Medical Books for China International

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Roberta Speyer: “This is Roberta Speyer reporting for OBGYN.net, and I’m talking to Dr. Jordan Phillips and his wife Mary Zoe. I think, Dr. Phillips, you’re best known for being the founder of the American Association of Gynecological Laparoscopists but that’s not what we’re here to talk about today. We’re here to talk about something else that’s very exciting that you and your wife have been involved in, and I think the OBGYN.net readers and listeners would like to hear more about it and hear how they could perhaps participate and get involved. We have 30,000 visits a month as of this time from obstetrical and gynecological medical professionals around the world to the site, and your project, Medical Books for China International - could you tell us a little bit about this and maybe how our OBGYN.netters could get involved?”

Mary Zo Phillips: “Medical Books for China International was founded in 1981 when we visited China and discovered their libraries were empty. They had a period called the ‘Cultural Revolution’ where everything was destroyed and this is from artifacts to books, everything. So we put a call to the Medical Library Association and said - please send us the mail listing of your libraries. My husband wrote a letter asking for any of their excess books. We were inundated; we got books and more books until finally we had to purchase a warehouse. Then we spoke with the Ministry of Health in China and brought suitcases full of books and said – this is what we have, we have a mountain of knowledge, and if you would like this information and knowledge we will ship them to you.”

Roberta Speyer: “How did they respond to that?”

Mary Zo Phillips: “They were very positive, they knew what the need was in all of their medical institutions and hospitals. So we started shipping twenty tons at a time, and we have now completed our fifty-third shipment.”

Roberta Speyer: “That sounds wonderful. This is not just restricted to books concerning women’s health?”

Mary Zo Phillips: “No, it isn’t. It’s concerning everything whether it’s dental, nursing, animal laboratory science, research and biomedicine, pharmaceutics, and of course, all the allied professions.”

Roberta Speyer: “So this is really recycling the paper but recycling the knowledge too.”

Mary Zo Phillips: “Correct, we give the information, it’s an exchange of knowledge and then the doctors, the researchers, and the professors can extract what they need from the literature.”

Roberta Speyer: “Now the people who make these donations, you are 501C?”

Mary Zo Phillips: “501C3 non-profit.”

Roberta Speyer: “Am I correct in assuming this is not just women’s health issues that these books are about?”

Mary Zo Phillips: “No, it’s every discipline, pharmaceutical, animal laboratory science, veterinary medicine, dentistry, psychology, anything that the doctors need.”

Roberta Speyer: “And you’ve sent a lot of books?”

Mary Zo Phillips: “We have sent many, many books, millions of books - 53 twenty-ton containers full.”

Roberta Speyer: “Have you sent all you need to send?”

Mary Zo Phillips: “Never, it’s a bottomless well. If you have one-quarter of the population of the world and they have doctors who are eager to learn the new technology because they were limited for so long - they’re hungry. They’ve gone from seeing so many carts and bicycles and now they have automobiles, and they even have the problem of traffic jams.”

Roberta Speyer: “We all know about that.”

Mary Zo Phillips: “Correct.”

Roberta Speyer: “For the OBGYN.net physicians and medical professionals, how can they get involved; how can they participate? Is this tax deductible? How do they make contact with you? Tell us a little bit more, if they have some books or journals, the types of things you’re looking for and how they would get them to you.”

Mary Zo Phillips: “We have a limit of no older than ten years. We send them journals, we accept books, audio tapes, video tapes, CD-ROM’s - new technology. All of this material goes to the medical libraries not to individuals because we want every student, professor, and researcher to be able to have the knowledge at their fingertips.”

Roberta Speyer: “Do you accept donations from industry of different types of tapes and learning aids?”

Mary Zo Phillips: “Yes, because there’s demonstrations on the video tapes so they can see different techniques, just as a doctor would have his own video tapes showing his techniques and the same way with the audio tapes. Audio tapes have two different ways of being used, not only for the knowledge that’s in the tape but also for the language. So they learn English because about 70% of their classes are instructed in English.”

Roberta Speyer: “So there’s really a shift going on in that culture at this time.”

Mary Zo Phillips: “Correct.”

Roberta Speyer: “Now does it make a difference about the videos whether or not they’re PAL or different types of formats, is that something people should consider?”

Mary Zo Phillips: “PAL is their system but we send all of the video tapes to the Academy of Medical Science where they have the facility of converting the tapes.”

Roberta Speyer: “Wonderful.”

Mary Zo Phillips: “When they find something that is quite pertinent and quite up-to-date, then they will make multiple copies and dub in the Chinese.”

Roberta Speyer: “Wonderful, if you have books or tapes and you would like to contact the Medical Books for China International organization, you can reach them at their 800 number 1-800-554-2245 or you can check out their website at www.aagl.com/mbcifrm.htm,  and you can find out more about how you can participate in this very worthy cause. Thank you, doctor and thank you, Mary.”

Mary Zo Phillips: “You’re welcome.”