Oral Histories of 20 th Century Science and Medicine Workshop Presentation July 8, 2003

Why do oral histories? Ideas and interactions once recorded in written form and deposited in archives – now only saved in ephemeral formats –Telephone conversations – s –Paper records lost to pressure for space

Why do oral histories? Important data stored only in memories of individual scientists –First generation in a field –Working groups in laboratories –Mentoring and collegial relationships

Oral histories may also open access to written materials that might otherwise be lost Personal correspondence Research notes Unpublished manuscripts

Methodology The oral history interview –Organized around life and work of individual –Interviewer does prior research, prepares questions –Interview is structured as free-flowing conversation –Interviewer tries to ensure that all data is recorded for the historical record –But is also sensitive to oral author’s concerns

Agreement Form One-page agreement form ensures that oral author knows what the interview is about, what will happen to the recordings, and who will have access to the interview The historian’s goal is to open all oral histories to the public domain, but with protection of the oral author’s rights

After the interview Transcription Audit-editing for: –Transcript faithful to recorded interview –Clarity and coherence; readability –Accuracy of names, places, and technical terms Review by oral author Opening to researcher access

Recording and Preservation formats Printed Transcript Audiotape Videotape Website Database

American Institute of Physics Project-based About 1500 interviews, totaling more than 3000 hours Most interviews transcribed; Most have indexes and abstracts Twenty-three abstracts online; other interviews catalogued in International Catalog of Sources

UCLA Projects Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences –-- more than 100 interviews since 1988 Liebeskind History Of Pain Collection –-- 70 interviews, Oral History of Medical Genetics –-- 8 interviews,

John C. Liebeskind History of Pain Collection The history of pain science, pain management, and pain relief

John C. Liebeskind History of Pain Collection Founded 1993 by John Liebeskind ( ) Current Directors: Marcia Meldrum, PhD, Katharine Donahue, MLS, Russell Johnson, MLS Funded by International Association for the Study of Pain and American Pain Society Goals of project: to document the developments in pain science and pain management in the 20 th century, and the growth of the professional field

Oral History Interviews 72 interviews, ranging in length from 1.5 hours to 10 hours High fidelity audio recordings Each oral author asked to provide CV and photo Interviewer researches author, reads published papers, and develops outline of topics to cover After interview, discussion of personal papers and documents

Scope of the Oral History Life history Choices of career and research interest Clinical and basic research strategies Collegial and mentoring relationships Organizational work in pain field Views on past and current controversies

Processing of Interviews Transcription and editing Oral author review Annotation –Biographical Sketch –Topical Outline –Information about the Interview –Related Materials in the Collection Digitization in progress -

Mark Swerdlow, DM, FFARCS, Founder, Intractable Pain Society of Great Britain, 1967 Consultant, WHO Cancer Pain Relief Programme, Interviewed by John Liebeskind, 1996 Short excerpt on following slide

Building on the Oral Histories Document Collections (12 to date) Sponsored Symposia and Publications –Pain and Suffering in History, 1998 –Opioids and Pain Relief in History, 2002 Website Exhibits – “The IASP Online Archives” – “The Relief of Pain and Suffering”