A montage of a WWI era nurse

Collections

The Bjoring Center collects, preserves, and makes available collections that document the history of American nursing and healthcare since the 19th century. 

In addition to documenting changes in the training, education, and practice of nurses, the Bjoring Center’s Archival Collections include materials on a broad scope of activities in the history of nursing, with topical strengths in specialty nursing, military nursing, public health nursing, Virginia nursing, and the history of nurse practitioners. We are also growing our collections related to the experiences of individuals from communities that are historically underrepresented in nursing. Our collections include the records of nursing schools, hospitals and clinics, state and national professional organizations, and individuals.  

The Bjoring Center’s Audiovisual Collection includes our growing collection of interviews, video, photographs, print images, and audio sources related to the history of nursing and healthcare.  

Our Digital Collections include the Benoist Collection, a repository of digitized primary sources related to the history of midwifery and public health nursing in the American South in the 1920s; the Milio Collection, which includes digitized primary sources related to a nurse-led clinic established in Detroit in the mid-1960s; and the Race in Healthcare website, which is a digital repository of sources and contextual analyses related to the history race, racism, and health in the region and at the University of Virginia.   

The Bjoring Center’s Book Collection holds our printed and published materials, emphasizing publications related to nursing that date from the early 19th century through to contemporary scholarship in the history of nursing and healthcare.  

Our repository, together with other UVA Special Collections Libraries, is also searchable here. 

Bjoring Center Collections

Collections are organized by subject area. To locate the collection of a particular individual, type the name in the search box at the top right corner of the navigation bar.