Center for The Study of The HIstory of Nurs ing
Fall 1988
A New "Room of Our Own" Many ofyou are charter members ofthe Center for the Study of the History of Nursing while some joined just recently; all of us have something to celebrate this fall as our Center re-opens in its newly renovated space. Since July 1985 the archival and research work of the Center has gone forward in rather awkward and rudimentary quarters. Though our collections grew rapidly and important work got done. conditions were less than ideal. But, as you can see from the attached sketches. all that has changed. Early in September the paint will be dry and the carpet down: we will re-shelve the manuscript. print and photograph collections and get back to work on materials not yet catalogued. Research ers, volunteers. and staffwill be able to spread out and work in peace. Most important. however. the historically priceless archival materials will be housed in a secure. humidity and temperature controlled archives. Later in the fall. when every thing is shelved and settled. you will be receiving invitations to opening celebrations and tours. You are the cornerstone on which this new and unique facility is built. The dollars that pay for the new walls. the special air-conditioning. the shelv ing, the furniture all came from you. The total cost of this renovation will be $220.000. and fore sighted nurses and their supporters built it with generous gills. Some of our members deserve special thanks for their generosity. LilliaIi Brunner. Chair of the Advisory Board of the Center and long time advo cate for historical preservation in nursing. and her husband. Matt. have supported the Center steadfastly and liberally since its inception. Their contributions will be recognized in the new Center by naming the special archives area 'The Lillian Sholtis Brunner Archives." This spring the AIumnt Association of the School of Nursing ofthe Hospital ofthe University ofPennsylvania pledged $50,000 to the Center which capped the drive for our renovation expenses. Individual contribu-
tions from AsSOCiation members. as well as s up port from the AsSOCiation itself. will be recognized in the name of the Center's conference room. Special thanks to the anonymous donor who made a challenge grant of $25.000 and to the many other individuals and associations who matched the challenge with their contribu tions. You make the whole initiative possible! (See the honor roU ojall the donors to the Center in the past year, from July 1987 through the present.) Gifts of time and talent are also vital to the life of the Center. Two volunteers work in the Center every week lending expert knowledge and pa1ns ~ taking care to the preservation and cataloging of the collections. Stephanie Stachniewicz and Helen Dopsovic started work when the Center opened. Since then they worked through the huge collections from Edith Nunan and the School of Nursing at Philadelphia General Hospi tal. cleaned and identified photographs. assisted researchers and our archival consultant. and generally improved the quality of life in the Cen ter. We are all indebted to them for their irre placeable contributions. Irene Matthews and Edith Nunan contribute to the Center both by donating valuable historical materials and by doing 'detective' work on several complex histori cal research projects. We hope our improved space will encourage expansions ofour volunteer corps.
Overview of 1987-1988 The Archives: "A Summary of Holdings". prepared by Consult ant Gail Farr in December of 1987. is available on request. The Summary is a convenient overview of the collection which is being continuously worked on to preserve the research materials and to develop finding aids. Since the first of the year, additional acquisitions include: the papers of Linda Aiken. 1973-1987. the records ofthe RWJF