Osler Library of the History of Medicine

The Osler Library of the History of Medicine opened in 1929 to house the collection of rare medical and other books donated by Sir William Osler, the renowned physician and McGill graduate and professor. Initially comprising 8000 titles listed in the Bibliotheca Osleriana, the collection - the finest of its kind in Canada - has grown to around 100,000 works including older, rare materials as well as current books and periodicals about the history of the health sciences and related areas. The Osler Library is a major resource centre for historical research in the health sciences and is the international centre for the study of Sir William Osler and the Oslerian tradition. It supports students and teachers at McGill in the Department of Social Studies of Medicine, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (including the Ingram School of Nursing, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, and School of Communication Sciences and Disorders) as well as the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, and the Faculties of Arts and of Science. It is heavily used by researchers from McGill, Quebec, across Canada, and throughout the world. Scholarship in medical history is supported through the Osler Library Studies in the History of Medicine series of publications and three research travel grants awarded annually: Dr. Edward H. Bensley Osler Library Research Travel Grant, Mary Louise Nickerson Travel Grant, and Dimitrije Pivnicki Award in Neuro and Psychiatric History. Exhibitions are mounted regularly at the Library's entrance. The Library is generously supported through endowments and donations and the active participation of members of the Friends of the Osler Library. Membership of the Friends is open to anyone who is interested in the Osler Library, the life and legacy of Sir William Osler or the history of medicine. Please contact the Osler Library for more information. Sir William Osler (1849-1919) was a McGill graduate with a distinguished career as a physician, professor, author, and bibliophile at McGill, the University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins, and as Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University. As Professor of Medicine at McGill, he employed new methods using the microscope and pathological study. His major contributions included introducing bedside teaching and writing a major textbook, The Principles and Practice of Medicine. Sir William Osler was honoured with a baronetcy for his significant innovations in teaching and contributions to medicine, and is revered for his warm personality and for his blending of humanity and science. Bequeathed to McGill in gratitude for the sound education and strong support he received early in his career, his Library reflects the man, a life in medicine, and his creativity and humanity. Students, teachers, clinicians, and researchers can gain inspiration from the tradition that is recorded in this Library.