The UNM College of Nursing recently transferred over ninety digitized class composites to HSLIC Special Collections. These images date from 1959 (when the first class graduated) to Summer 2024 and help document the history of the College of Nursing, which started in 1955. The images are currently being added to New Mexico Digital Collections and will be available to view online in the near future. Here are some examples of class photos over the years.
One of the richest resources in Special Collections about the history of health and health care is the oral history collection. The program began in 1982 as part of an effort to document New Mexico health history due to the New Mexico Medical Society’s 100th anniversary in 1986.
The collection contains almost 170 interviews with New Mexican providers and health administrators. Unrestricted oral history transcripts are available to view here. Topics covered in the interviews include nursing, rural health care, midwifery, tuberculosis treatment, rural health care, and the history of the UNM School of Medicine.
The complete list of oral histories is available here.
Valmora Industrial Sanatorium, a tuberculosis sanatorium located in Watrous, New Mexico, regularly hosted special Thanksgiving dinners for patients well enough to socialize and eat in the main dining hall. Along with rest and fresh air, a rich and nutritious diet was part of a patient’s treatment at the facility. Dr. Carl Gellenthien, Valmora’s second director, wrote about treating tuberculosis with diet, including, “A Resume of Diet Therapy” (1931) and “Wartime Food Rationing and Tuberculosis” (1943).
Valmora often printed special menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other social gatherings. Here are two examples of Thanksgiving menus found in their records in Special Collections and an article about the 1938 dinner in the December issue of the Valmora Sun (one of the sanatorium’s newsletters).
October is American Archives Month and to celebrate HSLIC Special Collections is getting into the Halloween spirit and sharing some of its spookier items.
Happy Halloween!
Mahogany-handled fleam, made by Miller Bros. USA. Fleams were used to cut into a vein during bloodletting. Bloodletting did not produce positive results, and often caused harm or even death, but it was still practiced into the late 19th century.
Bleeding bowl, early 1800s, France
Brass-spring loaded, hand-engraved fleam in original case
Scarificators were developed in the 18th century as a more "humane" and efficient bloodletting tool. By pressing a spring-loaded lever, multiple blades shot out and made parallel cuts into a patient's skin.
Amputation saw used during surgery.
Railroad spike from the Santa Fe Railroad. The spike was used by Dr. P.G. Cornish Sr. in orthopedic surgery during his time as chief surgeon of the Santa Fe Railroad (circa late nineteenth century).
In honor of American Archives Month, HSLIC Special Collections is pleased to share its 2025 desk calendar.
This calendar features historic images from our holdings that help document the history of health and healthcare in New Mexico. Some of the collections represented include the Valmora Industrial Sanatorium records, the Regina School of Nursing photograph collection, and the UNM Health Sciences Center Institutional photo collection.
The calendar comes in a CD case that converts into a stand – just open the CD case and flip the front cover around.
There are a limited number of physical calendars left in Special Collections or print your own using the online version.
October is American Archives Month!
To celebrate, archivists in northern and central New Mexico are holding the first ever Archives “Bizarre” on Monday, October 28, 4pm-7pm in the Rainbow Rainbow Room at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe.
This free event is an opportunity to view archival materials from multiple institutions in one place, specifically those items that are unique, kooky, artistic, weird, or—yes—just plain bizarre.
Visit with archivists displaying items held in the State Archives of New Mexico, the University of New Mexico (including their Health Sciences Library), the New Mexico History Museum (Palace of the Governors Photo Archives and the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library), Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument, the New Mexico Museum of Art, the New Mexico Supreme Court Law Library, the Philmont Museum, and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
Learn more about what archivists do and how you can best manage your own personal archives.
Please RSVP at the following link: https://tickets.meowwolf.com/events/santa-fe/nmarchives/
If the RSVP is sold out, please come on site. Meow Wolf will be able to accommodate you seeing this awesome event!
Please note that free admittance is for the Archives Bizarre event only. Access to Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return requires separate tickets.
Organization
s that deal with patient care celebrate health literacy month every October as they recognize that health literacy is an important part of the care they provide to patients. For instance, if a patient does not know how to take their medication correctly, they can end up back in their doctor’s office or the hospital. Patient outcomes suffer and the cost of medical care rises. The goal of health literacy is to help individuals make informed health decisions by improving their ability to access, understand, and effectively use health information. It is important to emphasize to busy patient care providers that health literacy matters and the annual October celebration serves as a wonderful reminder of this often-overlooked aspect of good medical care.
