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The Osler Library of the History of Medicine McGill University, Montreal Canada Osler Library Archive Collections P205 MEDICAL LIBRARY ARCHIVES COLLECTION FINDING AID This is a guide to one of the collections held by the Osler Library of the History of Medicine, McGill University. Visit the Osler Library Archive Collections homepage for more information. Medical Library Archives Collection – P205 – Inventory List P205 P205: Medical Library Archives Collection DATES: 1845-1979 EXTENT: 20 m. textual records. – ca. 25 photographs. – 6 scrapbooks. – ca. 254 glass slides. – ca. 30 artifacts. – 12 books. ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY: McGill University’s Medical Library was started in 1823 by the staff of the Montreal General Hospital – it was the first medical library in Canada. The Library was located within the Montreal Medical Institution (north east corner of Place-d’Armes, 20 rue Saint Jacques, Montréal, Québec), before McGill Faculty of Medicine was established in 1829. As McGill’s Faculty of Medicine grew and became more established, the Library moved between various locations until, at last, the Faculty opened its very own building on campus in 1872. By 1898, McGill’s Medical Library had grown to be the largest medical library in all of North America, with over 15,000 volumes. 1907 was a fiery year in McGill’s history, and when flames tore through the Medical Building on 16th April 1907, thankfully the majority of the Medical Library’s collection was saved. The building itself, however, was completely destroyed. With the generosity of Lord Strathcona, a new medical building was built in 1909 and the Faculty of Medicine along with the library, museum, and laboratories, relocated to the new Strathcona Medical Building designed by Brown and Valance, Architects. When Sir William Osler’s library was bequeathed to McGill and the Osler Library of the History of Medicine was established in 1929 (also located in the Strathcona Medical Building), it was decided that the older historical collections of the Medical Library would gradually be extracted and re-housed at the Osler Library of the History of Medicine. In 1966, the Faculty of Medicine, the Medical Library, and the Osler Library of the History of Medicine all moved to the newly built McIntyre Medical Sciences Building. The Medical Library would later change its name to the Health-Sciences Library in 1988, and in 1996 most of its older collections (1850-1964) were moved into off-site storage in order to create more space for computers, printers, and terminals. More recently in 2013, the physical sciences and engineering collections at McGill merged into what is now the Schulich Library of Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Engineering. SCOPE AND CONTENT: A large portion of the collection is concerned with the growth of the Medical Library at McGill. Other than the Catalogue of Books from the Library of the Medical Faculty of McGill College which dates from 1845, the earliest preserved records are the handwritten Library Committee reports of Dr. Francis Shepherd, dating from 1880. The textual material includes early library reports, surveys, information about library staff, finance, gifts, procedures, as well as information regarding the Osler Library and departmental building plans and renovations. The collection also includes correspondence, notes, photographs, and artifacts associated with ‘McGill Medical Men’ including: James “King” Cook, Robert Palmer Howard, William Wright, Robert Lea 2 Osler Library of the History of Medicine Medical Library Archives Collection – P205 – Inventory List MacDonnell, Richard Lea MacDonnell, Herbert Stanley Birkett, and others. There are many reprints in the collection – some bound into volumes, and many that include signatures and written notes. The collection also includes photographs, scrapbooks, and glass lantern slides (some of which are from World War One), books, and theses. The Medical Library’s accession records, index cards, and journal cards are also preserved in the collection, still housed in their original catalogue drawers (see Series 7). The collection includes various announcements, university calendars and directories related to the Faculty of Medicine, as well as communication, meeting minutes, and essays belonging to the McGill Medical Society (1884- 1907), the McGill Reporting Society (1926-1951), and the Montreal Dermatological Society (1930-1951). Lastly, the collection includes miscellaneous textual materials related to McGill and the Faculty of Medicine, for instance McGill student attendance cards from 1828-1872 (with course name and professor details). CUSTODIAL HISTORY: Accession 544. The material accumulated over the years by the Faculty of Medicine and