The Archives at Memorial Sloan Kettering was awarded a METRO Digitization grant to reformat and make public MSK’s Annual Reports from 1884 to present.

The Metropolitan New York Library Council is a group that supports libraries, museums, archives, and community organizations within New York City. METRO’s annual digitization project grant program provides funding to make vital content from cultural heritage institutions in New York available. By securing this grant, MSK joins the ranks of other medical archives in New York, including Mount Sinai Health System and Weill Cornell Medicine, in bringing parts of their collections online.

Groundbreaking of Memorial Hospital

The Archives collects materials documenting the history, accomplishments, and daily life at MSK. This includes photographs, Board minutes, research notes, and event materials, among other materials. The images in this post offer just a glimpse of the richness of these collections. Although the Archives has existed in some form since 1980, it has expanded in recent years due to the hiring of its first full-time Archivist in 2022. Through this grant and other work, the Archives hopes to increase access
to certain materials for researchers in the history of medicine, genealogists, and others who are interested in the cultural value of MSK’s history.

The Annual Reports provide information on annual statistics, major discoveries, donations, and stories
of people touched by cancer. In addition to documenting medical history, these reports also document the growth of MSK across New York City and the metro areas, the development of new areas of practice, and our changing relationship to cancer and mortality.

The collection is expected to be available in early 2026.

MSK Radiation Therapy Service, circa 1949