University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
The New Mexico Health Historical Collection documents the history of health in the state and the Southwest by collecting and preserving materials that include oral histories, organizational records, rare books, photographs, artifacts, and a monograph collection.
The Oral History Program was begun in 1982 to record the work experiences of the most senior and longest-practicing medical doctors in the state. The program, which is ongoing, contains approximately 160 accessible transcripts of doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals.
The collections are available for use by the general public and UNM students, faculty, and staff in the New Mexico Health Historical Collection Room of the library.
The Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center (HSLIC) presents a new display entitled: "The Pernkopf Atlas -An Ethical Controversy" on the main floor of the library. Pernkopf's atlas, first published in 1937, has been considered one of the most important anatomical atlases since the work of Vesalius. However, research into the ethicalness of his life's work has led to the conclusion that Pernkopf used for his atlas victims executed by the National Socialists. Display is open during library hours. For more information call (505) 272-6518.
Search for a Cure: Life at Valmora, a new exhibit, presented by the Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center's New Mexico Health Historical Collection, explores life at Valmora Industrial Sanatorium (1905-1989). At the end of the nineteenth century sanatoria, such as Valmora, were heralded as a solution to the problems of tuberculosis control. An opening reception will be held Wednesday, Feb. 20, 4:30-5:30 p.m., HSLIC Room 223, followed by a lecture by Jake Spidle, PhD. The lecture, entitled, “Involuntary New Mexicans: Lunger Invasion of the Southwest,” will be held from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Domenici Center for Health Sciences Education, Room 2112. For more information about the exhibit, visit the UNM HSC February feature story.
A source of information about archival collections in Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming, is available for use. Using specialized guides, called finding aids, RMOA entries give detailed descriptions of primary source materials located at twenty repositories. HSLIC's New Mexico Health Historical Collection is a part of this NEH-sponsored project, having contributed finding aids for 26 collections. Find RMOA at: http://rmoa.unm.edu. If you have questions, contact Peggy McBride via email.
