Hermann Hospital A/V Inventory Published

By Matt Richardson, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian.

Archivists recently published our guide to the audiovisual items found in the Hermann Hospital Historical Archive. Nearly 200 audio recordings, approximately 250 videos, and 46 reels of film are now described item-by-item and can be searched or browsed by title online.

Filling 644 boxes, the records of Hermann Hospital are the largest of all the archival collections housed at the MHC. And at 84 pages (printed), the collection guide wasn’t exactly lacking in detail before this upgrade. Yet there was still more to say!

These recordings span from the 1970s to the 1990s and cover a variety of topics related to the Hospital. Tying in to last week’s post, popular subjects of these recordings include the Life Flight Air Ambulance Service and Dr. James “Red” Duke. Many of the audio recordings are Oral Histories, in which leading figures like Dr. Cheves Smythe, Dr. Cecile Crigler, and John S. Dunn tell their own personal and professional stories. In addition to media created by the Hospital, there are also extensive Broadcast News Reports, where segments related to Hermann were collected and saved.

For the most part, these recordings haven’t been digitized yet. But during 2022’s SCAMeL-funded project, the MHC was able to get to get two films converted and made available digitally. George H. Hermann: The Man, His Gift, His Concern, His Legacy from 1983 and a “Campaign for Life Internal Fundraising Video, also from the 1980s. If you spot something of interest, Contact Us to discuss options for converting a/v items to digital formats.