Historical Project

Preserving Nursing History; Providing Digital Access: 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.

Images in Nursing Education

The Library houses a small historical collection of documents and photographs. Two monetary awards from the Greater Midwest Region of the National Library of Medicine were received to provide equipment to scan and digitize these resources. An LSTA grant from the Illinois State Library provided staffing to work on this project. Our historical resources are currently being scanned, preserved, cataloged and archived within the Library. These images are then uploaded to the Illinois Digital Archive (IDA), http://www.idaillinois.org/ which is a project of the Illinois State Library. Graham’s images may be viewed at: http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=%2Fgrahamnu002

Voices of the Past

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 eighty 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 worked toward the goal of interviewing ten alumni from each decade. Graduates from the 1930s through 2009 have been interviewed. Our goal to complete this phase of the project in time to celebrate 100 years of existence in 2009 was reached. The oral histories of our graduates may also be found at the Illinois Digital Archive (IDA) website, http://www.idaillinois.org/, specifically in the Graham Hospital School of Nursing collection at: http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=%2Fgrahamnu002
Each oral history includes a cover page with interview information, and whenever possible, a photo of the graduate. A printed transcript, plus a brief audio clip of the interviewee answering a question or telling a story is also included.