American Bureau for Medical Aid to China Records, 1937-2005

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Collection context

Creator:
American Bureau for Medical Aid to China and American Bureau for Medical Advancement in China
Extent:
331 Linear Feet 271 boxes; 2 tube boxes; 1 flat box
Language:
English .
Scope and content:

Papers of the American Bureau for Medical Aid to China consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, committee files, membership records, financial records, fund raising records, motion pictures, audio tapes, phonograph records, photographs, posters, publications of ABMAC and other printed materials. Also included are the files of related Chinese relief organizations: Aid Refugee Chinese Intellectuals, 1954-1969; American Emergency Relief, 1941-1946; United Services to China, 1941-1977. Of particular interest are approximately 6,000 photographs of Chinese medical colleges, hospitals, laboratories and personnel and 45 phonograph records including speeches by such ABMAC supporters as Mme. Chiang Kai-Shek, Pearl S. Buck, Wendell Willkie, Fiorello LaGuardia and a number of movie stars

Biographical / historical:

The American Bureau for Medical Aid to China (ABMAC; 美國醫藥援華會) was founded in 1937 to give aid to Chinese medical and public health services by working through existing Chinese medical agencies. Between 1937 and 1945 more than ten million dollars in aid was given to China. After World War II, ABMAC concentrated on aiding six national medical colleges by administering a fellowship program for faculty members of these colleges to spend a year of study in the United States, by sending American medical faculty members to the six colleges as visiting professors, and by providing technical assistance in the form of books for medical libraries, text books for the classroom, equipment for laboratories and other educational materials. In 1949 when the Peoples Republic of China was established, ABMAC shifted its aid to Taiwan.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Boxes 1-270 are located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. Tube boxes are on-site.

Some unique time-based media items have been reformatted and are available onsite via links in the container list. Commercial materials are not routinely digitized. Email rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Terms of access:

Readers must use microfilm of materials specified above. Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); ABMAC Records ; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Location of this collection:
6th Floor East Butler Library
535 West 114th Street
New York, NY 10027, USA
Before you visit:
Researchers interested in viewing materials in the RBML reading room must must book an appointment at least 7 days in advance. To make the most of your visit, be sure to request your desired materials before booking your appointment, as researchers are limited to 5 items per day.
Contact:
rbml@library.columbia.edu