In the 20th century, many advancements were made in women's healthcare as well as in health services for non-binary and transgender individuals and other members of the gender diverse community. From the development of birth control to advancement in care for individuals with disabilities, you'll find many topics under the umbrella of health and healthcare, including the collections of individuals who made significant contributions to the field, available in the Schlesinger Library collections.
Below, you will find archival material, books, and journals and newsletters covering the topic of health and healthcare. Materials that have been digitized and are available for remote access are listed first for each category, and materials that must be accessed in-person are listed second.
Additionally, researchers working on projects related to this topic will find the Schlesinger Library's Health Guide and Medical Professions Guide and Harvard University's open access collection on "Contagion" of interest.
Further material on the topic can be found by searching HOLLIS, Harvard's online library catalog, for "health," "healthcare," "medicine," "women's health," "reproductive health," "disability studies," and "healthcare workers."
The library's published material collections are a rich source of information. Below, you'll find a sampling of books available to researchers online and researchers able to visit the library in-person, but a much larger selection is available through HOLLIS, Harvard University's catalog. To find material available at the Schlesinger Library, use the "Advanced Search" feature and limit your search to "Library Catalog. Choose "Schlesinger" from the "Scope" drop-down menu. Finally, select "Books" or "Journals" from the "Resource Type" drop-down menu. This search results list for the keyword "healthcare" serves as an example of the breadth of books available in the Schlesinger Library's collection.
Researchers who are able to visit the Schlesinger Library in person may also be interested in exploring the research guides for our collection of Boston Women's Health Book Collective books and Boston Women's Health Book Collective international books.
Please note that some materials labeled as available "Online" in the library catalog may require HarvardKey access for remote access. During an in-person visit, you can access those materials on the Library's public computers.