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History of the RSM - March 2010

Benjamin Robert Wheatley
Benjamin Robert Wheatley
Benjamin Robert Wheatley's plaque
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Benjamin Robert Wheatley was librarian of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society from 1855 to 1884. Born in London in 1819, Wheatley was the eldest son of an auctioneer at 191 Piccadilly. Henry Benjamin Wheatley, his half-brother, was a well-known historian.

Wheatley eventually became a professional indexer and cataloguer, but had worked for the Society in 1841 and again in 1848 when he was described as a "copier." By then eminent in the field of cataloguing, Wheatley was again approached by the Society in 1852 and asked to compile a new printed catalogue of the library's collections. Wheatley accepted the commission and set about to recatalogue the entire collection from scratch. He did not base the revised catalogue on the earlier editions of 1816 and 1844 but worked instead to list those books present on the library shelves, or, presumably, recorded as being on loan. In November 1854, before publication of the revised catalogue, Wheatley was appointed permanent Resident Librarian. He was to serve the library for 30 years and died in office on 9th January 1884 at the Society's home then at 53 Berners Street.

In an article published in 1877 Wheatley discusses the crucial part then played by a printed catalogue in the provision of library services and even anticipates the coming of the internet which now allows readers, via the RSM web pages, remote access to the library catalogue. Wheatley writes: "With regard to the catalogue, I think that in any Society where the books of the library are allowed to circulate among its members a printed one becomes a special necessity – a corner-stone of the system. The ability to learn at home whether the book required is in the library or not is really more than equal to having a telegraphic system of inquiry-wires laid on from the library to the houses of the members..."


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