Osler Library of the History of Medicine
Encyclopedia
McGill University Library
McGill University Library is the library system of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises 13 branch libraries, located on the downtown Montreal and Macdonald campuses, holding over 6 million items...
, is Canada's
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
foremost scholarly resource in the history of medicine
History of medicine
All human societies have medical beliefs that provide explanations for birth, death, and disease. Throughout history, illness has been attributed to witchcraft, demons, astral influence, or the will of the gods...
, and one of the most important libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
of its type in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The nucleus of the Library is the collection of 8,000 rare and historic works on the history of medicine and allied subjects presented to the Faculty of Medicine of McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
by Sir William Osler (1849 - 1919). Sir William's original collection is described in the printed catalogue, Bibliotheca Osleriana, and information on the whole of the printed collection and much of the manuscript collections are listed in the McGill University online catalogue, http://muse.mcgill.ca/F. (The Bibliotheca Osleriana is also available as an e-book from McGill-Queens University Press.) Since the opening of the Library in 1929, the collection has continued to grow by purchase, gift, and transfer (particularly, in the latter case, of older health-related books from McGill's Life Sciences Library.)
In addition to the Osler Library's holdings of rare and old books, there is a strong circulating collection of current secondary works and modern editions of historic texts, as well as a reference collection, archives and manuscripts, portraits and artifacts. In particular, the Osler Library has a large collection of incunabula (over 150 volumes), an outstanding collection of editions of the works of Sir Thomas Browne (author of Religio Medici
Religio Medici
Religio Medici is a book by Sir Thomas Browne, which sets out his spiritual testament as well as being an early psychological self-portrait. In its day, the book was a European best-seller and brought its author fame and respect throughout the continent...
, the seventeenth century classic), and a collection of some 30,000 nineteenth century French medical theses, primarily from Paris.
In 1921 Percy Erskine Nobbs
Percy Erskine Nobbs
Percy Erskine Nobbs was a Canadian architect who was born in Haddington, Scotland and trained in the United Kingdom. He spent most of his career in the Montreal area...
started to design the Osler library, within the Strathcona Medical Building (now the Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building), and the library officially opened there in May 1929. In 1965 both the contents of the library and the interior oak paneling and shelving were moved to their present location within the newly built McIntyre Medical Sciences Building. The Osler Library was expanded and renovated in 2001-02.
After their deaths, the ashes of both Sir William and Lady Osler were placed in a niche within the library so that they continue to be surrounded by Sir William's favourite books.