Marcia Croker Noyes

Marcia Crocker Noyes (1869–1946) was a librarian at The Maryland State Medical Society from 1896 to 1946, and was a founding and presiding member of the Medical Library Association.

Early life and education Marcia Crocker Noyes was born in December 1869 in Saratoga Springs, New York. She was the youngest of four children born to Levi and Catherine Noyes. She studied at Hunter College in New York, and considered becoming a dress designer or an artist, despite disapproval from her parents. and later as Association President. On May 2, 1898, the eight charter members gathered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to form the MLA, determining the Association's objective to "foster medical libraries and promote the exchange of medical literature."

Noyes wanted to write the history of the MLA once she retired from full-time work at the Faculty, but her health was beginning to fail. She had an increasingly painful back condition that required her to wear a brace and she had suffered a serious burn on her shoulder,

On April 24, 1946, a reception was planned to honor Noyes's 50 years at the Faculty, despite her request that the physicians wait until November, the actual date of her 50 years. The Faculty went ahead and hosted the reception on the earlier planned date due to her deteriorating health.

Legacy In 1947, the MLA established the Marcia C. Noyes Award to honor her contributions to medical librarianship. It is awarded yearly, and presented at the Annual Meeting to a librarian who shows distinguished service and leadership in health sciences librarianship. Awardees receive an engraved sterling silver bowl.