Films and Videos

The Public Health Film Goes To War The National Library of Medicine presents eighteen films from its Historical Audiovisual collections, on public health in wartime. As the United States entered World War II, film-making technology was already forty years old. The war became the great testing ground for the use of motion pictures in public health campaigns, both on the front lines as well as at home, as the health of troops and civilians was seen as integral to victory. Films became part of the government’s widespread information and mobilization efforts.

NLM historical films and videos are administered by the Historical Audiovisuals Program.

• About the Historical Audiovisuals Program
• Digital Collections
• Guides to the Historical Audiovisuals Collection
• Other Sources for Historical Medical Films
• How to Search Films and Videos
• How to Access and Use Films and Videos
• Contact Historical Audiovisuals

• About the Historical Audiovisuals Program

  The Historical Audiovisuals Program collects, preserves, and makes available to researchers and the public moving images and sound which document the history of medicine, biomedical science, health and disease in all time periods and cultures. Administered by the NLM History of Medicine Division (HMD), the program promotes and conducts scholarly research and public education through popular and scholarly programs of seminars, lectures, exhibitions, film programs, publications, and online catalogs and subject guides.

  • Films and videos collection

    The NLM films and videos collection is a principal repository for biomedical images in the U.S. The HMD collection includes more than 5,300 films and video recordings dating from 1900 to the present. More than 500 titles date from before 1950. The collection includes instructional films, public health documentaries, commercial films with medical themes, public service announcements, histories of medicine on film, recordings of public lectures and ceremonies, and documentary footage of biomedical research.

    The collection is particularly strong in the following areas:

    • Mental health
    • Drug abuse prevention
    • Sexually transmitted diseases
    • U.S. Public Health Service films
    • History of clinical dentistry

  • Selected films of interest

    The Sarnoff Collection (1918-1948) consists of early films of patient education, anatomy studies, and surgery. Of interest is The Respiratory System (1918).

    The Petrolagar films (1928-1930) show footage of early surgery. Ivan Pavlov and Chauncey Leake appear in the film of the 13th International Conference of Physiology (1929).

    Root Technic shows a root canal procedure shot with a hand-cranked camera through a magnifying glass (1917).

    Combined Right Herniotomy and Appendectomy under Cocaine shows the use of cocaine as anesthesia (1917).

    Atomic Medical Cases documents the effects of the atom bomb at Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1949).

    Forgotten Frontier shows footage of traveling nurses in the Appalachian Mountains (1931).

    The American Dental Associations collection of approximately 400 films represents a significant compilation of the history of clinical dentistry. One example is Classroom Talks by Dental Supervisor (1910).

    While most of the films are in English, important parts of the collection are in German, Russian, French, and Spanish. One example is Herr Professor Doktor Jakob Erdheim (1933).

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• Digital Collections

  Digitized Films and Videos from the Historic Audiovisual collections. These films prototype new access to HMD's film collection. Search full-text across catalog data and film transcripts! Digitized films are part of NLM's new digital repository infrastructure http://collections.nlm.nih.gov.

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• Guides to the Historical Audiovisuals Collection

  • Guide to Tropical Disease Motion Pictures and Audiovisuals
  • Mental Disease Moving Images Pre-1950 at the National Library of Medicine (pdf)
  • National Library of Medicine's Motion Pictures and Videocassettes about the Public Health Service and its Agencies (1998) (pdf)

  Download pdf version of the guides here. Request hard copies from History of Medicine Reference desk at 301-402-8878 or via e-mail at hmdref@mail.nlm.nih.gov. Specify the title you want, provide your name and address, and the guide will be mailed to you.

