Celebrating 50 years of the Health Sciences Archives: A timeline

A black and white aerial shot of the McMaster University Medical Center (also known as the Health Sciences Centre) during construction in 1969.

The Health Sciences Archives is celebrating 50 years. The anniversary is being celebrated with an exhibit of historical images in the History of Health and Medicine room of the Health Sciences Library, beginning Sept. 3.

Posted on July 23, 2024

What was McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences like half a century ago? Thanks to the steadfast work of archivists, the answer to that question is readily available.

This year, the Health Sciences Archives marks its 50^th anniversary. The Archives collects, preserves and makes available records documenting the history, life, and people of McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences, Hamilton Health Sciences and its predecessor institutions.

“These records chronicle significant achievements which have enriched the healthcare community both in Hamilton and internationally,” says Jennifer McKinnell, director of the Health Sciences Library.

The Archives contains a rich collection of textual records, photographs, oral histories, artifacts, architectural drawings and audio-visual material thoroughly documenting the history of medicine and medical education in Hamilton from the late 1800s to the present.

The collection contains information on a diverse range of topics including: the history of public health and medicine in Canada, the evolution of medical education, the birth of evidence-based medicine at McMaster, hospital architecture, the development of midwifery and nursing education, healthcare during wartime, the treatment of disease, the history of occupational therapy and, developments in women’s and children’s healthcare.

McKinnell says the contributions of Archives staff Melissa Caza, Jackson Charbonneau, Joseph Iyengar and Tracey Krause, as well as the generosity of donors have been essential to the success of the Health Sciences Archives.

The anniversary is being celebrated with an exhibit of historical images in the History of Health and Medicine room of the Health Sciences Library, beginning Sept. 3.

This condensed timeline was developed using information found in the records of the Health Sciences Library fonds, such as annual reports, correspondence, and newsletters, as well as information from the Archives’ files. The full timeline is available in the HSL newsletter and was compiled by Jackson Charbonneau, archives technician with the Health Sciences Archives.

1973: The informal beginnings of the Health Sciences Archives (HSA) were driven by concerns over the lack of official records documenting the development of the McMaster Medical School program and the creation of the McMaster University Medical Centre (also known as the Health Sciences Centre). An appeal was made by the Biomedical Librarian to freeze and store relevant material.
July 1974: The McMaster Health Sciences Archives Project was formally launched with the aim to collect, preserve, index, record, and make available essential documents of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), such as minutes, correspondence, and articles.
October 1974: The first full-time archivist was appointed and was responsible for collecting and sorting through material.
March 1975: The archival collection was housed in a dedicated storage space within the Technical Services area of the Health Sciences Library.
November 1975 – April 1978: The HSA continued to expand, with additional staff hired for typing, cataloguing, and indexing. By April 1978, 105 feet of records had been catalogued, but financial constraints led to the termination of the full-time archivist position.
1978 – 1984: Archival work was maintained sporadically by a reference assistant and temporary staff. Space issues became increasingly problematic as more material from the School of Medicine and School of Nursing was transferred.
1982: A report was prepared emphasizing the need for a defined mandate, qualified staff, and proper funding for the HSA. The Archives of Ontario conducted an external review, agreeing with these recommendations.
December 1983: The Faculty of Health Sciences formally recognized the Archives Committee as a constituted body and endorsed a properly funded and staffed archives.
Spring 1984: Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals and the Faculty of Health Sciences agreed to jointly fund an archivist position.
1985: A new archivist was appointed and implemented a program to restore the provenance of records and manage record transfers and overseeing the move to a newly constructed archives storage area and office in the lower level of the Health Sciences Library (rooms 1B16-1B17, and room 1B15).
1986: A large number of early School of Nursing records were transferred from the Research Collections at Mills Library.
1987: A formal agreement between Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals and the Faculty of Health Sciences provided the HSA with both a mandate and financial support. Numerous records from the Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals were deposited during this time.
July 1988 – February 2017: A new archivist and history of medicine librarian was appointed and developed a searchable database, microfilmed records for preservation, and utilized student help and volunteers to index collections and identify individuals in photo collections. An access agreement with the Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals was established and a records management program was implemented. Early reconciliation efforts with Inuit and their records was a priority at this time.
2007: The Archives moved from rooms 1B16-17 and room 1B15 to a new climate-controlled storage area and adjoining office in room 1B31, with newly installed mobile shelving. This new space was part of an $8.6 million renovation to the Health Sciences Library that included the creation of the C. Barber Mueller History of Health and Medicine Room, new group study rooms, and the Jan and Mien Heersink Reading Pavilion.
July 2018 – 2024: A new archivist began to modernize the archives, with a continued focus on reconciliation efforts, the introduction of new policies and procedures, and the migration of electronic archival finding aids to a new archival database (Access to Memory).
2023: The HSA by hiring an archives technician to expand the work being done in the HSA, focusing on processing collection backlogs and supervising student workers. A new project archivist was hired to process the recently acquired Hamilton Academy of Medicine collection.