Archives

Libraries are the gates to the future

Staff Education and outreach, Out of the stacks , , , , ,

It’s been just over a year since COVID-19 shut down most of the world, including the United States and Philadelphia.  The value of libraries and funding them has always been a hot topic, but with libraries shuttering their doors during the early days of the pandemic, it is even more obvious just how much our communities rely on libraries.  In my eyes, there is no disputing the value of public and school libraries (see Further reading at the end for some great articles, including one written by Neil Gaiman!) – they do so much more than “just” lending out books.

A recent article published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Free Library is understaffed, undervalued and budget cuts won’t help”, discusses the issues that many libraries have faced over time: lack of staff, lack of funding, and lack of support.  The Free Library of Philadelphia is a valuable resource to all of the neighborhoods and communities it serves, including the scholarly community which makes use of the main branch’s Rare Book Department.  The Rare Book Department serves as an example of special collections libraries – which may not be as familiar as public libraries, but face the same problems of lack of resources.  So what are special collections libraries?

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Interning (from Home) During an Outbreak

Staff Intern work, Staff projects , ,

– by Morgan Rafel, Archives intern

 

If Isaac Newton could discover calculus while social distancing during the Great Plague of London, what could I accomplish while social distancing and working from home during the COVID-19 outbreak? I may not have discovered the next form of math, but I did accomplish quite a bit!

The first task I completed was crafting 5 tweets that promote the Library’s materials that were digitized as part of the “For the Health of the New Nation” grant. I came up with the idea that because the College is closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I could focus on the materials that included the topic of hygiene. Luckily, I was able to find a few lecture notes that focused solely on hygiene! In creating the tweets, I tried to tie them into the COVID-19 outbreak, reminding people that health comes first, fevers are good, and to wash your hands. You can view the tweets on the Library’s Twitter account @CPPHistMedLib here.

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Processing Collections Part I: Allen R. Myers’ and Arthur Asbury’s Presidential Papers, and the Babies Hospital

Staff Intern work, Out of the stacks , , ,

– by Morgan Rafel, Archives intern

 

My favorite part of Kent State’s Masters of Library and Information Sciences program is that the final semester before graduation consists of a culminating experience. We could choose between a thesis, a research paper or project, or an internship. Seeing as I had little to no archival experience when I started the program, I knew I would have to find an internship. I knew I wanted to be in a museum setting, so I began applying mainly in the DC/Maryland area, but had no luck. I had reached out to Chrissie Perella, the Archivist at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (CPP)’s Historical Medical Library, about their archival internship about a year beforehand, so I decided to reach out again and see where it would go…

Fast forward a few months and I began my internship at the Historical Medical Library in January 2020. During this time I have, so far, had the opportunity to process three different collections; two Presidential Papers collections and the Babies’ Hospital of Philadelphia collection…well, half of it, but more on that later.

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Oh the Humanity! Processing the Records of the Humanism in Medicine Program

Staff Intern work , , ,

– by Bonnie Small, Archives intern

 

Segments of Albert Einstein’s brain? A syphilitic face? How about a jar of skin pickings? Where else in the world can so many medical oddities exist under one roof? Growing up in Philadelphia, the Mütter Museum’s impressive collection of the strange and unusual had left its mark on my macabre side from an early age. When I decided to pursue my Masters in Library and Information Science (with an archives concentration) through the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s online program, I knew exactly where I would apply for an internship.

The College of Physicians of Philadelphia (CPP) is the parent organization of both the Mütter Museum and the Historical Medical Library. Prior to my internship, I was unaware that just above the museum’s marble staircase resides the world-renowned research library specializing in the history of medicine. I came to regard the Historical Medical Library as a sanctuary from the noisy crowds entering the museum below and as a hidden gem powering the museum’s exhibits. And more importantly, it became my designated work space during my internship.

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What Can (and Can’t) We Learn From 19th Century Physicians’ Account Books?

Staff From our researchers, Out of the stacks , , , , ,

– by Wood Institute travel grantee, Jonathan Jones*

 

What sources can tell us the most about the health of nineteenth-century Americans, their aches and ailments, malaise and medicines? Diaries might come to mind, or letters between family members. These narrative sources are familiar to historians, and are more-than-commonplace in archives. On the one hand, narrative sources can be windows into the health of nineteenth-century Americans, revealing how they coped with the horrifying sicknesses and symptoms that plagued them. On the other hand, letters and diaries are impressionistic, better for figuring out how people felt about their health than the fine details of healthcare.

But what about the other stuff, the nitty-gritty details of medical history? Where can historians turn if, for instance, we want to find out how often the average nineteenth-century American saw a doctor? Or how much he charged them for lancing a boil or delivering a baby? What if we needed to know the most commonly prescribed medicines in nineteenth century America, like mercury, calomel, or opium? How can we investigate these questions with numbers and not just with quotes? Historians using only narrative sources would likely be unable to. Luckily for us, most nineteenth century American physicians kept account books, which contain invaluable quantitative data that historians can use to illuminate historical health patterns, supplementing impressionistic sources with hard data.
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The College, Council, and Committees

Staff Intern work , , ,

– by Sabrina Bocanegra, Archives intern

 

Having had some hands-on experience in archives before I started the Library and Information Science (LIS) program at Drexel University, I waited until towards the end of the program to search for some more professional experience. Of course I had visited the Mütter Museum several times in the past. However, not until I started the program had I visited the Historical Medical Library on two separate occasions for class assignments. After those assignments, I became pretty familiar with the Library and knew that I wanted to be an intern at some point before I reached the end of the program. I was pleased to hear that Chrissie had an archives intern position available during my 2nd to last quarter at Drexel.

On my first day, I jumped right into the collection I decided to tackle, which at the time was described as the Committee on Museum papers. My experience as a volunteer in the archives department of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and my coursework in a few archives courses made me feel a little bit more confident about processing this collection.

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Continuing Medical Education in the Archives

Staff Intern work , , , ,

– by Allie Shanafelter, Archives intern

 

Nearing the end of my time in the Information and Library Science program at Drexel University, I realized that I had been taught theory but did not have very much hands-on experience working in special collections or archives.  So, I decided it was time to find an internship.  I had heard about the Historical Medical Library during one of my courses at Drexel and was already familiar with the associated museum.  I was very excited to begin my internship at the Historical Medical Library in mid-April.  I was given the daunting task of processing the College of Physicians of Philadelphia’s continuing education records which date from the early 70s to the early 80s.
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