I was a student at the defunct Alexandria Hospital School of Nursing. Do you have my student records?

The Claude Moore Health Sciences Library cannot officially confirm the educational status of any alumnae of the Alexandria Hospital School of Nursing (AHSN). Our library houses the AHSN administrative records (e.g., reports and leadership meeting minutes). We also have materials documenting student life (e.g., yearbooks and student uniforms). However, we do not have official student records such as transcripts. We do not know where the AHSN transferred its official student records after the school closed.

 

I am unable to travel to the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library to complete my research in person. Can you produce scans of requested materials and send them to me?

If the request is for 20 sheets of paper or less, is not fragile, and has no access restrictions, we will produce low-resolution scans of the items. We currently cannot scan books or other bound materials. We usually deliver the scans via email in a PDF file or via Box if the file is too large for an email attachment. These scans are intended for research purposes only.

When research time exceeds the above or more than 30 minutes of staff time, your research inquiry surpasses the scope of the reference service that the staff of Historical Collections are able to provide and still maintain essential services to students, faculty, and staff of the University of Virginia.

If you are unable to visit Historical Collections to view materials and have a time-intensive reference request, please consult the list of independent researchers in the Charlottesville area who may be employed to do in-depth research. This list is maintained by the UVA Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library.

 

I have an ancestor who was affiliated with UVA Health and/or the UVA School of Medicine. Would you send me information in your archive related to this individual?

In accordance with our research policies stated here, our staff can spend no more than 30 minutes searching ArchivesSpace and any relevant finding aids for the individual in question. If we are successful in locating the individual during the above search, we will send the patron a list of resources in our archive where that person appears or may appear. It is then up to the patron to make a research appointment with our staff and proceed with this research in person.

We do not have the staffing capabilities to conduct research on a patron’s behalf. If you are unable to visit Historical Collections to view materials and have a time-intensive reference request, please consult the list of independent researchers in the Charlottesville area who may be employed to do in-depth research. This list is maintained by the UVA Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library.

 

Do you have any photos of [person, group, or thing related to UVA Health]?

The UVA Visual History Collection features many digitized photos relating to the history of UVA Health. We suggest beginning your search there. You may filter your results on the left according to “Health Sciences.” Be advised that some of the metadata in this collection is inaccurate. If you cannot locate the image in question, search ArchivesSpace to see if the image is in our collections but has not been digitized. Depending on the request, we may be able to produce a digitized scan of the image. Some images may be restricted due to privacy concerns.

 

I am interested in your medical artifacts collection. Where can I learn more?

About half of the medical artifacts in our collection have been photographed and are available online here. The abstract for each image provides a brief description of the artifact. While we are happy for patrons to make an appointment in our reading room to view specific artifacts, we do not allow patrons to handle certain artifacts due to preservation and safety concerns.

 

I am interested in the history of the UVA School of Nursing and/or the history of nursing generally. Can you point me to relevant resources?

For all questions related to the history of UVA SON or the history of nursing generally, please contact Dominique Tobbell in the Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry at dtobbell@virginia.edu.

 

I have a question related to the history of the University of Virginia beyond the Health System. Can you answer my question or point me to relevant resources?

Please direct your inquiry to the UVA Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library via their reference request form.

 

I have a question about your ancient Roman surgical instruments and/or would like to come to your archive to view these instruments and speak to an expert.

Our staff members are generalists and do not have expertise in ancient Roman surgical instruments. The instruments in our collection are replicas. The originals are housed at the Naples National Archaeological Museum in Italy. While we are happy to set up an appointment for patrons to come view the instruments, we do not provide lectures or specific workshops on these artifacts. You may find images of the replicas in our collection here. Our online exhibit also contains useful information.

 

I am interested in the history of the Anatomical Theatre and would like to arrange a workshop on this topic and/or view these materials in person.

While Historical Collections has an online exhibit chronicling the history of the Anatomical Theatre, the majority of materials featured in the exhibit are housed at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at UVA. Please visit their website here regarding reference and instruction requests.

 

I would like to reproduce a Historical Collections resource in a forthcoming publication. How do I secure permission and a high-resolution scan?

General information on copyright and other details related to reproduction can be found here. All reproduction requests should be submitted directly to the curator, Meggan Cashwell, mcashwell@virginia.edu for evaluation. Please note that our scanning technology is extremely limited and, depending on the item, we may not be able to provide a high-resolution image.

 

I would like to check out a book from your rare book collection, but Virgo says it is non-circulating. Would you make an exception to this policy?

We do not allow patrons to check out books from our rare shelves and do not make exceptions regardless of publication date. If you would like to view the book in our reading room, please send your request to hsl-historical@virginia.edu to set up a research appointment. Alternatively, and if you are affiliated with UVA, you may submit your request through Interlibrary Loan to see if another repository has a copy that circulates.

 

I am interested in donating books/artifacts/manuscripts to Historical Collections. What does this process entail?

All collection development decisions are at the discretion of the curator and in accordance with our collecting priorities, staffing capabilities, and space limitations. We ask that you review our collection development policy first. If, after reading the policy, you feel the item(s) may be of value to Historical Collections, please contact the curator, Meggan Cashwell, at mcashwell@virginia.edu with a detailed description of the item(s) and images when possible. The curator will make an initial assessment based on the information provided and follow up.

 

Can you appraise my medical instrument, manuscript collection, and/or rare book?

Historical Collections and Services staff cannot perform appraisals. The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library maintains a list of appraisers here.

 

May I reserve the Historical Collections’ reading room for an event?

As our space is an active research and work area, we do not allow anyone to reserve it (including after hours).

 

I am interested in giving a historical lecture or book talk. Would Historical Collections host this event?

Historical Collections sponsors and hosts the History of the Health Sciences lecture series, which occurs twice a year. This series serves the purpose of bringing in an outside scholar who is an expert in the history of medicine. We do not host or sponsor other events - like lectures or book talks - at this time.