The Los Angeles Department of Health Publications Collection consists of publications produced by the Los Angeles Board of Health between 1909 and 1943. Dr. Luther Milton Powers was elected Health Commissioner in 1897 and held that office until his death in 1924. Under Powers' direction, the Monthly Bulletin was intended to "…give the citizens of Los Angeles an idea of the work of the department and to assist the residents by making careful statements of actual conditions in all matters, with which it deals, in serving the public health." Following the death of Powers, Dr. George Parrish, former Health Officer of St. Louis and Portland, Oregon, was hired to take his place. Parrish expanded public outreach by publishing a Monthly Letter and a monthly booklet titled, Civic Health, as well as annual reports, flyers, and a series of bulletins featuring particular diseases. The collection is arranged chronologically by publication date.