摘要：It falls to my lot in this series of short papers to say something about medical libraries which were founded in connection with medical societies and have maintained their independence, and I shall, naturally, refer quite a lot to the Library of the Liverpool Medical Institution. I feel that the approach to my subject must be an historical one, and therefore it is necessary for us to cast our minds back for a few moments to the latter part of the eighteenth century. At that time there was evidence of a desire to improve the standard of medical education in this country. This became apparent in various centers, and may be regarded as the first step towards organised postgraduate teaching. In many cities and towns of Great Britain medical men began to get together in groups to discuss their problems and pool their ideas. In some instances these medical societies were formed as student bodies, as, for example, the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh, founded as early as 1737. In Liverpool, the medical library was the forerunner of the medical society.
