Explore our new holdings database.
Our archivist and support staff have worked hard to build a searchable database of our diverse and extensive holdings so that researchers and scientists can access and review our resources with a few clicks of a button. You can use the “List” feature to create a curated list of materials specific to your research. You can request selected items from the archivist, either off the list you built or directly from the search results.
If you want to know everything we have on a given topic or person, we have created filters by subject and creator to help refine your queries. Keep an eye on this space because more information is always being added.
CHOMA is committed to connecting researchers with archival materials that will inform and shape their future projects.
In 1935 the Society of American Bacteriologists (now ASM) established a Committee on Archives, charged with the acquisition and maintenance of the records of the Society, and to collect materials relating to the history of microbiology. These materials remained in the possession of the committee chair until an agreement was struck with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to house their materials. The Book Collection was transferred to UMBC in 1978, and the remainder arrived in 1982.
The establishment of the Center for the History of Microbiology was proposed and supported by Leland McClung and Donald Shay (former ASM archivists). The idea behind the Center was based on existing centers for the history of chemistry and physics. After two years of planning, the Center for the History of Microbiology was established at a ceremony at UMBC on 4 June 1985 (ASM NEWS Vol. 51 No. 8 1985.)
The current collection includes records of the Society from its founding in 1899 to the present, including journals and proceedings of meetings; 9,000 volumes on microbiology and related topics; photographs of scientists and microbes; topical files on various aspects of microbiology, including biographical materials; instructional materials, including slides and motion pictures; collections of personal papers; collections related to the history of microbiology, and a small amount of artwork.
For further information, or to make an appointment to visit the Archives, please contact the Archivist, Colleen Puterbaugh at 410-455-3601 or archives@asmusa.org.
Statement of Copyright Responsibilities
Notice of copyright responsibility: The materials in the Center for the History of Microbiology/ ASM Archives are made available solely for the purpose of private study, research, and education. Many of the items are protected by U.S. Copyright Law, and several major collections were donated with copyright privileges granted to the American Society for Microbiology. Due to the size of our holdings, it is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.
The Society's first female president, Alice Catherine Evans, wrote this autobiography about her life experiences, primarily as a female scholar and scientist during the first half of the 20th century. Original copies, including one inscribed by the author to the recipient, are available for viewing on site at the Center for the History of Microbiology/ ASM Archives.
THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO JOINED US IN ATLANTA THIS YEAR!!!
We look forward to seeing you again at Microbe in Los Angeles 2025
ASM Microbe | Overview | ASM.org
CHOMA/ ASM Archives was proud to be a part of the following programs and events in 2024:
Mini Conference: CDC’s Legacy of Triumphs and Challenges in Tackling the Biggest Microbial Challenges of Our Era on Thursday, June 13, 2024 from 1:30 pm – 4 pm in Convention Center, Room A402. See details here: https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/20188/session/270
CHOMA Exhibit- Inspired by Microbial Life: An Artistic Perspective
ASM Studio Session with ASM Archivist: Muralist Diego Rivera - Inspired by Microbial Life- Join archivist Colleen Puterbaugh at our ASM Studios for an in-depth exploration of muralist Diego Rivera's scientific inspiration in creating Water, Origin of Life on display at the ASM booth #209 in a talk entitled Muralist Diego Rivera: Inspired by Microbial Life. Near the end of his life, acclaimed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera painted Water, Origin of Life at the terminus of the public water system in Mexico City. Intended as a tribute to the hundreds of laborers, engineers, and architects who’d worked to complete the massive waterworks project which still supplies water to the city today, the feature mural is the only one in the world fully submerged by water. Echoing its’ placement and inspiration, the themes center on water as the source of creation. It is strikingly accurate in the scientific theory reflected in the themes as depicted.
Reproduction Services
The Center for the History of Microbiology/ ASM Archives (CHOMA) may make digital copies of items from its collection available to researchers, organizations, and others for a variety of uses. Anyone wishing to use reproductions of collections materials must first submit a written request and receive approval by the Archivist. This process gives CHOMA the opportunity to verify copyrights, credits, and fees. All digital images will be delivered via email or WeTransfer (no subscription required for access), depending on file(s) size. All digital files are scanned at 300 dpi as pdf or tiff format, as requested. Fees are outlined below, and the requestor will be invoiced for the required fees once the request has been approved. Please allow 30 days from receipt of payment for delivery of requested files. You must submit separate requests for different projects.
Digitization Fees
Reproduction Fees
Rights and Usage Fees*
Research Services
The Center for the History of Microbiology/ ASM Archives can sometimes provide research services to members of the public who cannot visit in person. A research services request asks for information about a specified event in a specific source during an estimated time frame (limited to a 10-year span). Research requests are fulfilled as staff time allows. Please allow up to 4 weeks for each request. If we are unable to fulfill your request, we will notify you as soon as possible and refund any fees paid.
There is a fee of $40/hour for research. (Hours will not be charged in fractions, meaning a research time of 1.5 hours would be billed as 2 hours.) Research requests must be submitted with a pre-payment of $40 for the first hour. Additional hours will be billed once the first hour has been exhausted.
Once the research request has been fulfilled, copies of certain resources may be requested separately. Not all resources may be available for copies, however, and some information pertaining to donors may be confidential. A research request includes 4 copies gratis. Additional copies will be billed at $0.25/ $1.00 per page. Copies are intended for personal use only. Researchers wishing to publish materials from the Archive’s collection must submit a request for permission to do so and pay associated fees.