Manuscripts Collection Development Policy

Among institutions of the age and stature of the Duke University Medical Center (DUMC), Health Systems (DUHS), and School of Nursing (SON), there are many faculty and alumni who have made a significant impact upon, or contribution to American society. It is one of the aims and purposes of the Manuscript Collection of the DUMC Archives to develop its holdings by gathering, processing, preserving and making available to students and scholars the papers of selected Faculty and Alumni.

Because it is neither possible nor desirable to collect the papers of all Faculty and Alumni, a determination must be made as to which papers will be of value to students and scholars in the future. Papers will be included of those Faculty and Alumni who have made a significant impact upon or contribution to society. The defining factor for inclusion of faculty, administrator, and alumni papers will be the significance of impact upon, or contribution to, the practice or science of medicine, medical research, and changing the way society, or a portion of society, thinks, believes, acts or operates. It is thus the goal of the Archives to identify, collect, and preserve those materials which fall within this definition. At the same time, is not the policy of the Archives to acquire by purchase the papers of living Faculty and Alumni of DUMC/DUHS/SON.

The manuscript collection exists to complement the official holdings of institutions records housed in the DUMC Archives

The collection supports the teaching and research activities of administrators, faculty, and students on all levels. Materials are made available for student assignments, teaching and research needs of the faculty, and administration and development. Use of the collection is broadly based; there is no one single constituency that is supported by the materials. Materials are used by the faculty and students in the arts and sciences, researchers interested in the history and development of medical education and hospital development, and DUMC/DUHS/SON administrators in the conduct of official business

Alumni collections include club memorabilia, diaries, photographs, reunion books, and scrapbooks.

The defining factor for conducting oral history interviews with faculty, administrator, and alumni will be the significance of impact upon, or contribution to, changing the way society, or a portion of society, thinks, believes, acts or operates. Oral history interviews will be conducted in order to support existing archival and manuscript collections on file in the DUMC Archives.

While the collection is not strictly restricted by subject, manuscript collections will usually concern the following broad subject matter: The practice and science of medicine;

• Biomedical research;
• Healthcare delivery, economics, and administration;
• Bioethics, pastoral care and other related disciplines;
• Health professions education; and,
• Operations and history of DUMC/DUHS, its schools, programs, and affiliated partners as appropriate.

English is the primary language of the collection. However, language is not a criterion for inclusion or exclusion.

There are no geographical boundaries. However, the vast majority of the collection is from within the United States.

The collection dates from the late 19th Century to the present.

Manuscripts may be defined for our purposes as any original, written materials that are created as unique items as opposed to reproduced items. This would include holographs, typescripts, computer tapes and similar original materials. Original manuscripts only are collected. This would include correspondence; drafts and final "working" version of published materials; financial records; other personal papers; diaries; laboratory notebooks; photographs; scrapbooks; reunion books, as referenced in "Alumni Memoirs"; and any other unique materials that would assist in defining and delineating a person's life and accomplishments. Facsimiles are not collected although these may be added to the reference collection in the Medical Center Archives. The Archives does not collect photocopies or duplicates of materials filed in other repositories.

The Medical Center Library's History of Medicine Collections provides a full range of reference services for the materials housed within the reading room, and the circulating and locked stacks. Rare and historical materials, which include monographs, serials, photographs and illustrations, medical instruments, and various realia, are made available, in a secure environment, to all interested persons, regardless of affiliation.

The Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library at Duke University preserves rare and historical materials, which include monographs, serials, photographs and illustrations, medical advertisements, and various realia. While the library's holdings are developed in relation to instructional and research interests in the University, they are available for use by visiting scholars and the general public as well as Duke faculty and students.

DUMC/DUHS/SON Faculty and Alumni are often found in the forefront of their fields and, as a result, are of interest to many repositories. It is not surprising, then, that their papers may be found in institutions throughout the world.

September 2003