In 2019 the RACP’s History of Medicine Library commenced a digitisation program to provide greater access to its wonderful collection of historical medical Australiana and Aotearoa New Zealand materials.

As we are all aware, the Covid-19 pandemic changed the way many people work, with many employed from home during periods of lockdown. For libraries, foremost of the challenges was the near-total loss of access to books and other physical library holdings, which highlighted the need to have access to records and information remotely. This also provided an opportunity however, to explore the possibilities of digitisation in order to facilitate the discovery and preservation of scholarly content.

Focusing on unique, out of copyright material, the last four years has seen the Library digitalise 2000+ historical medical documents and 2000+ images of RACP Fellows, events and historical medical artefacts. Members can now access a wide range of digitalised items from the comfort of their home, office, or wherever they access the Internet, via the online catalogue.

The latest material to be digitised is the New South Wales Medical Gazette, the second medical journal to be published in New South Wales (from 1870-1875). It was published on a monthly basis with each volume usually running to thirty-two pages. There were a few illustrations included in each edition (even one or two hand drawn coloured illustrations) and it was described as a "strong and vigorous journal, full of interesting and stimulating articles" (J. Cumpston, MJA Vol. II, No. 1, July 1 1939.) The journal was edited by Dr. Fred Milford and then briefly, in 1875, by Dr. Samuel T. Knaggs (The Library holds some of Knaggs' copies) before he went on to set up and edit the Australian Practioner, with its broader appeal. Unfortunately, this journal was also short-lived, lasting only one year.

The first two volumes of New South Wales Medical Gazette can be accessed here. Once finished, it will be the first time the complete set of the journal will be available on the web that I am aware of. Given the fragile nature of the volumes, it will take a little longer to digitise the last three years of the journal but this will also guarantee that we will not have to touch the originals again.

The Library’s ongoing digitisation program continues to ensure that its unique physical items and other resources are preserved and available online for members to access. With these objectives in mind, the digitisation initiative will continue throughout 2025 and beyond, as items held by the Library continue to fall out of copyright.