The Health Sciences Library & Informatics Center offers workshops on Health Literacy every year. In addition, the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) is one of the few hospitals in the country that has an Health Literacy Office. UNMH’s Health Literacy Office provides workshops on teach-back and plain language methods of communication. In addition, they will review forms, policies and handouts for UNMH departments to make sure the documents meet suggested health literacy standards: https://unmhealth.org/diversity-equity-inclusion/health-literacy.html
If you would like to learn more about health literacy, there are many excellent websites on the Internet for you to browse. Here are a few:
National Institutes of Health: https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/nih-office-director/office-communications-public-liaison/clear-communication/health-literacy
CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/index.html
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: https://health.gov/news/202010/october-health-literacy-month
October is American Archives Month and we are celebrating with a special collections-related blog post each week!
A common archival format most people have is photographs (print and digital).
Here are some basic tips for preserving your print images:
For more specific preservation advice, feel free to book a preservation consultation with Special Collections staff.
During October the United States celebrates American Archives Month. This annual celebration highlights the critical role archives and archivists play in collecting, preserving, and making available records of enduring value. Archives support collective memory, are vital for organizational administration, help document history, promote governmental transparency, and protect people’s rights, identities, and property.
New Mexican archivists are celebrating Archives Month with these special events that are free and open to the public:
HSLIC Special Collections is thrilled to announce that Abbie Olivas (PI) recently received a grant from the New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board (NMHRAB). The award will fully fund our project, Improving Collections Care in HSLIC Special Collections. This project consists of purchasing a much-needed new flat file case and acid-free folders to house oversized materials. These preservation supplies will allow us to correctly store current and future archival materials. Appropriate storage serves as a critical archival preservation strategy. The flat file case will protect our holdings from light, dirt, dust, damage due to improper housing and handling, pests, and other dangers.
According to NMHRAB, the purpose of their grant program "is to strengthen and support archival and records management programs in New Mexico. Grants are awarded to applicants who demonstrate need–financial and programmatic–and show commitment to solving problems associated with the preservation of and access to historical records.”
For more information about Special Collections, please visit our website and research guide.
Special Collections contains dozens of postcards related to the history of health and health care in New Mexico. These postcards are a mix of real-photo and mechanically-reproduced images – primarily from the early twentieth century. Many of the postcards in Special Collections feature hospitals and sanatoriums and were printed as promotional items. Most of these postcards do not have written messages though a few do.
Here are some examples from our holdings:
The Special Collections webpage was recently updated to highlight new online content and make locating resources easier.
Split into three main sections (Learn About Our Collections, Digital Collections, and Using Special Collections), the webpage offers quick links to our A-Z subject guide, Special Collections research guide, access policies and procedures, FAQs, and online resources. These changes make for a more streamlined page that is easier to navigate.
The webpage also has a direct link to contribute to the New Mexico Health Historical Fund. This fund supports Special Collections by providing money for preservation supplies, such as acid-free folders and boxes, as well as additional department needs.
Postcard, early 20th century, Valmora Industrial Sanatorium records, HHC 239
Please join us for our exhibit closing reception and talk on Tuesday, July 9, 5pm-7pm in HSLIC Room 428.
Dr. Laura Nellums, UNM Professor of Global Health, will present A World on the Move: Global Health Equity in the Context of Migration.
According to Dr. Nellums, "This presentation will focus on migration and health. It will encompass drivers and patterns of migration, social determinants of health in the context of migration, the interrelationship between immigration policy, health policy, migrant and public health outcomes, and recommendations for how to advance health equity in migrant communities."
Dr. Nellums obtained her BA in Spanish and International Relations from Wellesley College, followed by her MSc in Medical Anthropology (University of Oxford), and PhD in Public Health (King’s College London). Her research is broadly focused on improving inequities in access to care and health outcomes in excluded populations. Dr. Nellums' particular expertise is in migrant, refugee, and ethnic minority health, and she has carried out mixed-methods research in infectious diseases, mental health, stressful life events, maternal and child health, and health policy and services.
This event is in conjunction with the National Library of Medicine's traveling exhibit Making a World of Difference: Stories about Global Health. The exhibit will be on display on the Library's 4th floor from June 3 - July 13, 2024.
