The circulating History of Medicine and Health Sciences collection consists of modern works on the history of medicine as well as medical works published between 1876 and 1913 that do not require the special handling of rare materials. Circulating materials may be accessed during the hours that the library is open. These items can be found in Library Search.

The Waring History of Medicine and Health Sciences Collection and the library's rare book collection are housed on the library's third floor in the Special Collections room. This spacious room provides ample seating for reading, study, and research and is open to the public during library open hours. Food and drink are not allowed. 

Who was Waring?

James J. Waring, M.D. (1883-1962) was the first full-time Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Waring came to Colorado to recuperate from tuberculosis, which interrupted his medical studies at Johns Hopkins University. When he had recovered, he continued his medical education, graduating with the 1913 class of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Waring, an internist, served as head of the University's Department of Medicine from 1933-1948. He was active in the Colorado Foundation for Research in Tuberculosis, and negotiated the affiliation of the Foundation with the School of Medicine in 1949. The Foundation is now known as the Webb-Waring Institute, located at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus .

Dr. Waring donated medical books from his personal collection to Denison Memorial Library, which became the basis of the Waring History of Medicine Collection. Dr. Waring's life has been chronicled in A Medical Gentleman: James J. Waring, M.D. by Patricia Paton (WZ 100 W276P 1993 Waring Collection stacks).

To request copies of images from our collections, click here to access the online request form.