They built upon the historical materials in the 28,000 volume collection of duplicates acquired in 1906 from the New York Academy of Medicine, the scholarly collections of the early faculty, and the purchase in 1920 of the 5,000 volume collection of Dr. Ernst Seidel. Besides its strength in the classics of early medicine, this last collection is most notable for its Arabic and Persian manuscripts and printed materials as well as the linguistic aids for their study. The Special Collections are supported by complete runs of early medical journals from Europe and the United States, journals in the history of medicine, an open collection of monographs on the history of medicine, and an extensive collection of theses from the great universities of Europe. The Archives of the Stanford University School of Medicine and its predecessor schools, including Cooper Medical College, contain administrative and clinic records as well as personal papers and manuscripts. Photographs and medical instruments are also collected.
Interlibrary loan is done if condition of material permits.
Local finding aids are available for most of Archives and Personal Papers.