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• Other Sources for Historical Medical Films

  • ACT UP Oral History Project: http://actuporalhistory.org/interviews/index.html
  • The Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives at the Johns Hopkins University
  • The Archives of the History of American Psychology
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
  • Center for the History of Psychology
  • Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library, Yale University
  • Internet Archive: Moving Image Archive
  • Medical Stock Sources: Medical Stock Footage Sources
  • Moving Image Collections
  • Motion Pictures in the Library of Congress
  • Museum of Vision
  • National Audiovisual Center (NAC)
  • National Museum of American History Archives Center
  • National Museum of Health and Medicine
  • Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
  • Smithsonian Institution
  • UCLA Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library History & Special Collections
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • U.S. National Archives & Records Administration (NARA)
  • Waring Historical Library of the Medical University of South Carolina
  • The William H. Welch Medical Library at the Johns Hopkins University Medical Institutions

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• How to Search Films and Videos

  Search for films, videos, and audio recordings in the Library catalog (LocatorPlus).

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• How to Access and Use Films and Videos

  • View films and videos in the Library

    Request films and videos through the Library Catalog (LocatorPlus).  Films and videos can be viewed in the History of Medicine Reading Room, which is open to the public Monday through Friday, 8:30 A.M.-5:00 P.M., except on federal holidays. 

  • Borrow films and videos

    Service copies of films and videos may be borrowed through interlibrary loan.  For more information see Interlibrary Loan Fact Sheet.

  • Purchase copies of films and videos

    Films and videos may be duplicated if they are determined to be in the public domain, or if written permission from the copyright holder has been received by the Historical Audiovisuals Archivist.

    For more information, see Historical Films and Videos Duplication: Information and Vendor List (pdf) and the five steps listed below.

    Before a film or video can be copied, the patron completes the following steps:

    1. Resolve copyright status
       If the film or video is not in the public domain, obtain written permission from the copyright holder. The copyright holder is often named on the LocatorPlus records. See also Historical Collections Copyright Information.
    2. Choose vendor
       Choose one of the Library’s approved vendors.  Arrangements are in place at each of the companies for hand-carrying our films. Courier costs are charged to the patron. The film company will tell you the cost of conversion and the length of time it will take to complete the job. The Library does not charge patrons a service fee for copying. 
    3. Complete forms
       After arrangements with the vendor are complete, fill out the Historical Films and Videos Duplication: User Agreement (pdf) and Restriction Notice (pdf). Complete and return one set of forms for each film to the Archivist by mail or in person. The forms cannot be faxed, as faxed signatures are not necessarily legal and binding. 
    4. Confirm arrangements
       Once the Archivist receives the forms, they will contact the patron to confirm arrangements. The Archivist will prepare the manifest and deliver the films to the Preservation and Collection Management Section. The Preservation and Collection Management Section will pack the films for shipment, call the vendor, and arrange for the films to be picked up. After the film has been copied, the vendor will send the copy to the patron and return the original to the Library. If the patron has questions about copying, contact Karen Sinkule at 301-435-7117, Monday thru Friday, 8:30 am – 5:00 pm or via email at sinkulek@mail.nlm.nih.gov.
    5. Credit line
       If using the film in a production, please include the phrase Courtesy of the National Library of Medicine.

  • Vendors

    Note: The following commercial non-government Web sites are linked for your convenience. The government does not endorse or guarantee the services of these companies.

    The laboratories approved to make film-to-film or film-to-video reproductions of NLM's vintage footage are:

    Bono Film and Video
    3200 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22207
    E-mail: lab@bonofilm.com
    Phone: (703) 243-0800
    Fax: (703) 243-6638

    Colorlab
    5708 Arundel Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852
    E-mail: info@colorlab.com
    Phone: (301) 770-2128
    Fax: (301) 816-0798

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• Contact Historical Audiovisuals

  Archivist
  Nancy Dosch, Ph.D.
  E-mail: doschn@mail.nlm.nih.gov
  Phone: (301) 402-8818
  Fax: (301) 402-0982
  
  Historical Audiovisuals Collection
  History of Medicine Division, Bldg. 38, Rm. 1E-21
  National Library of Medicine
  8600 Rockville Pike
  Bethesda, MD 20894 
  

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