McGill’s Medical Library. The material found in this collection survived the many moves of the library, as well as the 1907 fire that destroyed the Medical Building. The collection, as it is today, was prepared by University Archivist, Alan Ridge in January 1968 – R.G. 38 Faculty of Medicine, Section 65 Medical Library. In 1972, librarian and volunteer archivist Martha Benjamin created the “Guide to the Archives of The Medical Library” (McGill Library call no. Ref Z 5140 B468 1972) with alphabetical sections A through Z, to identify the contents of each box (38/65/A-Z). This order to the collection has been preserved. Archival material formerly part of this collection includes: Richard Lea MacDonnell’s scrapbooks and dissection record book (P133), and the Montreal Medico-Chirurgical Society (P187). For additional materials related to the Medical Library, the McGill University Archives R.G. 38 Faculty of Medicine should be consulted. SOURCE OF SUPPLIED TITLE PROPER: Title based on the content of the collection. LANGUAGE: The documents are in English. FINDING AIDS: Series level finding aid is available. SERIES: 1. Textual Records and Various Media 2. Reprints 3. Scrapbooks 4. Dissection Records, Operation Records 5. McGill Medical Society 6. McGill Reporting Society 7. Montreal Dermatological Society 8. McGill Miscellany 9. Artifacts 10. Books 11. Accession Records, Index Cards, Journal Cards 3 Osler Library of the History of Medicine Medical Library Archives Collection – P205 – Inventory List GENERAL NOTE: Martha Benjamin’s “Guide to the Archives of the Medical Library” (1972) is attached to this finding aid. RETRIEVAL NUMBER: P205 SUBJECTS: McGill University - History McGill University Doctors Medical Library Archives McGill Faculty of Medicine Montreal Dermatological Society McGill Reporting Society McGill Medical Society 4 Osler Library of the History of Medicine Medical Library Archives Collection – P205 – Inventory List LIST OF SECTIONS from “Guide to the Archives of the Medical Library Archives” (created in 1975) Certain alphabetical and numerical gaps exist to allow for expansion – MB, 1975 38/65/A Accession Records 38/65/B Medical Faculty Library Committee Reports 38/65/C Library Reports and Surveys 38/65/D Library Staff 38/65/E Binding 38/65/F Finance 38/65/G Gifts 38/65/H Library Procedures 38/65/I Circulation Records 38/65/L Departmental Libraries, Osler Library 38/65/M Library Association 38/65/N Miscellaneous 38/65/O Correspondence 38/65/P Photographs 38/65/Q Books, Pamphlets, Theses 38/65/R Reprints, Bibliographies, Lecture Notes 38/65/S Societies 38/65/T Journals 38/65/V Articles about (1) the McGill Medical Library; (2) McGill University and the Medical Library; (3) McGill Medical Men 38/65/W Faculty of Medicine Annual Announcements, University Calendars, Directories 38/65/X Library Building Plans, Renovations 38/65/Z McGill Medical Men (Personal Items) 5 Osler Library of the History of Medicine Medical Library Archives Collection – P205 – Inventory List Series 1: Textual Records and Various Media -- 1845-1957. -- 10.6m.-- ca. 20 photographs. – ca. 250 glass lantern slides. – ca. 50 spools of microfilm. The series includes a variety of textual materials including an 1845 Catalogue of Books (vols. 1 & 2), 15 bound Accessions volumes (1901-1954, 73 Requisition Books (1905-1963), and 63 Book Orders volumes (1924-1957). The material that is housed in archival boxes contains Medical Faculty library committee reports, library reports and surveys, library staff information, library binding department information, financial records, gifts/donations, library procedures, circulation records, information related to the planning, construction, and administration of the Osler Library of the History of Medicine, library association material, correspondence, two visitor books (1905-1945), building plans, renovation details, and articles about the library, McGill University and McGill ‘Medical Men’. There are also bound catalogue records • Photographs are found throughout, predominantly in boxes marked 38/65/N (Miscellaneous) • Glass lantern slides, ca. 1916-1926. o No.2 Canadian General Hospital (101 slides) o Rehabilitation of soldiers (one box, 52 slides) o Lecture slides (one box, 77 slides) of well-known physicians, hospitals, and universities in Bonn, Edinburgh, etc. plus art portraits and reunions o Dr. C. F. Wylde lecture slides (25 slides) on Medical Library • Xerox microfilm in a box, some used (lectures) and some unused Guide Sections: 38/65/B, D, E, F, G, H, I, L, M, N, O, P, Q, T, V, X Series 2: Reprints. -- 7.8 m. The series contains a collection of reprints by various McGill graduates, faculty, and others. The reprints are organized in folders and housed in alphabetical order – from Maude Abbott to C. F. Wylde. The series also includes a collection