Archives and Manuscripts
NLM historical collections house a large collection of archives and manuscripts related the history of medicine. Most of the archival and manuscript material dates from the 17th century; however, the Library owns about 200 pre-1601 Western and Islamic manuscripts. The oldest item in the Library is an Arabic manuscript on gastrointestinal diseases from al-Razi's The Comprehensive Book on Medicine (Kitab al-Hawi fi al-tibb) dated 1094. Significant modern collections include the papers of U.S. Surgeons General, including C. Everett Koop, and the papers of Nobel Prize-winning scientists, particularly those connected with NIH.
- Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program (17th century-present)
- Islamic Manuscripts (11th-19th century)
- Includes about 300 Persian, Arabic, and Turkish manuscripts, dating from 1094.
- Search Islamic manuscripts in LocatorPlus.
- Islamic Medical Manuscripts at the National Library of Medicine
- Islamic Culture and the Medical Arts
- A Shelflist of Islamic Medical Manuscripts at the NLM (pdf)
- Western Manuscripts (13th-17th century)
- Search Western manuscripts in LocatorPlus (all titles not yet cataloged)
- Early Western Manuscripts in the NLM: A Short-Title List
- Medieval Manuscripts in the National Library of Medicine
- Digital Manuscripts Program (20th century)
- Includes digitized manuscripts of innovators in science, medicine, and public health (Profiles in Science)
-
What are archives?
Archives are organized collections of records pertaining to an organization or institution.
-
What are manuscripts?
Manuscripts are unpublished hand- or typewritten material. Manuscripts can be unpublished books, letters, articles, documents, or other compositions. Modern manuscripts are usually defined as manuscripts written after 1600.