Library

55 Lake Avenue North
Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
United States

1 508-856-7633
Fax: 508-856-5039

The Office of Medical History and Archives oversees the Archives of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), collecting and preserving materials that document the history of UMMS. It also supports historical research, teaching, and other activities that highlight the history of UMMS and the history of American medicine and health care, with special emphasis on the 20th century. The Archives contains the personal and institutional records of the administration, faculty, students, and other staff of UMMS, including oral history interviews, publications, photographs, etc. Our special collections comprise of approximately 3000 volumes published between the 16th through the early 20th centuries. One-third of these volumes are on permanent loan from the Worcester Medical Library; most of the remaining volumes were purchased for the Library from the Pittsburg Academy of Medicine in 1969, while some are donations. Our 40 archival collections include the records and papers of the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research (formerly the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology), the site of the development of the birth control pill by Gregory Pincus and M. C. Chang. We also collect secondary source materials (books, CDs, and DVDs) in the subject areas of History of Medicine, and Women in Medicine.

We provide standard archival reference services: photocopying and scanning. Rare books may not be borrowed, but our collections in the History of Medicine, Women in Medicine, and Humanities in Medicine are all available for borrowing. We require at least 24 hours notice for access to Archival and Rare Book collections. Please contact Ellen More or Kristine Reinhard with requests for services. For more detailed information, kindly visit our website at http://library.umassmed.edu/omha/index .

In addition to 779 volumes in combined History of Medicine/Women in Medicine book collection, and 632 volumes in the Humanities in Medicine collection, the UMMS Archives consists of 40 collections (160 linear feet), with strengths in the history of modern medical education, and the history of endocrine and human reproductive research.

Five particularly rich collections include:

1. The H. Brownell Wheeler, M.D. papers, including materials relating to the founding and history of UMass Medical School and the Department of Surgery, the history of palliative care in Massachusetts and at UMMS, and the history of the Center for Mindfulness;

2. The Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research papers, including many photographs of Gregory Pincus, M. C. Chang, Hudson and Mahlon Hoagland, and other researchers;

3. A collection of 45 Oral Histories pertaining to the history of UMMS;

4. Daybooks and prescribing manuals for Dr. Milman Pease, early-to-mid-20th century general practitioner from Brookfield in central Massachusetts;

5. Manuscript letters and essays from Dr. Royal Watkins, Worcester, Massachusetts surgeon from the 1890s through the 1930s.

History of Anatomy; History of Bacteriology; History of Biochemistry; History of Dermatology; History of Endocrine System; History of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases; History of Gynecology and Obstetrics; History of Hospitals; History of Medical Education; History of Medicine; History of Nursing; History of Ophthalmology and Optometry; History of Pathology; History of Pediatrics; History of Physiology; History of Psychiatry; History of Public Health; History of Reproductive Health; History of Surgery; History of Women in Medicine; History of the Nervous System; History of the Practice of Medicine; Materia Medica