The Truman G. Blocker, Jr. History of Medicine Collections and University Archives (Blocker Collections) in the Moody Medical Library preserves and provides access to historical documents detailing the history of UTMB and rare books dating to the late 1300s.
With over 20,000 volumes, the rare book collection is the largest and most significant collection in the history of the biomedical sciences in the southern United States. Included are major works in anatomy and surgery; immunology; occupational medicine; and psychiatry.
The University Archives contain over 200 collections from UTMB departments, faculty, and students as well as local and state organizations. Materials include diaries, handwritten notes and research, correspondence, meeting minutes and programs, and photographs and drawings. Notable archival collections are:
- The official results of a state election in 1881 naming Galveston as the future home of the medical department of the newly established University of Texas
- Over 2,500 oversized drawings used in anatomical teaching in the early years of the School of Medicine
- Photographs and notebooks documenting the 1920 outbreak of Bubonic plague in Galveston
- Detailed notes on the first students to attend the John Sealy Training School for Nurses
All the materials in the Blocker Collections are available for research to anyone interested in the history of medicine. Contact us to make an appointment.