Born in Hong Kong in 1939, Patrick Pui-Kam Sim, MLS (1939-2010), the Paul M. Wood Distinguished Librarian Emeritus of the Wood Library-Museum (WLM) of Anesthesiology, lived and breathed books. Patrick didn’t merely read books, he ingested them. I often teased him, calling him my favorite “bibliovore.” He reverenced books as palpable, almost living entities, treasures that nourished his imagination and slaked his thirst for knowledge. I think he enjoyed the tactile sensation of turning a page, seeing his bookmark ambling along hour after hour, and inhaling the sometimes musty smell of ancient notions. And, like all readers, he revealed himself – or at least a part of himself – in the books he loved.
Patrick was fascinated with history, especially the history of anesthesiology. When I reflect on my many fond memories of him, the picture in my mind’s eye is of Patrick, wearing white cotton gloves, adoringly perusing an...