The reception and exhibit are free and open to the public. No registration is required.
Refreshments will be served.
As part of a HSLIC seed funding grant awarded last fall, Special Collections was able to hire Gnanitha Garikipati as a temporary Digital Resources Assistant. Gnanitha worked with Abbie Olivas, Archivist, to create metadata and upload content into our two main online access platforms: New Mexico Digital Collections and the UNM Digital Repository. The goal of the project was to make materials that were already digitized, or born-digital, discoverable and more accessible to researchers.
During the spring semester, Gnanitha and Abbie added 40 new collections (over 380 images) to New Mexico Digital Collections and 90 items to the Digital Repository.
Examples of materials added include:
Please check out these great historical resources - now online!
Image from the Regina School of Nursing, St. Joseph's Hospital photograph collection, PH 003.
HSLIC is thrilled to be hosting the traveling exhibit, Making a World of Difference: Stories about Global Health, from June 3, 2024 – July 13, 2024 on the Library’s 4th Floor.
Created by the National Library of Medicine, this exhibit “examines stories of the people who are working on a wide range of issues—from community health to conflict, disease to discrimination—to improve health in their areas and beyond.”
Along with the exhibit, HSLIC is offering three educational programs:
Global Health Problems in New Mexico: Resources in HSLIC Special Collections. This online talk by Abbie Olivas, HSLIC Archivist, and Deborah Rhue, HSLIC Clinical Services Librarian, will explore archival resources in Special Collections that further our understanding of global health problems, such as diabetes, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and the plague. Thursday, June 6, 12pm via Zoom (register here).
From Cowpox to COVID-19: The Histories, Landscapes, and People Who Have Shaped Public Health in New Mexico. Juliana Anastasoff, UNM Taos Peer Health Advocate, is a public health practitioner with a career book-ended by two global pandemics. In this online talk, she reflects on the connections and contributions from the Land of Enchantment to planetary health - in ways both known and unexpected. Wednesday, June 12, 11am via Zoom (register here).
Closing reception and talk, A World on the Move: Global Health Equity in the Context of Migration, by Dr. Laura Nellums, UNM Health Sciences Center Professor of Global Health. Dr. Nellums' particular expertise is in migrant, refugee, and ethnic minority health, and she has carried out mixed-methods research in infectious diseases, mental health, stressful life events, maternal and child health, and health policy and services. Refreshments will be served - no registration is required. Tuesday, July 9, 5pm-7pm in HSLIC Room 428.
The exhibit and corresponding programing are free and open to community members.
National Collections Preservation Week, April 28 – May 4, 2024, raises awareness about the need to preserve cultural heritage materials whether in personal and family collections or libraries and archival institutions. Sponsored by Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures, a division of the American Library Association, Preservation Week “inspires action” and “raises awareness of the role libraries and other cultural institutions play in providing ongoing preservation education and information.”
Since its start in 2010, Preservation Week, in particular, draws attention to problems and gaps in the long-term care of culturally and historically-relevant materials. These problems include a lack of proper staffing to oversee collections, improper storage of materials, and the absence of emergency and disaster preparedness plans. As Core states, "personal, family, and community collections are equally at risk."
This year’s theme, Preserving Identities, emphasizes how cultural heritage materials contribute to the preservation of group and individual identities.
To support the sharing of preservation knowledge, ALA offers free resources including webinars, handouts with quick tips, and preservation guides.
Another good source for preservation advice is Gaylord Archival. They offer free webinars and preservation tutorials on book, document, and photograph preservation. Connecting to Collections is another useful website that offers hundreds of free webinars on preservation and collections care topics.
Additional questions about preservation and collections care? Schedule a preservation consultation.
And be sure to pick up a free preservation advice bookmark at the HSLIC public services desk and at the Happy Heart Bistro during Preservation Week!
National Library Week was first observed in 1958 to promote and support libraries and celebrate their contributions to American society. This year’s National Library Week theme, Ready, Set, Library!, explores the many ways libraries quickly connect researchers to enriching and useful resources.
One important online source for researchers interested in New Mexico history is New Mexico Digital Collections (NMDC). This platform provides access to born-digital and digitized content, such as oral histories, images, maps, and other documents, from archives, museums, and libraries across the state.
