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Digital Manuscripts Program

  • About the Digital Manuscripts Program

    • What we do

      The Digital Manuscripts Program digitizes and makes available online selected archival and manuscript material through the Profiles in Science Web site.

      A team of archivists, digital archivists, and historians processes the physical collections selected for inclusion on Profiles in Science and enhances their accessibility though online finding aids, detailed historical exhibits, and extensive descriptive information, called metadata.

      The Digital Manuscripts Program is developing Profiles in Science in collaboration with NLM's Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications

      The first Profiles in Science collection was launched in 1998, with the release of the Oswald T. Avery Papers. The most recent collection, the Louis Sokoloff Papers, was released in September 2016. New collections are being processed and will be added in the future.

      A pilot Omeka project featuring the Michael E. DeBakey Profile explores new ways to provide access to Profiles collections.

    • Selected manuscripts

      The material on the Profiles site has either been donated to the NLM Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program or has been made available through collaborations with other repositories.

      Examples of NLM-owned collections include the Joshua Lederberg Papers and the C. Everett Koop Papers. The Digital Manuscripts Program has collaborated with the American Philosophical Society on the papers of Barbara McClintock and Salvador Luria, as well as the Wellcome Library on the Francis Crick Papers.

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  • About Profiles in Science

    • What is Profiles in Science?

      Profiles in Science features the digitized manuscript collections of leading innovators in the fields of science, medicine, and public health.

      Visitors to the site can view primary historical documents by Nobel laureates and other prominent leaders in scientific fields, such as genetics and genetic engineering, psychopharmacology, AIDS and infectious diseases, and biological warfare.

      Documents include unpublished letters, manuscripts, photographs and audiovisual materials, as well as published articles and book excerpts.

    • The Profiles in Science collections

      All Profiles in Science collections are available in alphabetical order on the homepage

      Each online collection features the following:

      • An historical exhibit, featuring a short essay about the individual or organization's work
      • Digitized documents and visuals in the collection
      • The location of the physical collection
      • A navigation bar pointing to Search and Browse pages
      • A finding aid, if one is available

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  • How to Search Profiles in Science

    • Browse

      Visitors can view material alphabetically or chronologically by choosing "Browse" on the Profiles in Science navigation bar.

      Documents and visuals in these lists are arranged by format and then either alphabetically by title or chronologically.

    • Search

      Visitors may also search material through "Search" on the Profiles in Science navigation bar found at the top of each exhibit page.

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  • How to Access and Use Profiles in Science

    • Access Original Documents

      Each collection's homepage provides information on where the individual or organization's papers are housed. Researchers should contact the holding institution to access the original documents.

      For information about using papers that are housed at the NLM, see Archives and Modern Manuscripts Program or contact NLM Customer Support.

    • Photocopy Services

      To obtain photocopies of items in the physical collections, please Contact Digital Manuscripts.

    • Photographic Reproduction

      For photo quality reproductions of original items featured on Profiles in Science, or from the larger collections to which they belong, please Contact Digital Manuscripts.

    • Digital Reproduction

      To obtain digital copies of items on Profiles in Science, users may download PDFs (300 dpi) and JPEGs (600 or 75 dpi) themselves. For all other requests for digital reproductions, including requests for copies of audiovisual materials, please contact profiles@nlm.nih.gov.

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  • Contact Digital Manuscripts

    Christie Moffatt, Manager
    E-mail: moffattc@mail.nih.gov
    Phone: (301) 827-4506
    Fax: (301) 402-7034

    Digital Manuscripts Program
    History of Medicine Division, Bldg. 38, Rm. 1E-21
    National Library of Medicine
    8600 Rockville Pike
    Bethesda, MD 20894

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