Since the dawn of the 20th century, the Federal Serum Therapy Institute – now Fiocruz – has gathered and maintained archives, libraries, biology and iconography collections, and instruments and equipment, all housed in the unique architectural and urban setting built especially for the institution. The collections trace their roots to scientific expeditions, public health missions, and the activities conducted at the institute’s laboratories, departments, and hospitals.
Over time, these collections evolved into the cultural assets that now form Fiocruz’s science heritage, which has earned the recognition of both government agencies and the public at large. The institute has taken on the additional task of organizing the infrastructure and procedures that allow access to these collections, thereby broadening their social use and enabling research in the fields of science and health.
In consonance with national and international concepts and practices in preventive and integrated conservation, risk management, and sustainable preservation, the Casa de Oswaldo Cruz drew up its “Preservation and Management Policy for Cultural Collections in Science and Health” in 2013. This innovative policy defined guidelines and principles that apply to a wide variety of collections (architectural, archival, bibliographic, and museological). It also stipulated research and education as the strategic building blocks in the formulation of preservation policy.