As part of a HSLIC seed funding grant, Special Collections staff recently added 40 new collections (over 375 images) to NMDC. New collections include:
Researchers can view content in NMDC by doing a basic keyword search, doing an advanced search, or browsing by collections or repositories.
To view HSLIC Special Collections materials in NMDC, please visit our landing page.
March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day. According to the CDC, “This annual event commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacillus that causes tuberculosis (TB).”
Before antibiotics were created, tuberculosis was a deadly disease and many people “chased the cure” by moving to locations, such as New Mexico, with high altitude, clean and dry air, and frequent sunshine.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, New Mexico health and healthcare were shaped by the influx of tuberculosis patients and healthcare providers to the state and the advent of tuberculosis sanatoriums.
Some notable people who came to New Mexico seeking treatment for tuberculosis (and stayed) include:
Because of the importance of tuberculosis to the history of New Mexico, HSLIC Special Collections contains many sources about the disease. Some examples are:
Booklet, Southwestern Presbyterian Sanatorium: In the Heart of Health Country, circa 1935.
Dining Hall at Valmora, Valmora Industrial Sanatorium records. TB patients were prescribed calorie-rich diets as a treatment.
Patient draining lungs, Valmora Industrial Sanatorium records. Other pre-antibiotic TB treatments included heliotherapy (sunbathing and directing sunlight into the back of the throat), rest, lots of food, and moving to a sunny, high altitude climate with clean air and low humidity.
In honor of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, here are some historical sources by and about women in HSLIC Special Collections.
Archival collections and books
Photograph collections
Anne Fox, R.N., Anne Fox photograph collection, PH 039. Born in England, Ms. Fox was a nurse-midwife who worked in Santa Fe for the Catholic Maternity Service (1945-1946) and then the New Mexico State Department of Health (1946-1965).
Dr. Evelyn Fisher Frisbie, New Mexico Medical Society Presidents photograph collection, PH 054. Dr. Frisbie was the first woman to serve as president of the New Mexico Medical Society. She served from 1915-1916. The second woman president of the Society, Dr. JoAnn Levitt, was elected in 1989.
Nursing students, circa 1900s, Regina School of Nursing, St. Joseph's Hospital photograph collection, PH 003. St. Joseph’s Hospital was founded by the Sisters of Charity in 1902. It was Albuquerque’s first hospital. The Sisters also established a nurses training school that was affiliated with the hospital. The St. Joseph Nursing School and St. Vincent School of Nursing in Santa Fe merged to become the Regina School of Nursing, located at St. Joseph’s, in 1944.
Happy 135th birthday, UNM!
To celebrate Lobo Day and UNM HSC history, here are some images from the Institutional photograph collection, HHC 321, in HSLIC Special Collections.
Special Collections helps document the history of the UNM Health Sciences Center via collecting and preserving institutional records and publications.
Med II Building (former 7Up bottling plant).
School of Medicine Basic Medical Sciences building.
Lifeguard helicopter.
Aerial view of campus, circa 1967.
Students with electron microscope, December 1969.
This month marks the 40th anniversary of HSLIC Special Collections.
Special Collections, originally known as the New Mexico Medical History Program and Medical Center Archives, originated from Dr. Jake Spidle’s 1982 oral history project about New Mexico physicians and UNM HSLIC director Erika Love's idea to start documenting the history of health and health care in New Mexico.
HSLIC’s first archivist, Janet Johnson, started part time in February 1984 and then became a full-time staff member in April 1984.
As the archives manager, Janet was tasked with processing collections, physically organizing the archives’ holdings, acquiring new materials (particularly items that documented the early history of UNM’s Medical Center), outreach activities, and preservation.
According to the library's 1984/1985 annual report, early archives projects included:
Outreach activities from 1984-1985 included an exhibit about the history program’s progress and goals at the New Mexico Medical Society’s annual meeting, and a presentation to UNM Medical Center administrative coordinators about the archive and the need to transfer important Medical Center records and publications to it. Janet also created a brochure about the archives.
Happy anniversary Special Collections!
UNM School of Medicine's first class, 1964. Institutional photograph collection, HHC 321
The Joseph V. Scaletti papers are now processed, and the guide is available to view online. The papers help document the career of Dr. Scaletti and the history of the UNM School of Medicine.
