Discover the History of Tuberculosis Care in Nova Scotia: The "X-Ray/Health Rays" Digitization Project (Aug 13/24)
This summer, thanks to funding from Young Canada Works, we embarked on an exciting project to digitize a significant yet under-utilized collection from the Nova Scotia Sanatorium. Established in 1904 in Kentville, the Sanatorium was the province's first tuberculosis hospital. The Sanatorium’s patient newsletter, X-Ray/Health Rays, provides a humanizing glimpse into the lives of patience and staff during a challenging period in medical history.
X-Ray was first published in 1919 and served as a bridge between the hospital and the wider community. It offered non-technical articles, treatment information, and updates on social events within the Sanatorium. The newsletter was later renamed Health Rays in 1933 and was published until 1977. We are proud to hold the most complete run of this newsletter in the province – 220 issues.
To make this collection more accessible, we hired a Digitization Assistant, Chloe, who took on the task of bringing these documents into the digital age. Chloe's work involved carefully scanning each issue, handling the fragile materials with care, and learning the ins and outs of digitization—from creating preservation-quality copies to editing images for optimal readability. She also gained experience in combining files into accessible formats and preparing them for online access.
The result is a fully digitized collection that is not only preserved for the long term but also freely available for everyone to explore. This project has not only increased access to a vital piece of Nova Scotia's medical history but also provided a student with hands-on experience and valuable skills in digitization and archival work.
We invite you to explore this fascinating collection and delve into the stories of those who lived with tuberculosis at a time when treatment was still evolving. Access the collection online here.