Collections
Since the early 1900s, the OHSU Library has collected rare and unique materials. We preserve these resources and make them available for research and teaching in health sciences, history, the arts, and related fields.
Archives and Manuscripts
Our archives hold the official records of OHSU and its earlier institutions, from the late 1800s to today. We also have manuscript collections focused on health sciences in the Pacific Northwest.
Artifacts
Our artifact collections include medical instruments, supplies, specimens, uniforms, and other cultural objects. Highlights include items from Oregon's pioneer doctors, samples of technologies developed at OHSU, and military medicine artifacts and dental instruments from the 19th and 20th centuries. Contact us for more information about our artifacts.
Digital Collections
Our digital collections include the Historical Image Collection, digitized rare books, OHSU's web archives, the Oral History Collection, Public Health in Oregon: Discovering Historical Data, and much more.
Oral History Program
Since 1997, the OHSU Oral History Program has recorded over 150 interviews with people who have shaped the university’s history. Interviewees include OHSU employees, alumni, legislators, and policymakers.
Topics include:
- OHSU’s growth and changes over time
- Advances in clinical practice and research
- Curriculum and education changes
- Campus expansion
- Contributions of women and underrepresented communities
- OHSU’s role in world events
Historical Collections & Archives leads the program with input from the university community. Contact us to suggest an interview or support the program.
View and download transcripts and video of interviews in OHSU Digital Collections.
Other OHSU oral histories: In addition to our own oral history program, OHSU has recorded many oral history interviews via StoryCorps, a program of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Access many of the interviews online in the StoryCorps Archives.
Rare Books
Our holdings include over 4,000 rare books on the health sciences, dating from the early 16th century to the mid-20th century. Strengths of our collections include anatomy, neurology, ophthalmology, and dentistry. See below for detailed information about sub-collections. Search for rare books in the Library's catalog.
By 1964, the collection had about 400 volumes, and the History of Medicine Room was established. In 1980, biophysicist and inventor Norman Holter donated a 1555 edition of Andreas Vesalius’ De humani corporis fabrica, a landmark in Western medicine. This gift raised the collection’s profile and inspired future donations.
Today, thanks to faculty, alumni, and public support, the collection includes more than 3,000 titles and is among the finest rare book collections in the Pacific Northwest.
The History of Dentistry Collection originated in the School of Dentistry’s library in the 1970s, under the guidance of J. Henry Clarke, D.M.D., and the school’s History of Dentistry Committee. The dental school built the History of Dentistry Collection to around 550 titles from the 18th century to the early 20th century, with strengths in orthodontics, periodontology, anesthesiology, pathology, oral surgery, and dental practice in the Pacific Northwest.
In 2003, the collection and its oak bookcases were transferred to OHSU Library. The transfer of the collection to OHSU Library established a new partnership for preserving and providing access to the school’s unique historical collections. Since 2003, over 100 additional titles have been added to the collection, including several historic works on 18th-19th century dental anatomy and technology.
Dr. Frank G. Everett was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1907. He graduated from the University of Vienna Medical School in 1932 and received a Dental License from the University of Vienna Dental School two years later. In the late 1930s, Everett and his wife, Leonie Lea Everett left Austria for America. They visited a number of cities in the United States and, by 1939, had arrived and decided to stay in Portland, Oregon. Here, Dr. Everett continued his education, receiving a D.M.D. from North Pacific College in 1941 and a Master of Medical Science from the University of Oregon Medical School in 1948. He served on the faculties of both the Dental and Medical Schools from 1939 continuously up to his passing in 1976; at the time of his death he held the rank of Professor Emeritus in the Department of Periodontology.
Dr. Everett began his contributions to research, literature and dentistry early in his career. He wrote more than 60 papers for national and international dental and medical journals, served as co-author of four editions of Orban's Periodontics, and contributed to four other texts. He was a distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Periodontology, recipient of the Orban Memorial Award from Loyola University (Chicago), honorary member in Verein Osterreichischer Zahnarzte (Vienna), and Guest Speaker of the Main Address at the Sesquicentennial Celebration for the University of Vienna Dental School in 1971 on which occasion he was named “Outstanding Alumnus and Teacher” and had his portrait hung alongside the other “Greats of the Vienna Group” (Bernhard Gottlieb, Balint Orban, Harry Sicher, Joseph Peter Weinmann).
OHSU’s Historical Collections & Archives is home to the Frank G. Everett papers, which document his research and scholarly output, and the Frank G. Everett Historical Collection, which consists of many books collected by Everett once housed in the Everett Library within OHSU’s School of Dentistry. These volumes were donated to HC&A when the school relocated to the Skourtes Tower on OHSU’s South Waterfront campus. Since the initial donations, additions have been made by the Everett family.
Additional resources:
- "Biography of Dr. Frank G. Everett," School of Dentistry Dental Bites, July 2020, pp. 8-11.
- Schunck, Timo, and Dominik Gross. “Persecuted in the Third Reich, Revered in the USA: Frank Everett (Birth Name: Franz Ehrenfest) and His Contribution to Periodontology (1907-1976).” Jewish Culture and History, vol. 22, no. 3, July 2021, pp. 272–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/1462169X.2021.1955186. (paywall; contact us for access help)
The Rosenbaum History of Neurology Collection includes classic works in neurology from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Learn more about Herbert Rosenbaum, M.D., and the Rosenbaum History of Neurology Collection.
First developed under the direction of Bertha Hallam, the Sydenham Collection contains 19th-century books published by the Sydenham Society and the New Sydenham Society, London-based publishers of reprints of classic medical works.
First developed under the direction of Bertha Hallam, the First Class Collection was built from a list of the textbooks used by students in the first session of the University of Oregon Medical School (1887-1888). It provides a fascinating glimpse of 19th century medical education.
Statement on harmful content
OHSU’s Historical Collections & Archives (HC&A) contain records that are historical in nature and products of the time and society in which they were created. Some materials within our collections, including the language used to describe them, may contain language or images that users find inappropriate, offensive, or harmful. OHSU does not endorse the views expressed in these materials, which are inconsistent with our commitment to creating an inclusive, open, accessible, and anti-racist learning community. Historical items have been retained as they originally existed to preserve the integrity of the historical record and to foster accountability for the actions and decisions of the records creator.
Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns regarding materials you’ve found in our online collections. Offensive description brought to our attention will be addressed and revised as soon as possible.