In 1988 the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) celebrated its fortieth anniversary, having been created by legislation signed on June 24, 1948. To help commemorate the event, NIDR commissioned from History Associates, Incorporated a scholarly and analytical history of development of dental science in the twentieth century and the role NIDR played in that development. Ruth Roy Harris was assigned the task of preparing the history; she was assisted by Laura Kells of History Associates. The results of their research was published in 1989 as Dental Science in New Age: A History of the National Institute of Dental Research. After completion of her manuscript, Dr. Harris herself (with the concurrence of NIDR and History Associates) donated to the National Library of Medicine her research files. Two kinds of materials are found in the collection: copies of documents located in public repositories, such as the National Archives, the American Dental Association Archives, and the National Library of Medicine; and documents in private collections (including Dr. Dean's collection) or found in NIDR offices. Also found in the collection is material received after the manuscript was completed.
