The New York Academy of Medicine is home to one of the nation’s most significant historical libraries in medicine and public health, with an extensive rare book collection. Created in 1847 for the use of the New York Academy of Medicine’s fellows, the Library opened to the general public in 1878. Today, it is one of a handful of such libraries across the country to provide this level of open access, and the only one of its kind in New York. The library holds over 550,000 volumes, including a rare book collection of approximately 32,000 volumes; 275,000 portraits and illustrations; approximately 400,000 pamphlets; and over 1,600 linear feet of manuscripts and archives. Printed medical monographs from the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries are a particular area of strength, and our collections tell the story of the growth of the Western medical tradition, its increasing specialization, and its global spread. Highpoints of the collection include anatomy, epidemic diseases, surgery, materials related to William Harvey and the circulation of the blood, culinary history, women’s medicine, New York history and the history of public health. The library’s rich periodical collections include an almost unmatched collection of journals that document the ongoing professionalization and specialization of medicine throughout the 19th and 20th centuries in Europe and the Americas, especially the United States. The library publishes the bi-monthly Grey Literature Report and provides reference services on medical and public health topics. Together, these materials are an extraordinary resource, demonstrating our attempts to understand our bodies, minds and health across time and culture.

http://www.nyam.org/library/collections-and-resources/digital/