long exhibition, and the two related public lectures, over 600 visitors, both adults and children, made their way to the History of Medicine Reading Room of the Library. Many had never visited before, and were eager see the display.\u00a0 Both die-hard Harry Potter fans and newbies alike explored the exhibition with great excitement, often surprised to learn that history and Harry Potter go hand-in-hand.\u00a0 The excitement and joy was palpable with one visitor telling us \u201cI\u2019m so happy,\u201d and another shared that she \u201cwaited weeks to see this!\u201d\u00a0 A young mother visited the exhibition and returned the next day with her two young sons.\u00a0 She returned a third day to tell us how her sons had been so moved by seeing the books in the exhibition and the fully digitized books online, that were they creating stories about the animals featured in one of the displayed books, Conrad Gessner\u2019s 16th century Historaie Animalium<\/em><\/a>, and spending an afternoon at their local library.<\/p>\n

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Visitors to the exhibition also included school groups, employees of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), visitors to the NIH campus and even a local celebrity, Brooke Miller, the 2017 Miss District of Columbia’s Outstanding Teen, whose advocacy platform involved promoting youth literacy and libraries. One of the most heartwarming visits involved children and parents living at the Children\u2019s Inn of the National Institutes of Health<\/a>, a hospital hospitality house for children and their families during pediatric research at NIH.\u00a0 All who traveled across campus from the Inn expressed great excitement when they saw the display, wore the sorting hat, and learned about the collection and programs of the NLM\u2019s History of Medicine Division. \u00a0Many sat at tables looking at books and asking questions, and were reluctant to leave.\u00a0 It was a special moment to see the joy and happiness on the faces of the children and their parents.\u00a0 They said they would be back for another visit.<\/p>\n

\"Four <\/a>
\u201cMuggle Watcher\u201d and Exhibition Program staff member Jiwon Kim gives a tour to enthusiastic visitors. Photo by E.D.D.W., NLM <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Three <\/a>
Exhibition Program staff Jill L. Newmark and Nicole Orphanides with NLM Director Dr. Patricia Flatley Brennan. Photo by E.D.D.W., NLM <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
Visitors from the NIH Children\u2019s Inn. Photo by Jill L. Newmark, NLM <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Visitors to the exhibition spent quality time exploring the books on display, learning the history they contained and using it to spark their imagination, learning more about the connections between history and Harry Potter, and reflecting on the story they loved so much.<\/p>\n

As our visitors valued their experiences, we did also, with one of my colleagues recalling that, for her, \u201cone of the best moments was, shortly after when I was walking back to my office among the attendees of Thursday\u2019s lecture by Dr. Stephen Greenberg<\/a>, overhearing a couple of lab mates in our reading room reflecting on the two talks of the week. They didn\u2019t plan to go to the lecture together and didn\u2019t know before then that the other was a Potter fan.\u00a0 They shared their favorite parts of the lectures, and then how and when they first got into the series.\u00a0 It was heartwarming to see this bond created by having this experience together at the NLM.\u201d<\/p>\n

History and Harry Potter do go hand-in-hand. Our exhibition testifies to the popularity of the Harry Potter series, to the power of libraries everywhere to engage the mind, and to the excitement of learning how history influences literature and modern-day life.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>Jill L. Newmark is an Exhibition Specialist for the Exhibition Program in the History of Medicine Division at the National Library of Medicine.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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