Support Historical Collections & Archives
Make a Financial Contribution
With your generous donor support, HC&A is able to enhance our community through:
- Organizing public lectures and other educational events that inform our community about the history of health sciences
- Preserving historic books, papers, artifacts and audiovisual materials
- Digitizing materials and making them accessible online for greater access
- Improving spaces to support engagement with and preservation of historical collections
- Purchasing unique and rare materials to expand our collections
See "Support the OHSU Library" at top right to make a tax-deductible gift.
Donate Materials
Our collections are built primarily through donations. Our staff work with the OHSU community and the general public to ensure that historical materials are stewarded responsibly and preserved for the future.
We actively collect books, papers, photographs, artifacts, memorabilia and other materials pertaining to the history of OHSU and the history of the health sciences. We are strongly interested in the personal collections of alumni and employees, and materials that highlight communities that are underrepresented in our holdings.
Contact us to discuss donating your materials.
Our holdings include manuscript collections with an emphasis on health sciences in the Pacific Northwest. Narrative guides to processed collections can be accessed and searched through Archives West. Additionally, our artifact collection, with over 3,000 historic objects, includes medical instruments, supplies, uniforms, pharmacological materials, and samples of innovative technologies developed at OHSU. If we are unable to accept a donation, we will assist you in identifying a more appropriate repository.
Examples of materials we accept for donation include (but are not limited to):
- Research data, research notes
- Professional and personal correspondence
- Lecture notes
- Photographs, photo slides
- Artifacts related to the practice of health sciences
- Rare books, books by OHSU-affiliated authors, books about health sciences in the Pacific Northwest
- Materials that highlight communities that are underrepresented in our holdings (such as women in science; LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous and Latinx communities; the OHSU student experience; etc.)
We accept digital records as well!
Examples of items we generally cannot accept (but please contact us if you feel your item is exceptional):
- Furniture
- Human remains, medical specimens
- Microscope slides that do not come with proper documentation as to their creation and contents
- Published journals, articles, reprints, or photocopies
- Newspaper clippings (except from periodicals with unique or limited circulation)
- Plaques and awards (some exceptions, based on the award)
- Large research posters (digital versions happily accepted)
- Any toxic or radioactive substance, as well as items posing a strong preservation or environmental concern
Note: A tax professional can assist you in determining whether your donation of historical materials is tax-deductible. Library staff are prohibited from assisting donors in determining the value or tax status of donations. Your Old Books answers many common questions about the value of books. Consult with a qualified appraiser to obtain a detailed evaluation of your collection. Our colleagues at the Oregon Historical Society have created this useful list of appraisers and conservators for individuals looking to determine the value of a donation.
Regarding transfers of records from within OHSU, please visit the Services tab and choose “Transfer materials” to learn more.
To support additional OHSU Library activities, or to donate non-historical materials to the Library's circulating collections, please visit the Support the Library page.