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UOMS/OHSU Library records, 1871-2016

Overview of the Collection

Cre
Willman, Carrie; Oregon Health & Science University
Title
UOMS/OHSU Library records
Dates
1871-2016 (inclusive)
1920-2013 (bulk)
Quantity
100 linear feet
Collection Number
1998-015
Summary
The OHSU library was founded in 1893 as part of the University of Oregon Medical Department. In 1919, the library's 4,000 books moved up the hill to what is now Mackenzie Hall. In 1939, the library moved into a new building next door and then relocated again in 1991 with the opening of the Biomedical Information Communication Center (BICC). This collection spans the library's history, with materials produced largely by library employees and committee members.
Repository
Oregon Health & Science University, Historical Collections & Archives
OHSU Historical Collections & Archives
Oregon Health & Science University
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd. MC:LIB
Portland, OR
97239
Telephone: 5034945587
hcaref@ohsu.edu
Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions on access. This collection is open to the public.

Languages
The collection is in English.
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Historical Note

The OHSU library was founded in 1893 as part of the University of Oregon Medical Department in Portland. Its first collection was a pair of personal libraries, donated by the estates of Drs. Rodney Glisan and R. B. Wilson; it was originally named for the latter.

In 1919, Bertha Hallam became the first librarian, and the library's 4,000 books moved up the hill to what is now Mackenzie Hall. By 1939, thanks to the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and private funding, the library was able to move again into a new building next door.

In the 1970s and 1980s, as OHSU consolidated its various schools and took on its modern form, the library acquired a more modern identity too. In 1988, electronic services arrived, allowing users to use email and search Medline. The following year, the catalog became electronic too, and in 1996 the library website made its debut. By 1991, the Depression-era building by Mackenzie Hall had become inadequate, and so OHSU secured federal money to build its present home: the Biomedical Information Communication Center, or BICC. The older building still houses some of the library's collections and archives. OHSU now boasts the largest medical library in Oregon.

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Content Description

This collection spans the library's history, with materials produced largely by library employees and committee members. There are records, blueprints, reports, floor plans, staff files, publicity materials, press clippings, exhibit materials, newsletters, memoranda, and surveys, as well as some more off-beat items, such a cane and a four-leaf clover. There is a good deal of material related to the creation of the BICC and the foundation of the Orbis Cascade Alliance. Researchers interested in Bertha Hallam and early Oregon librarianship will find her personal records of great interest. Some aspects of the collection, including surveys about Y2K, may be interesting to historians of the early Internet.

The collection series are broad and varied and consist of: I. Administrative records, II. Committee records, III. Correspondence, IV. Financial records, V. Historical Collections & Archives/History of Medicine records, VI. Interlibrary Loan forms, VII. Diversified displays, VIII. Photographs and audiovisual materials, IX. Artifacts, X. Related group records (such as those relating to the Medical Library Association, the Oregon Library Association, and the Oregon State Library), and five sub-collections: records from XIa.Bertha Hallam, XIb.Jean Hoar, XIc.Dolores Judkins, XId.Sara Piasecki, and XIe.Carrie Willman.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

UOMS/OHSU Library records, Collection Number 1998-015, Oregon Health & Science University, Historical Collections & Archives

Restrictions on Use

OHSU Historical Collections & Archives (HC&A) is the owner of the original materials and digitized images in our collections, however, the collection may contain materials for which copyright is not held. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials. Consult with HC&A to determine if we can provide permission for use.

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Administrative Information

Related Materials

BICC collection, Collection number 2015-035

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Detailed Description of the Collection