Historical Project

Images in Nursing Education: 1909-2009

In anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the Graham Hospital School of Nursing, the library staff embarked on a historical project to commemorate a century of nursing education. The project involved two very different phases to preserve the past of the School.

The Library houses a small historical collection of documents and photographs. A grant from the Greater Midwest Region of the National Library of Medicine was received to provide equipment to scan and digitize these resources. They are currently being scanned, preserved, cataloged and archived within the Library. These images are then uploaded to an Illinois history website called Digital Past, which is a project of the North Suburban Library System. They may be viewed at www.digitalpast.org.

While preserving the documents collected over the years, another valuable source of information and memories became apparent—our alumni. The project grew to include oral histories from our Graham graduates. To date, more than forty alumni have shared wonderful memories of their years at Graham. Much of the information and perspective heard through these interviews is not available anywhere else. They are a unique addition to the preservation of the School of Nursing history. The staff has been working toward the goal of interviewing ten alumni from each decade. Graduates from the 1930s through the 2000s have been interviewed. We hope to complete this phase of the project in time to celebrate 100 years of existence in 2009.