Joseph V. Scaletti (1926 July 22 – 2010 March 8) was a microbiologist, professor, and one of the founding faculty members of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. At UNM, Dr. Scaletti served as professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology in the School of Medicine. He created the Allied Health Sciences program in 1972 and became UNM’s first Vice President for Research in 1978. As Vice President for Research (1978-1986), Dr. Scaletti greatly increased funding, oversaw the construction of multiple campus buildings, and planned and established University Research Park and the Rio Grande Research Corridor.
During his long career, he advocated for and worked toward expanding healthcare to New Mexico’s rural communities. Along with Dr. Clark Hansbarger, Dr. Scaletti established the Rural Health Interdisciplinary Program. This program, which lasted from 1990 – 2003, trained UNM students in different healthcare-related fields to study and work in rural clinics in New Mexico. He also co-wrote a grant with Dr. Sanjeev Arora in 2004 to fund Project ECHO, which provided “a model for treating complex chronic diseases in rural areas.”
The annual Joseph V. Scaletti Memorial Catalyst Lecture, hosted by the UNM HSC Clinical and Translational Science Center, is named in his honor. Established in 2011, the lecture series “features an individual, institution, or idea responsible for accelerating the rate of positive change and forward progress in the areas of biomedical research, healthcare education, innovative healthcare delivery, and state-of-the-art patient care.”
Dr. Scaletti with a DNA model, circa 1960s, Joseph V. Scaletti papers, HHC 323
In honor of November being National Diabetes Month, I wanted to share some historical sources about diabetes in HSLIC Special Collections.
New Mexico insulin pump, New Mexico Insulin Pump photograph collection, PH 226
Monte Patterson, the first patient to receive the New Mexico insulin pump, New Mexico Insulin Pump photograph collection, PH 226
Dr. R. Philip Eaton in the laboratory, New Mexico Insulin Pump photograph collection, PH 226
It has been great getting to share so much archives-related content during Archives Month! For my last October blog post, I wanted to recap some highlights from the past few months in HSLIC Special Collections.
On June 7, HSLIC hosted a free Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Salvage of Collections workshop for archivists, librarians, administrators, curators, and other cultural heritage workers that was sponsored by the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives (SRCA) in partnership with the New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board. Over twenty-five attendees from northern, central, and southern New Mexico participated in the workshop.
Several collections have been processed, and the finding aids are now available via New Mexico Archives Online. These include the Prevention Research Center records, the Carrie Tingley Hospital records, the Pediatric History Project collection, the UNM Health Sciences Center collection, and the Latin American Social Medicine Publications collection. I am currently working on processing the papers of former UNM School of Medicine professor Dr. Joseph Scaletti.
On September 8, we welcomed participants in the New Mexico State Library’s Tribal Libraries Program to the New Mexico Health Historical Reading Room to view Special Collections holdings as part of their tour of HSLIC.
Lastly, the New Mexico Digital Collections online access platform was revamped and now features a more modern and easier-to-use interface. This platform features our oral history collection, materials from the Valmora Industrial Sanatorium records, and digital items from other New Mexico archival repositories.
Tribal librarians visit HSLIC Special Collections, September 8
HSLIC’s Special Collections traces its beginnings to 1982 when Library Director Erika Love and New Mexico Medical Society Executive Director Ralph Marshall began discussing the Society’s upcoming 100th anniversary. After realizing that New Mexico was not routinely documenting its health and healthcare history, Love and Marshall decided to start an oral history project that would interview New Mexico physicians and produce a book commemorating the Society’s centennial. This project was overseen by the History of Medicine Committee, which consisted of New Mexican doctors interested in documenting their history. Dr. Jake Spidle of the UNM history department was selected as the oral history interviewer. The project resulted in over one hundred oral histories with New Mexico physicians and the book Doctors of Medicine in New Mexico: A History of Health and Medical Practice, 1886-1986.
In addition to the oral history project, Love sought to establish a New Mexico medical history archive at HSLIC. Janet H. Johnson (1936-2022) was hired as HSLIC’s first archivist in February 1984. During Johnson’s tenure, the New Mexico Health Historical Room (Special Collections' reading room) opened in 1984 and was renovated in 1986, and she, along with the History of Medicine Committee, coordinated the ongoing oral history project. Johnson also started collecting, processing, and preserving archival collections. Early collections include the C. Pardue Bunch papers, the William L. Minear papers, the New Mexico Health Systems Agency records, the Mid-Rio Grande County Medical Society records, the Valmora Industrial Sanatorium records, and the New Mexico Nurses Association records.
