MLA Oral Histories
The MLA Oral History Project conducts and preserves interviews that help illuminate the history of health sciences librarianship and of MLA.
The Medical Library Association Oral History Project Manual, 7th Revised Edition
The original recorded interviews and transcripts are kept in the MLA archives. Edited transcripts are available on MLANET or through interlibrary loan from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM). These volumes also include biographies, and in many cases photographs and CVs, of the interviewees.
To access an oral history published since 2016, click on the Published Oral History link at the top of the interview summary. To borrow print copies of earlier histories, contact your regional medical library through the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM), or contact Mary Langman, director, information issues and policy, at MLA headquarters.
Section and Chapter Oral Histories
- FAQs for MLA Chapters Starting Oral History Programs
- Chapter/Section Oral Histories
- Southern Chapter Oral History Project
- Cancer Librarians Section Oral History and 1997 Update (for Cancer Librarian Section Members Only)
- Veterinary Medical Libraries Section, Notable Veterinary Medical Librarians
List of Interviewees
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Adams, Scott (AHIP, FMLA)*
Posted on: May 10, 2024 Edited by: Interview by: on Number of pages: Scott Adams worked at the Army Medical Library and the National Library of Medicine from 1945 to 1959 and from 1960 to 1970 and was intimately involved in the development of MEDLARS. He served as president of the Medical Library Association from…
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Allen, Beverly Elizabeth
Posted on: May 10, 2024 Edited by: Interview by: on Number of pages: Throughout her long and distinguished career, Beverly Allen was a mentor, strong role model, and fierce advocate for the library. She fearlessly embraced the challenges of building two libraries from the ground up and championed the voice of her African American librarian…
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Anderson, David C.
Posted on: May 10, 2024 Edited by: Interview by: on Number of pages: David C. Anderson earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts in 1952 from the University of California–Berkley, followed in 1953 by a bachelor’s of librarianship. His military service was spent with the Special Category Engineers Army With Airforce (SCARWAF), an army engineer…
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Anderson, Rachael K. (AHIP, FMLA)
Posted on: May 10, 2024 Edited by: Interview by: on Number of pages: After receiving a master’s in library service at Columbia University in 1960, Rachael Anderson took her first library position at the College of the City of New York as cataloger. In 1964, she moved to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and…
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Anderson, Rachael K. (AHIP, FMLA) and Bunting, Alison (AHIP, FMLA): Joint Interview
Posted on: May 10, 2024 Edited by: Interview by: on Number of pages: Rachael Anderson and Alison Bunting served on the Medical Library Association Board of Directors, with their terms overlapping for two years, 1983–85. They also worked together in the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) and other activities. This joint interview represents…