National Library of Medicine Releases First Fully-Digitized Manuscript Collections in NLM Digital Collections

From NLM:

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is pleased to announce the release of its first fully-digitized manuscript collections in NLM Digital Collections.

Complete with finding aids—detailed research guides to assist individuals in exploring and understanding these archival materials—this initial release of six manuscript collections encompasses more than 43,500 pages and represents a milestone in the evolution of NLM’s digitization capacity. Moreover, it achieves the goal of providing remote, unmediated access to manuscript collections in alignment with one of the cornerstones of the NLM Strategic Plan 2017-2027, to reach more people through enhanced dissemination and engagement.

These six collections include:

National Commission on Acquired Immune Deficiency Records, 1983-1994

Finding Aid | Digital Collections

Official Bulletins relating to the health of President Garfield, 1881

Finding Aid | Digital Collections

Medical report of military inspection tour through the Northern division of the U.S., Baltimore, 1818

Finding Aid | Digital Collections

Leonard C. McPhail Diary, 1845-c.1939

Finding Aid | Digital Collections

Jonathan Letterman Correspondence and Diary, 1860-1864

Finding Aid | Digital Collections

U.S. Asylum for Insane Indians annual report and census, 1926

Finding Aid | Digital Collections

Staff of the NLM History of Medicine Division’s Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program oversaw the digitization of these collections as completely as possible in order to replicate the onsite experience of researching these collections. Links in the finding aid Contents List take researchers to the page turner view in NLM Digital Collections for each folder where they can also search the full text of transcripts or uncorrected OCR files.

This initial release represents three themes in digitization prioritization: external third-party digitization partnerships with the NLM which have yielded substantial digitized content; high-patron usage/copy order requests; and support of NLM exhibitions and related programs designed to raise public awareness of and engagement with the NLM’s collections and related resources.

Learn More, Read the Complete Announcement

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Digital Collections, Digital Preservation, Interactive Tools, Libraries, National Libraries, News, Reports