A Year in Review: 2020 Additions to the Duke University Medical Center Archives

The Duke University Medical Center Archives (DUMCA) actively collects the official records of the DUMC and DUHS departments and divisions, including a variety of materials that provide evidence of business, interests, and activities through the years. In doing so, the DUMCA serves as the institutional memory of the DUMC and DUHS by collecting, preserving, and making accessible materials that provide evidence of day to operations. Guided by our collection development policy, we strive to document the intellectual, administrative, social, cultural, and visual history of the DUMC and DUHS in order to provide evidence of past actions and contribute to an understanding of the structure and history of the DUMC and DUHS.

 

See below for a listing of materials added to the DUMCA. The types of archival collections listed fit into the following categories of archival collections: personal papers, administrative records, oral histories, and collections.

 

Personal papers, also called manuscript collections, are records created and originally kept by an individual that cover all aspects of daily life. See below for a listing of personal papers added to the DUMCA in 2020 as both new collections and additions to existing collections.

 

Administrative records are documents that are preserved because they facilitate the operations and management of an agency, but which does not relate directly to programs that help the agency achieve its mission. Administrative records are common to most organizations. Examples include routine correspondence or interoffice communications; records relating to human resources, equipment and supplies, and facilities; reference materials, routine activity reports, work assignments, appointment books, and telephone logs. See below for a listing of administrative records added to the DUMCA in 2020 as both new collections and additions to existing collections.

 

 

An oral history is an interview that records an individual’s personal recollections of the past and historical events. Oral histories often are comprised of audio or video, transcripts, and other materials to provide context for the interview. See below for a listing of oral histories added to the DUMCA in 2020 as both new collections and additions to existing collections

 

A “collection” is what archivists call an artificial collection. This means that the materials were not collected or collated originally, but rather, were pulled together over time by archivists attempting to create a collection around a singular topic. See below for a listing of collections added to the DUMCA in 2020 as both new collections and additions to existing collections.

 

To peruse all of the DUMCA’s holdings, visit our Collections Listing. For more information about the DUMCA email us at dumc.archives@mc.duke.edu or contact us online.