Historical records go digital at the MUHC
This year, the Glen site is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and just a few years ago, the Montreal General Hospital celebrated its 200th. These two milestones are just a slice of the history belonging to what is today the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).
Who is responsible for caring for the historical documents related to these and other stories, and making them available to the public? The MUHC Permanent Archives Centre — and now you can visit their new section on the MUHC website to learn more about what they do.
Moving online
William Jones sits in a room full of boxes brimming with history. “Some of our oldest items date back to the 1870s,” says the historic archives specialist. “We preserve photos, foundational records, teaching materials, and other documents that tell the history of the hospital.”
The Permanent Archives Centre is in the process of making as many of its collections available online. “The digitization project is part of our mandate to make our public records available to the wider community,” he explains. “It is also part of a larger project by Documents Services to cut down on space used for storage and reduce our environmental footprint.”
The move will take some time. “We have been focusing on the photographic collection because that’s what researchers ask for most often. Our collection contains about 60,000 photographs and about one-third are digitized at this point,” he explains. “We have also been working on the digitization of VHS and audio cassettes. They are over 30 years old now and beginning to degrade. It's important to preserve them before it is too late.” When they finish with those items, they will tackle textual records, such as administrative files and minutes from meetings.
Requests from far and wide
People from all over North America request files from the permanent archives. “The two biggest groups we hear from are university students and people researching their family tree, like someone whose grandmother was a graduate of one of our nursing schools.”
Asked about his personal favourites in the collections, William doesn’t hesitate. “The Dr. David R. Murphy Collection - photographs from the Montreal Children’s Hospital in the 1950s. Images of doctors and nurses going about their work; the photos are in colour and are really candid shots of life in the hospital at that time,” he says. Another that tops his list is the first X-ray at the Royal Victoria Hospital in 1897.
Open to all
“We invite anyone who is interested in finding out more about a historical topic with a connection to the MUHC to contact us,” says William. “We look forward to serving you!”
And remember: what is happening today will one day be part of history. So, if you have any material that you think should be preserved in the Permanent Archives, such as photos, newsletters or annual reports, you can contact them.
“All of these items add to the rich history of the MUHC,” says William.
Visit the MUHC Permanent Archives Centre’s web section.