Upon her retirement in 2002, Janet Johnson wrote about her experiences at HSLIC Special Collections:
Building a program from scratch is something few people have the chance to do, and I was lucky to have had that chance to learn so much about an interesting and important aspect of the state’s recent past. Among the experiences I look back on with the greatest pleasure are the many retired physicians I’ve met personally or through their oral histories, some who donated personal papers and memorabilia to the archives and some who served on the History of Medicine Committee and told “war stories” about their careers and how things were in earlier times in medicine.
AND the experience of repeated trips to Valmora Sanatorium in Mora County, where I stayed in an old cottage for TB patients, had meals and conversation with the doctor who’d been there since 1926 as a patient, then physician and medical director, and I went through every drawer and closet and room and shelf in many buildings to find bits and pieces of the decades when New Mexico was the destination of thousands of hopeful tuberculars. We think those ‘finds’ make Valmora the only sanatorium in the state with an existing documentary history, and some ephemeral items may be the only physical mementos of a particular facility, event, procedure or practitioner in New Mexico, not just at Valmora.
And, it’s enormously satisfying to have bits of information from very different sources, obtained years apart, fit together to round out a story or add value to a meager file. There are a great many illuminating and amazing facts tucked away in these files, and my hope is they’ll be discovered and made known by avid researchers willing to dig for the odd nuggets that didn’t end up in a bonfire or the dump.
HSLIC's first archivist Janet H. Johnson at her retirement party, 2002
Preservation strategies help keep books, archives, and artifacts from deteriorating any further. This is different from conservation where specially-trained conservators do item-level treatments and repairs. The following guidelines will assist with preserving your own family history.
Archival materials should be stored in a cool, stable environment with a relative humidity (RH) of no more than 50% (to help prevent mold growth and reduce insect activity). Archival materials should also be kept away from light whenever possible. Acid-free folders and boxes help absorb acid from paper via an alkaline buffer (calcium carbonate) and extend the life of materials. Boxes also protect archives from light damage, dust, insects, and other pests.
Some easy ways to protect your own family papers and artifacts include storing items in a steady, cooler environment (generally 68-72 degrees) with a lower RH (i.e. no bathrooms), keeping papers and artifacts in boxes, and turning the lights off when rooms aren’t being used. Do not store important materials in attics, basements, or garages as these areas are often prone to leaks, floods, and/or temperature fluctuations. If you use a storage unit, be sure to check that it is climate-controlled. Do not sure store photographs in magnetic (adhesive photo albums) or glue items into albums as they can damage materials. Be sure to monitor for insects and other pests regularly.
Proper handling is also very important. Do not have food and/or drinks near your books and papers. Wash your hands before handling materials and use nitrile gloves when handling photographic prints and negatives to help prevent fingerprints. You might also consider rotating framed family photographs on display to limit light exposure and/or use a preservation copy and safely store the original.
Digital preservation is more complicated. Generally, archivists recommend that you store digital files in three different locations, make sure your file names/identifiers are unique and well-organized, and reformat materials as old technology becomes obsolete.
Have additional preservation questions? Feel free to email me or schedule an archivist consultation during my office hours.
Your medical librarian is here to provide access to the latest healthcare information for medical professionals, students, and researchers. We do literature searches, teach classes, and ensure access to resources—just to name a few of the things we do! Best of all, we increase the quality of patient care.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines personal Health Literacy as the “degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.”
The most important thing to know about health literacy is that with lower or inadequate health literacy levels, patients are unable to understand what they need to do to take care of their personal healthcare needs.
To get tips about communicating with patients and overcoming health literacy barriers, HSLIC will have an online workshop about health literacy on Friday, October 27, 2023, from noon - 1:00 p.m. Register Here.
During October the United States celebrates American Archives Month. This annual celebration highlights the critical role archives and archivists play in collecting, preserving, and making available records of enduring value. Archives support collective memory, are vital for organizational administration, help document history, promote governmental transparency, and protect people’s rights, identities, and property.
Archivists often do a variety of tasks including selection and appraisal of records, arrangement and description of collections, reference work, promotion and outreach, and preservation administration. Because archives generally contain unique materials, they often have different use procedures from other departments in libraries.
