The Smithsonian's Dibner Library of the History of Science and Technology has received a significant book collection donated by J. Bruce Beckwith, MD, encompassing 800 rare books on pediatric anomalies in humans, animals and plants.
About the Collections
See detailed information about member institutions and their collections. Select a member institution below to visit its main collections or library page.
We have compiled a list of digital collections and resources from our member institutions. We will continue to update this list as we receive more information.
California Institute of Technology
Major research collections available remotely:
- George Ellery Hale Papers: https://digital.archives.caltech.edu/hale
- Donald A. Glaser Papers: http://glaser.library.caltech.
edu - Paul B. MacCready Papers: http://maccready.library.caltech.edu
- Caltech Archives Oral History Project: http://oralhistories.library.caltech.edu
Reference inquiries: archives@caltech.edu
College of Physicians of Philadelphia
Digital image library: https://www.cppdigitallibrary.org/
S. Weir Mitchell papers: https://mitchell.cppdigitallibrary.org/s/mitchell/page/intro
The College of Physicians is a partner with the Medical Heritage Library, which has a significant collection of digitzed material: http://www.medicalheritage.org/search-2/
Duke University
Duke Digital Collections: https://
Online Exhibits: https://library.
Instruction/Digital Activities & Assignments: https://library.
Contact for research assistance: AskRL@duke.edu
Hagley Museum and Library
Finding aids: https://findingaids.hagley.org/xtf/
Digital archives: https://digital.hagley.org/
Digital exhibits: https://www.hagley.org/research/digital-exhibits
Oral history collections: https://digital.hagley.org/oralhistory?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=1e4410717a82cc925873&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=0
Newsletter: https://www.hagley.org/research/research-news-events/news/all-news
Scholars' projects: https://www.hagley.org/research/news/scholar-projects
Stories from the Stacks podcast: https://www.hagley.org/research/programs/stories-stacks
Millrace podcast: https://www.hagley.org/millrace
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpQPQhnwuLEyoJ1LanZi2cA
Harvard University
Harvard Digital Collections: Linking to over 6 million items from Harvard’s collections.
Curiosity: curated guides to selected digitized collections at Harvard.
Colonial North America project: link to approximately 650,000 digitized pages related to 17th and 18th century North American holdings at Harvard.
Biodiversity Heritage Library, with a direct link to the Botany Libraries’ contributions and the Ernst Mayr (Museum of Comparative Zoology) Library’s contributions to the BHL.
Huntington Library
Research questions may be submitted to reference@huntington.org
Library Company of Philadelphia
Collections search: https://digital.librarycompany.org/discovery
Digital exhibits: https://librarycompany.org/research/exhibits/
Fireside chats: https://librarycompany.org/fireside-chats/
Talking in the Library podcast: https://librarycompany.org/talking-in-the-library/
Linda Hall Library
The Linda Hall Library's digital collections provide access to hundreds of rare books and periodicals exploring the history of science and technology from the 15th century to the present. Astronomy, mathematics, earth sciences, and natural history are all well-represented in the Library's online holdings. Historians of engineering will also find much to explore in the Library's collection of 19th century railroad journals and the A.B. Nichols Panama Canal Collection. The Library adds new items to its digital collections on a regular basis. Noteworthy recent additions include Samuel Morse’s journal, Thomas Edison’s instructions to operate an electric power plant, and an article on radioactivity by Marie Curie annotated in her own hand.
To begin reviewing the Linda Hall Library’s digital collections, visit http://lhldigital.lindahall.org/. Please note that the Library is currently investing in a new content management system and would welcome visitor feedback on the organization of its online resources. For further information, email the Library’s Vice President for Research and Scholarship, Benjamin Gross (grossb@lindahall.org).
New York Academy of Medicine
Stay connected and access resources: https://www.nyam.org/library/stay-connected-update-resources-nyam-library/
Newberry Library
Digital resources: http://www.newberry.org/digital-newberry
Online collection: http://digcoll.newberry.org/#/
Contact a librarian: https://www.newberry.org/contact-librarian
Rockefeller Archive Center
Archival material is available to all researchers through DIMES (dimes.rockarch.org), RAC's online finding aid system. When browsing finding aids, digitized materials will appear with a camera icon. To a general search for digitized materials in DIMES, go to: https://dimes.rockarch.org/xtf/search
Significant online collections include:
- A large portion of the Rockefeller Foundation officer diaries have been digitized (in DIMES, these finding aids appear, arranged alphabetically by officer's last name as FA391, FA392, FA393, FA394.)
- The vast majority of records of the Foundation for Child Development (1898-1998) have been digitized. Identified in DIMES as FA019.
- The RAC created a digital history website for the centennial of the Rockefeller Foundation. It includes essays, photographs and extensive digitized documents from RAC. Available online at https://rockfound.rockarch.org/.
- The RAC recently launched RE:source, RAC's storytelling platform, highlighting the history of philanthropy through RAC's collection. Available online at: https://resource.rockarch.org/.
RAC has a very extensive set of research reports submitted by RAC research stipend awardees, providing broad insight into RAC collections and their historic themes. Available online at: http://rockarch.issuelab.org/?coverage=&author=&funder=&publisher=&wikitopic_categories=&keywords=&pubdate_start_year=1&pubdate_end_year=1&sort=&categories=
With specific questions, researchers should feel free to contact Lee R. Hiltzik, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate, who serves as RAC's coordinator with the Consortium. Lee can be reached at: lhiltzik@rockarch.org
For general questions about archival access and use, researchers should consult https://rockarch.org/collections/access-and-request-materials/
University of Oklahoma
Digital collection: https://repository.ou.edu/
History of Science Portrait Collection: https://digital.libraries.ou.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/LPC
Twitter: Search@OU_Libraries & @PalmeriJoAnn
Contact for research questions: JoAnn Palmeri (palmerij@ou.edu) Research Coordinator & Librarian, History of Science Collections, OU Libraries
Yale University
Online resources for history of medicine research: https://guides.library.yale.edu/histmedonline
Digital collections: https://library.medicine.yale.edu/digital
Contact for research questions: Melissa Grafe, melissa.grafe@yale.edu
Britton Chance's (1913-2010) papers, now open to researchers, make up the largest fully-processed collection at APS and features materials relating to Chance's pursuits in biochemistry, biophysics, and yachting.
This large collection holds material from the long-serving president of one of the most important American technology companies in the twentieth century.
The additions to the University Archives collections include materials science and engineering records.
The papers of physicist Rose Le Dieu Mooney Slater (1902-1981) include 10.5 linear feet of correspondence, research and print material that document Mooney-Slater’s career as a professor, department chair, research physicist and accomplished crystallographer; concentrating on the structure of crystals and crystalline materials using X-ray diffraction.
The Adler Planetarium is pleased to announce that the Webster Photographs Collection is now available for research.
The APS has recently launched the upgraded Digital Library, featuring improved navigation and responsive design that makes the site easier to read on a variety of screen sizes. The site also highlights interpretive galleries of APS collections created by staff and Digital Library interns. Galleries include digital projects on the Britton Chance Collection, the Colonel Richard Gimbel Collection of Thomas Paine Papers, and the Henry Howard Houston II Papers.
The New York Academy of Medicine Library announces the launch of its new digital collections and exhibits website, hosted on the open-source framework Islandora and accessible at http://digitalcollections.nyam.org/. The new site makes it easy for the public to access and explore highlights of the Library’s world-class historical collections in the history of medicine and public health.
The Rockefeller Archive Center is pleased to announce that the Papers of R. Bruce Merrifield are now open and available for research.
In May 2017, the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Library and Archives hosted "Conversations on the History of Eugenics."