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Miss Margaret Robins first came to Women's College Hospital as a nursing student in 1944. After graduating from its school of nursing in 1947, she began working in the hospital as a nurse in the obstetrical department. Miss Robins continued her career at Women's College as a clinical instructor and teacher in obstetrics, then as a clinical researcher for the department of anesthesia and finally as the director of the medical library in 1967. It was here that Miss Robins began to take an interest in the historical records and art collection of Women's College Hospital. The medical library was the first repository for the hospital's archival documents.

Miss Robins' interest in the history of the hospital changed into a passion for actively acquiring, maintaining and preserving its historical records, artifacts, furniture and art. Upon retiring from the medical library in 1992, she was named archivist emeritus and established the archives of Women's College Hospital. Although Miss Robins no longer is involved with the day-to-day operations of the archives, she is currently an active member of the executive committee of the Alumnae Association of the school of nursing. She holds the position of alumnae association historian.

Named in her honour, the Miss Margaret Robins Archives of Women's College Hospital showcases the historical records of Women's College that Miss Robins has painstakingly acquired and preserved over her career. The archives and its unique collection is a wonderful tribute to its founder and greatest supporter.  The archives' collection documents the rich history of Women's College Hospital that began in 1883 with the founding of Woman's Medical College. The collection also consists of archival material related to the history of women in medicine, the history of nursing, early hospitals in Canada and - most recently - to the history of health-care restructuring in Ontario.  Artifacts include:

• Samples of furniture and medical equipment dating from 1911 to the present
• A collection of nurses' uniforms that trace the profession's history
• The personal library of the late Dr. Marion Powell, whose books line the shelves of one wall in the archives

• Records of the board of directors and hospital administration
• A photograph collection
• Records of the Women's College Hospital School of Nursing and the Nursing Alumnae Association
• Hospital memorabilia and public relations material
• An official portrait collection and other works of art
• Nurses' uniforms and pins
• Academic papers of Dr. Powell and Dr. Jessie Gray
• Samples of the original furnishings and fixtures dating from the opening of Women's College Hospital at 76 Grenville Street in 1936.

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