The New York Orthopaedic Dispensary opened in 1866 to provide orthopedic care for the poor children of New York City.  Its name was changed to New York Orthopaedic Dispensary and Hospital in 1874, and later to New York Orthopaedic Hospital. From 1904 to 1943, a country branch for the rehabilitation of children with tuberculosis was operated in Westchester County. The New York Orthopaedic Hospital merged with Presbyterian Hospital in 1945 and it moved to the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in 1950. It also serves as the Department of Orthopedic Surgery for the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

The Hibbs Library was founded in 1927 with a $10,000 gift by Dr. Russell A. Hibbs, the hospital’s Surgeon-in-Chief, 1899-1932.  Though the library was created as a resource for the medical staff, the following year a patients’ library was established which was also supervised by the Hibbs librarian.  As early as 1928, the patients’ library had a circulation of over 8,200 volumes.  The patients’ library was merged into that of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center’s when the hospital moved to the Medical Center in 1950.  The Hibbs Library remained as a source of books and journals for the hospital staff until its closure circa 2015. 

Sources: Smith, Alan DeForest. The New York Orthopaedic Hospital, 1866-1966: A Century of Progress in Orthopaedic Surgery (New York: The Hospital, 1966); New York Orthopaedic Hospital Yearbook for 1928.