Containing some 34,000 items, the Casa de Oswaldo Cruz’s Bibliographic Collection specializes in the history of medicine, the history of public health, history per se, and the sociology and philosophy of science. The holdings include classic works from the fields of the biomedical sciences and public health, some of which date to the 18th century.
The rare works within this collection once belonged to the private collections of the first Manguinhos scientists and of eminent Brazilian physicians, and they reflect the professional interests and activities of these individuals. The bulk of the books in the Oswaldo Cruz collection, for example, deal with bacteriology, parasitology, communicable diseases, veterinary medicine, physiology, and entomology. The Carlos Chagas collection is broader and focuses on topics like physiology, chemistry, and communicable diseases. The collection of Lourival Ribeiro, a physician and historian of medicine, comprises 6,000 monographs and 3,000 journal issues.
In addition to gathering reference material, the History of the Sciences and Health Library is responsible for preserving these holdings. Its tasks include overseeing routine maintenance and repair, contracting with institutions that specialize in restoration and bookbinding, and raising funds for the digitization of works. All restored books can be consulted by the public free of charge.
Libraries
History of the Sciences and Health Library
Encompassing some 34,000 items, the library is the repository of scholarship from the fields of the history of medicine, the history of public health, history per se, and the sociology and philosophy of science. It features classic works from the biomedical sciences and public health, along with bibliographic material from the private collections of professionals from the field of health. The library oversees the treatment and restoration of its collection. It is open to the public free of charge.
Consulting the collection
Casa de Oswaldo Cruz database
Library database
Periodical database
Database of library periodicals
HISA database
The Bibliographic Database on the History of Public Health in Latin America and the Caribbean (HISA) provides access to collections on this topic held by Brazilian and foreign libraries.
Hours, location and contact
Mon.-Fri., 9:00 am-4:30 pm
Room 410, Expansion Building, Fiocruz
Avenida Brasil, 4036; Manguinhos; Rio de Janeiro
library@coc.fiocruz.br
Science Education and Communication Library
The library’s holdings comprise some 4,500 items from Brazil and abroad, representing the areas of science communication, education, museology, the life sciences, health, and juvenile literature. The children’s collection affords young patrons of the Museum of Life an opportunity to learn about science through activities that fuel an interest in books on science and health. Library assets include manuals, dictionaries, encyclopedias, theses and dissertations, reports, periodicals, pamphlets, educational games, documents in electronic format, and audiovisual resources.
Consulting the collection
Hours
Mon.-Fri., 9:00 am-5:00 pm
Location
Oswaldo Cruz Foundation / Main Offices of the Museum of Life
Avenida Brasil, 4365; sala 4; Manguinhos; Rio de Janeiro – RJ; CEP: 21.040-900
Virtual Libraries
All of the Casa de Oswaldo Cruz Virtual Health Libraries feed into the Virtual Health Library on History and Cultural Heritage in Health (BVS HPCS), a technical and scientific cooperation network.
The BVS HPCS is one of the divisions within the Virtual Health Libraries initiative, which is coordinated by the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information (BIREME). As such, it forms a node of cooperation among institutions in the areas of history and cultural heritage in health.
Adolpho Lutz Virtual Health Library
A byproduct of the Casa de Oswaldo Cruz project “Adolpho Lutz and the History of Tropical Medicine in Brazil,” this virtual library stores information on the scientist’s career and his work, some in image and sound formats.
Carlos Chagas Virtual Health Library
This virtual library holds information on the scientist’s career and scholarship and on Chagas’s disease. It also has an image bank and an inventory of archives.
History of Polio Virtual Health Library
This library is the product of two years of research by a joint team of researchers from the Casa de Oswaldo Cruz, the National Public Health School (ENSP/Fiocruz), and Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ).
Oswaldo Cruz Virtual Library
The Oswaldo Cruz Virtual Library offers an overview of the life and particularly of the career of the scientist Oswaldo Cruz. The material is drawn from a gamut of historical records held by the Casa de Oswaldo Cruz in the form of personal archives, bibliographic collections, and museum pieces.
