On August 31, 2012, the Institute saw the retirement of two senior library professionals who have contributed over decades to the formation of itsBioethics Research Library, home to the world’s most comprehensive collection of bioethics materials.

Retiring after 38 years of university service, Doris M. Goldstein was the founding director of the BRL. After finishing a master’s in library science, she was recruited by LeRoy Walters and André Hellegers to set up the KIE’s Library. In her nearly four decades with the Library, Doris has had many roles and developed unique special collections: from archiving DNA patents to leading the the National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature to helping establish a German bioethics library at the University of Bonn. Doris’s most recent projects included developing multi-lingual Islamic Bioethics resources in partnership with the School of Foreign Service—Qatar Library in Doha, and using bioethics to explore educational and library initiatives in India via the Provost’s “Engaging India” program. Doris will be honored with the Association for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) Distinguished Service Award at the association’s annual meeting on October 19, 2012, from 4:00 to 5:15 p.m., at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.

Doris’s colleague, collaborator, and Senior Bibliographer for multiple projects that the BRL has undertaken over the years, Tamar Joy Kahn, also retired effective August 31, 2012. Joy was hired in 1980, following a career that included working for the National Security Agency and the U.S. Joint Publications Research Service, to name just a few. She was the associate editor of the first Bibliography of Bioethics, first published in 1981 and continuing through 2009. Her recent work included efforts on Institute grants and contracts with the National Human Genome Research Institute and the National Library of Medicine, as well as with a foundation grant with the Qatar National Research Foundation to help develop the new Islamic and Medical Ethics (IMSE) collection.

Both these extraordinary women shaped and formed the Bioethics Research Library, and working with changing KIE directors over the years, they held fast to the vision of creating a collection that would prove critical to the nascent field of bioethics and be a credit to Georgetown University for years to come. The KIE is planning a fitting celebration in November to honor their contributions. We are grateful for their long years of dedicated effort, and they should know that they will be missed by colleagues and friends.