As part of its mission to document the history of the health sciences both generally and at Columbia University, Archives & Special Collections actively collects the personal papers of those men and women who have had distinguished careers in medicine, nursing, dentistry or public health. We also acquire individual manuscripts, such as letters, student notebooks, or physician's casebooks, if they have some connection with Columbia University, the Presbyterian Hospital, or New York.

Personal papers and manuscripts date from the 16th century to the present with the bulk being from the last century. The majority are from physicians and biomedical scientists associated with Columbia including Nobel Laureates André Cournand and Dickinson Richards; plastic surgery pioneer and historian of medicine Jerome P. Webster; community psychiatrist and social activist Viola Bernard; dental education reformer William Gies; early dyslexia researchers Samuel and June Lyday Orton; and physiologist Frederic Schiller Lee, among many others.

Of particular interest is the Student Notebook Collection which holds about 150 volumes created by more than 40 individuals from 1786 into the 1950s. The vast majority of these notebooks document medical education at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, with the major exception being John Kearney Rodgers's notes from his studies with Sir Astley Cooper and John Abernethy in London in 1817-1818.

Other highlights include a 16th century record book from the Pharmacy of St. Paul in Bologna; several letters of Sigmund Freud and part of his autograph draft for Totem und Tabu; and 19th century patient casebooks from Presbyterian, Bellevue and several other New York City hospitals.

Records of most manuscript collections are included in CLIO, the library's catalog.