A seminar at the RCOG on 4 November was chaired by the RCM’s chief executive Cathy Warwick and marked the launch of the library and the collaboration between the RCM and the RCOG.
Books, photographs, clothing and medical equipment are some of the treasured items preserved in the new library and archive. Some 141 current journals, as well as a complete set of nursing notes and midwives’ chronicles are included.
Managed by the RCOG’s archivists, the collection will be available to everyone, and combined with the RCOG’s collection, will offer a unique opportunity to access information across the broad spectrum of women’s health.
The RCM’s librarian Mary Dharmachandran, who worked in the RCM LRPD for 14 years and managed the collection’s move over to the RCOG, said the RCM’s library is the largest midwifery library in the world and that the new service not only offers resources, but also study space and networking opportunities.
Speaking at what she called a ‘historic occasion’, Cathy said: ‘This will bring great benefits to our members who will have access to these resources on one site, in first-rate surroundings with professional librarians on-hand to help with their research. I am also delighted that the RCM’s archive of midwifery related material will now for the first-time be catalogued and easily accessible.’
Dr Anthony Falconer, RCOG President said: ‘We are delighted to host the RCM’s heritage collections. Given our disciplines share a common history, our combined collections complement each other. The study of women’s health has much to celebrate with this development and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship together.’
The RCM archive catalogue is now available to search via the
Archives Hub.
There is currently a poster display in the RCOG’s education centre showing the pictorial history of the RCM. There is also a small exhibition in the library on ‘A Day in the Life of a Midwife during the Second World War’.
The RCOG is located at 27 Sussex Place, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RG. For directions please
click here.
The RCOG Library is open daily Monday to Friday during office hours from 9.30am to 5.30pm.
