Palmer College of Chiropractic

The David D. Palmer Health Sciences Library is pleased to announce the acquisition of the George J. Goodheart Jr. Library, a collection consisting of over 1,400 books, 200 journals, 150 trays of slides, 100 artifacts and 12 scrapbooks. After the death of George Goodheart, D.C. (National College of Chiropractic ’39) in 2008, his widow, JoAnn, was advised by the board of the International College of Applied Kinesiology to donate his extensive collection to Palmer College. Dr. Goodheart was the founder of the International College of Applied Kinesiology, and lectured extensively throughout the world.

“The board recommended Palmer College because of our reputation for excellence in archival historical preservation,” said Alana Callender, Director of History at Palmer College. “The archival materials that were donated will become part of the Library’s collection, with most being placed in Palmer Special Collections, as will many of the books (duplicates will go into circulation). A number of artifacts will become part of the Museum collection.”

A reception was held in the David D. Palmer Health Sciences Library during Homecoming in honor of Mrs. Goodheart’s donation and in honor of Dr. Goodheart’s accomplishments and of the collection. Mrs. Goodheart, the Board of Directors of the International College of Applied Kinesiology, and many Applied Kinesiology practitioners were in attendance.

According to the International College of Applied Kinesiology, “In 1964, Dr. George Goodheart made the first correlation between finding a weak muscle using manual muscle testing and then employing chiropractic therapy to make it stronger. … [He] wrote many works on Applied Kinesiology and lectured on the topic often. Among his many professional honors, he was the first chiropractor to serve on the U.S. Olympic Medical Team in 1980.”

“We are pleased with Mrs. Goodheart’s donation of Dr. Goodheart’s papers and artifacts," said Senior Director for Library Sciences Dennis Peterson. "His collection enhances our growing Special Collections materials from prominent chiropractors and chiropractic scholars. The Library’s Special Services department’s mission is to preserve the profession’s heritage and to support its historical scholarship. Dr. Glenda Wiese and her staff’s reputation for securing, preserving and appropriately accessioning other donated chiropractic special collections played a key role in Mrs. Goodheart’s decision, and for their dedication we all will benefit.”