Allen M. Kaplan, MD, Donates His Rare Book Collection to U of A Health Sciences Library

“History leads us forward with lessons from the past.” In describing his love for collecting historical medical texts, Allen M. Kaplan, MD, a former faculty member of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and a renowned child neurologist, said those words to his brother, Harold Kaplan, MD.

Now retired, Dr. Kaplan made it a point to procure as many of those books as he could over his decades long career. He read them, learned from them and relished in the history of the profession he held so dear. The lessons he took from them even inspired him to write his own books on the subject.

After his retirement, Dr. Kaplan would often come to the Phoenix Bioscience Core campus on Wednesdays to talk with the librarians in the University of Arizona Health Sciences Library about his career and his love of literature. “He struck up friendships and relationships with the librarians here; and brought some of his books down, and then told stories about the books and how he collected the books; and was very welcome. They were great,” said his wife of 48 years, Mary.

Now, that collection he took so much joy and pride in amassing has been donated to the library. The exhibit — which includes a book from as far back as 1689 and others in languages like Latin, Greek, French, German and Italian — was unveiled during a reception and featured a Q and A with Dr. Kaplan. Interviewed by his brother, Dr. Kaplan shared insights into the collection and comedic anecdotes about the life of a rare book collector.

For Dr. Kaplan, the choice to begin collecting was an easy one. “I just enjoyed reading history,” he said. And he thought “It would be helpful for learning. If you know the history of something, you can understand a lot more about what you are talking about.”

Oddly enough, the first book he ever bought was technically free (although he paid for it anyway). He came across it at a diner in Augusta, Georgia. He was there serving as a major in the U.S. Army and spied it along the top shelf.

That was almost serendipitous in a way, and it would kick off a lifetime of funny little adventures. Dr. Kaplan and his wife would often travel, making stops across Europe, and everywhere they went, he would inevitably find an antiquarian to discuss books with.

“We've had wonderful times visiting them. Allen has had wonderful relationships with the antiquarians — who are amazing people and historians in their own right — and it's just been a real fun thing for us to do over the years,” Mrs. Kaplan said.

Ranita Sharma, MD, vice dean of the college, attended the event. She expressed her thanks and gratitude to Dr. Kaplan for sharing this generous gift with the medical school and its physicians-in-training. “Thank you, [the Kaplan family], for this incredible contribution to the College of Medicine – Phoenix,” she said. “With great reverence, we will take care of your library and continue to educate the next generation of medical doctors, who will be our doctors.”

Julie Bowe, director of Development, added, “We are so grateful to the Kaplans for bestowing this collection to the college. It will be a gift that keeps on giving to the college and community for years to come.”

Dr. Kaplan donated 434 books in total — making it one of the largest pediatric antiquarian collections in the world. They will be displayed year-round, rotating on a regular basis so interested passersby can see the breadth of the items. The exhibit is located inside the library on the third floor of the Health Sciences Education Building. In the more than 50 years since he started the pursuit, Dr. Kaplan also purchased more than 400 historical texts on neurology.