HSLIC Special Collections contains over 300 archival collections as well as photograph collections and artifacts. These materials help document the history of health and healthcare in New Mexico. Please check out our How to Use Special Collections guide for more information and learn about our archival holdings at HSLIC.
And stay tuned for an archives-themed blog post each week in October!
The New Mexico Health Historical Collection (Special Collections) documents the history of health in the state and the Southwest by collecting and preserving materials that include oral histories, organizational records, rare books, photographs, artifacts and a monograph collection. As the archivist for Special Collections, I am responsible for the selection and appraisal of records, arrangement and description of collections, reference work, and preservation administration.
Although researchers are free to contact me at any time during regular business hours (hsc-archivist@salud.unm.edu), starting today, I will be having regular archivist office hours every Tuesday afternoon from 1pm-3pm. During these hours, researchers can have in-person or online consultations as well as set up future research appointments (we ask for at least five business days’ notice for research appointments). 
Possible office hours discussion topics include:
For more information about Special Collections, please check out our guide “How to Use Special Collections.”
Special Collections consist of noncirculating research materials organized by provenance or a theme. These materials are often rare or unique and can be primary or secondary sources.
At HSLIC, our Special Collections, the New Mexico Health Historical Collection, “documents the history of health in the state and the Southwest by collecting and preserving materials that include oral histories, organizational records, rare books, photographs, artifacts, and a monograph collection.” Our repository also contains institutional archives, vertical files, serials, audiovisual materials, and digital records.
Collecting strengths include the history of tuberculosis treatment in the state, the UNM Health Sciences Center, public health, New Mexico’s medical providers, and the oral history collection. Guides to processed collections are available via New Mexico Archives Online. Digitized materials are available through New Mexico Digital Collections and our institutional repository.
Special Collections is open to all researchers. To make a research appointment or to learn more about our holdings, please contact us at hsc-archivist@salud.unm.edu. Please allow at least five business days for us to retrieve materials during regular operations.
I am excited to announce that the Society of Southwest Archivists (SSA) will host its annual meeting, "Respect for Hybridity: Creating Inclusive and Accessible Archives," on April 26-29 in Albuquerque. As the name suggests, this will be the FIRST meeting SSA is hosting, where nearly every presentation and workshop will be provided synchronously for both in-person and virtual attendees. We are using the OWL technology to create collaborative spaces where both virtual and in-person presenters/attendees can engage with each other in a truly inclusive and accessible manner. The program/sessions for 4/27 and 4/28 are now online; some of the offerings include:
...and many more! Consider attending in person in beautiful Old Town Albuquerque ($100 for students/retirees; $200 for members; $250 for non-members) OR participating virtually for a flat rate of $50 (members/non-members, right up to the last minute).
Hope to see you in person OR via Zoom!
HSLIC's Resources, Archives & Discovery (RAD) division is excited to welcome Maxx Harrison (they/them, he/him) to the team! They will be processing the Carrie Tingley Hospital Records (1937-1989), which is currently an unprocessed grouping of 12 boxes of textual documents highlighting the operations of the hospital over the course of several decades. In addition to highlighting the role that Carrie and Clyde Tingley played in the founding of the hospital, it will also emphasize the positive impact of Dr. William L. Minear, the hospital's medical director from 1947-1956. Maxx will be processing these records using the More Product, Less Process (MPLP) approach to making archival resources more expeditiously available. By the end of the project a detailed finding guide will be published through New Mexico Archives Online. Our thanks to HSLIC and its seed funding that will enable us to engage in this project, scheduled to be completed by the end of June.
Now, let's get to know Maxx a little more...!
Current area of study: Double-majoring in American Sign Language and Psychology - in their sophomore year at UNM
Where is home?: Growing up, they split their time between Houston and Albuquerque, but since the pandemic Albuquerque has become a permanent home.
Cats or dogs?: Yes to both! But also add rats, mice, snails, and roli-polies.
Connection to New Mexico History: Their grandfather's family has been in New Mexico since the Spanish inquisition; he was born and raised in the North Valley and has a lot of first-hand experience with its history.
Interests: Thrifting, art (they do acrylic and watercolor painting!), and reading (currently re-reading the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series)
Where to next?: No idea, but they have had a really great experience working in the field of optometry, so who knows..?!
Image courtesy of Maxx Harrison
Maxx will be working with us upwards of 20 hours a week in the RAD suite, so if you get a chance please swing by and say hello!
