The Duke Community was saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Charles Johnson. He joined Duke in 1970 as the first Black faculty member in the School of Medicine and first Black physician on the faculty of Duke University. He was an important and vital pioneer at the School of Medicine.
In a 1990 article, the late Dr. Onye Akwari, the first Black professor of surgery, commented that “I don’t think people realize what Charlie has done in this institution. Charlie and Jim Carter [a psychiatrist who joined the faculty in 1971] were the initial black physicians in the institution, and these were very difficult days. They have served as the shields behind… MORE
Category: News, Collection Highlights
The Medical Center Archives is happy to announce the addition of the following student groups to its collections’ holdings: Duke Chapter of the American Medical Women's Association Records The American Medical Women's Association (AMWA), founded in 1915, is an organization which functions at the local, national, and international level to advocate for the advancement of women in medicine and for the improvement of women's health. Contains records pertaining to the operations of the Duke Chapter of the AMWA. Materials date from 2019 to 2020 … MORE
Category: Collection Highlights
An oral history is an interview that records an individual’s personal recollections of the past and historical events. Using this method of gathering, preserving, and interpreting ensures that the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants are added to the historical record. Oral histories are conducted by a well prepared interviewer questioning an interviewee and recording their subsequent discussion in an audio or video format. Afterwards, the recording of the interview is transcribed to create a transcript and added to the holdings of a library or archives where it should be cataloged to make it discoverable by future users. Did you know that the Medical Center Archives houses a robust oral history collection of over 350 interviews? These oral histories date to as… MORE
Category: Collection Highlights
Duke Medical Center Library & Archives is debuting a newly redesigned and updated online exhibit of Women in Duke Health just in time for Women's History Month.
Highlighting women in multiple fields at Duke, many of which were pioneers or firsts in their disciplines, this exhibit looks at their stories and the context in which those stories took place. The primary method of inquiry for context in this exhibit was via oral histories, a unique format that allows for both.
This historical perspective is presented through individual profiles and interviews, a general timeline of events, and background interviews conducted with people who have a longtime view of Duke Medicine. For most… MORE
Category: News, Collection Highlights
Duke Medical Center Library & Archives is debuting a newly redesigned and updated online exhibit of Women in Duke Health just in time for Women's History Month.
Highlighting women in multiple fields at Duke, many of which were pioneers or firsts in their disciplines, this exhibit looks at their stories and the context in which those stories took place. The primary method of inquiry for context in this exhibit was via oral histories, a unique format that allows for both.
This historical perspective is presented through individual profiles and interviews, a general timeline of events, and background interviews conducted with people who have a longtime view of Duke Medicine. For most… MORE
Category: News, Collection Highlights
With the events of the past year, it has probably become clichéd to say that “we are living in historic times”. However, as we celebrate Black History Month this year, the reality of systemic racism and injustice is forefront in many of our minds. An important first step to addressing systemic racism is learning more about how race and racism is embedded in our history, including that of Duke Health. The Duke University Medical Center Archives seeks to preserve materials that document the history of Duke Health and make them available for research and education. For example, we have been actively capturing and preserving the 2020 Moments to… MORE
Category: News, Collection Highlights
With the events of the past year, it has probably become clichéd to say that “we are living in historic times”. However, as we celebrate Black History Month this year, the reality of systemic racism and injustice is forefront in many of our minds. An important first step to addressing systemic racism is learning more about how race and racism is embedded in our history, including that of Duke Health. The Duke University Medical Center Archives seeks to preserve materials that document the history of Duke Health and make them available for research and education. For example, we have been actively capturing and preserving the 2020 Moments to… MORE
Category: News, Collection Highlights
… MORE
Category: Collection Highlights
Our annual Halloween event, It Came From the Archives, will not be happening this year for obvious reasons. For the past six years, we have enjoyed sharing a variety of materials from our collections in a casual open house setting in the library. While we try to select different items each year for display, some of our favorite things to share every year are medical illustrations. Duke University Medical Center was among the first educational institutions in the United States to provide medical illustration services. Artwork was created with traditional and digital media and includes surgical and anatomic drawings, schematic and… MORE
Category: Collection Spotlight, Collection Highlights
Our annual Halloween event, It Came From the Archives, will not be happening this year for obvious reasons. For the past six years, we have enjoyed sharing a variety of materials from our collections in a casual open house setting in the library. While we try to select different items each year for display, some of our favorite things to share every year are medical illustrations. Duke University Medical Center was among the first educational institutions in the United States to provide medical illustration services. Artwork was created with traditional and digital media and includes surgical and anatomic drawings, schematic and… MORE
Category: Collection Spotlight, Collection Highlights
Balancing the responsibilities of parenthood and those of a medical career is challenging, and this was certainly also the case for those at Duke in the 1970s. During the twentieth century American conceptions and ideals parenthood shifted drastically as a response to medical advances, social movements, and more and more attending college and/or working outside the home. Tucked away in old issues of the Intercom, Duke Medicine’s primary news publication from 1953 to 1986, we can find clear evidence that Duke faculty and students were grappling with these shifting perceptions, expectation, and values surrounding parenthood throughout the 1970s.
Beginning in 1972, Professor Betty Harris, an… MORE
Category: Collection Highlights
This is the third blog post in a three part series about processing digital files. See the following links for Part 1 and Part 2.
Over the course of this past year, the Duke University Medical Center Archives (DUMCA) began addressing our digital files backlog by identifying and adding these digital files to the collections to which they belong. This process has uncovered materials current Archives staff were unaware of, introducing us to new stories about Duke and Duke Alumni.
When appraising digital files located in the backlog (for more information about the DUMCA’s digital files backlog see… MORE
Category: News, Collection Highlights
This is the third blog post in a three part series about processing digital files. See the following links for Part 1 and Part 2.
Over the course of this past year, the Duke University Medical Center Archives (DUMCA) began addressing our digital files backlog by identifying and adding these digital files to the collections to which they belong. This process has uncovered materials current Archives staff were unaware of, introducing us to new stories about Duke and Duke Alumni.
When appraising digital files located in the backlog (for more information about the DUMCA’s digital files backlog see… MORE
Category: News, Collection Highlights
Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature
Medical Center Library & Archives - Level 3 (NLM) & Level 1 (MCL&A)
NLM Exhibit on Display until June 16, 2018
The Medical Center Library is hosting “Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature,” a six-banner traveling exhibition. Developed and produced by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, it displays the abiding relevance of the Frankenstein story to contemporary questions about science and technology. Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel explores individual and societal responsibility through its discussion of scientific advancement and medical ethics.
… MORECategory: News, Collection Highlights
Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature
Medical Center Library & Archives - Level 3 (NLM) & Level 1 (MCL&A)
NLM Exhibit on Display until June 16, 2018
The Medical Center Library is hosting “Frankenstein: Penetrating the Secrets of Nature,” a six-banner traveling exhibition. Developed and produced by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, it displays the abiding relevance of the Frankenstein story to contemporary questions about science and technology. Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel explores individual and societal responsibility through its discussion of scientific advancement and medical ethics.
… MORECategory: News, Collection Highlights