Indiana Public Health Historic Collections

Current collections:

Historic Vital Statistics Data - This collection of historic data includes research and vital statistics data generated by the Indiana State Department of Health from the mid-19th century.

Historic Image Collection - This historic collection provides a unique picture of the health and well-being of Indiana residents through the prism of public health. It includes 19th-20th century photographs, advertisements and illustrations.

Indiana State Board of Health Monthly Bulletin (1899-1991) - The Monthly Bulletin was sent to all health officers and deputies in the state, as well as to individual subscribers. The Bulletin was used to communicate public health instructions, rules and general information to Indiana health officials. This collection provides an historic portrayal of Indiana public health issues and vital statistics in the late 19th and 20th centuries.

These collections were developed by librarians at the Indiana University School of Medicine Library with funding from the Indiana State Library through an LSTA grant and performed under a subcontract with the University of Illinois at Chicago and made possible by grant number NO1-LM-6-3503 from the National Library of Medicine. The stated purpose of this project is to locate, digitize, organize and make publicly available Indiana public health publications and documents (both historical and current) as well as other health or medically related materials. The digital collections that will be created from these materials will be further enhanced with the conversion of statistical data contained within tables, charts and graphs into searchable datasets that can be used for data mining by government agencies, public health workers, researchers, historians, and the general public. In addition, the illustrations contained within these materials will be separately processed to become an image library of Indiana historical public health and medical subjects.

Partners in this project include the Indiana State Department of Health and the Indiana Medical History Museum.

For questions or comments contact: Ruth Lilly Medical Library