Women's College Hospital Archives

Identity area

Identifier

ON00365

Authorized form of name

Women's College Hospital Archives

Parallel form(s) of name

    Other form(s) of name

    • Miss Margaret Robins Archives of Women's College Hospital

    Type

    • Healthcare Institution

    Contact area

    Type

    Address

    Street address

    Women's College Hospital 76 Grenville Street

    Locality

    Toronto

    Region

    Ontario

    Country name

    Canada

    Postal code

    M5S 1B2

    Telephone

    416-323-6400 ext.4076

    Fax

    416-813-4744

    Email

    Note

    Description area

    History

    As a national historic site, Women's College Hospital is committed to preserving its unique history. The Miss Margaret Robins Archives of Women's College Hospital acquires, maintains, preserves and makes available the historical records and artifacts of the institution.

    The Miss Margaret Robins Archives of Women's College Hospital is named in honour of its first archivist. Miss Margaret Robins first came to Women's College Hospital in 1944 as a nursing student, and joined the hospital’s Department of Obstetrics upon graduation from the School of Nursing in 1947. She would go on to become a clinical instructor in obstetrics, and later a clinical researcher for the Department of Anaesthesia.

    In 1967, Miss Robins became the director of the hospital’s medical library, where she took an interest in the historical records, artifacts, furniture, and art collection of Women's College Hospital. The medical library became the first repository for the hospital's archival materials, which Miss Robins began actively acquiring, maintaining, and preserving. When Miss Robins retired from the medical library, she established the Archives of Women's College Hospital in 1992.

    Geographical and cultural context

    Woman's Medical College was founded in 1883 by Dr. Emily Stowe. The institution sought to offer women the opportunity to practice medicine at a time when their access to the profession was limited, as medical schools in Toronto refused to admit women to the study of medicine. In 1894, Woman's Medical College amalgamated with Kingston Women's Medical College and changed its name to the Ontario Medical College for Women.

    Although the women's medical school closed in 1906, when the University of Toronto began admitting women to its medical school, Woman’s Medical College continued to operate as a dispensary. Five years later, in 1911, Women’s College Hospital officially opened as Canada’s first hospital run by and for women.

    Throughout its history, Women's College Hospital has maintained a focus on women's health-care needs. In 1995, Women's College Hospital was designated as a national historic site by Parks Canada, as a site of national importance in women's history. Today, Women's College Hospital is the first and only independent ambulatory care hospital in Ontario, and the only hospital in Ontario with a primary focus on women's health.

    Mandates/Sources of authority

    Administrative structure

    Records management and collecting policies

    Buildings

    The Archive is located within Women's College Hospital.

    Women's College Hospital moved into its current location at 76 Grenville Street in 1935. Construction began on a new state-of-the-art building in the summer of 2010, and the new building was completed in 2015.

    Holdings

    The Archives documents the rich history of Women's College Hospital that began in 1883 with the founding of Woman's Medical College. The collection consists of textual records, photographs, graphic materials, architectural drawings, cartographic records, audiovisual recordings, medical equipment and instruments, textiles, artwork, and furniture.

    In addition to records from Women's College Hospital, the Archives' collection also consists of archival material related to the history of women in medicine, the history of nursing, early hospitals in Canada, and the history of health care restructuring in Ontario.

    Finding aids, guides and publications

    Finding aids are available upon request.

    Access area

    Opening times

    The Archives is open to the public by appointment only. Please contact the archivist to schedule an appointment.

    The historical displays maintained by the Archives throughout the hospital are open to the public during regular hospital hours.

    Access conditions and requirements

    All materials housed in the Archives are non-circulating.

    With the assistance of the archivist, researchers may consult archival materials in accordance to the Archives' rules and conditions of access. Materials housed in the Archives may be subject to access restrictions. Please contact the Archivist for further information.

    Accessibility

    Services area

    Research services

    Research questions may be directed to the archivist by phone, email, in person, or by regular mail. If you require the archivist to conduct extensive research on your behalf, a research fee may apply.

    Reproduction services

    Fee-based, in-house reproduction services are available, and include photocopying, reproductions of photographs, and scanning documents. Please consult the archivist for a fee schedule.

    Public areas

    Control area

    Description identifier

    Institution identifier

    Rules and/or conventions used

    Status

    Level of detail

    Dates of creation, revision and deletion

    Language(s)

      Script(s)

        Sources

        Maintenance notes

        Access points

        Access Points