RG XXI: Steering Committee for the Survey of Sources in the History of Modern Science and Technology

Historical Note

The Steering Committee for the Survey of Sources in the History of Modern Science and Technology was officially active from 1982-1985. Developed at the suggestion of Charles Smith, Director of Programs at the System Development Foundation (SDF), the purpose of the committee was to consider how to advance knowledge of twentieth-century science and technology. The Steering Committee throughout consisted of Harvey Brooks, Nathan Rosenberg, Charles Smith, and Alexandra Oleson.

A planning meeting was held on October 16, 1982. Eventual efforts focused on a computerized bibliography of sources, prepared by Gilbert Whittemore. It included an accompanying essay by Nathan Rosenberg with the assistance of Harvey Brooks. In 1984, Computerized Bibliography of Sources in the History of Twentieth-Century Science and Technology in America was published in 8 double-sided, double-density diskette sets, also in hard disk, and included 2694 items which were indexed according to 816 keywords.

Funding was provided by the System Development Foundation (SDF).

Scope and Content

The series is contained within the Academy Archives’ Record Group XXI: Academy Projects and Programs. This series contains the administrative and publication records related to the Survey of Sources in the History of Modern Science and Technology, commonly referred to as the SDF Computerized Bibliography, from 1979-1989, the majority created between 1981-19877 by Executive Officer John Voss, Assistant Executive Officer Alexandra Oleson, and other members of the Steering Committee, but particularly Harvey Brooks. Included among administrative records are general memos and correspondence, records related to grant activity (including proposals), and transcripts of meetings. Included among publication records are collected reprints of bibliographies, draft printouts of the Computerized Bibliography, cassette backups, and instruction manuals for use of the Superfile system.

See records of related effort, RGXXI: Committee on Translation Activities and RGXXI: Committee on the History of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (1968-1980), which both produced a Survey of Sources as a final product. The later Committee was part of the larger Academy Program and related records, RGXXI: Academy Projects and Programs, Committee on Recent Science and Technology. While related to the Steering Committee on the Survey of Sources in the History of Modern Science and Technology intellectually, the Committee on the History of Recent Science and Technology had no administrative control over the Steering Committee and indeed was no longer active.

Arrangement

Processing for the series utilized MPLP principles, thus minimum preservation steps were taken, and folder titles listed in the finding aid are as they appear on the actual folders. Records of the Steering Committee were held in by the executive office of John Voss, particularly Alexandra Oleson. Many records were created by Harvey Brooks, Steering Committee Member. Original order of the records was generally maintained in groups of records, with individual records sorted chronologically and interfiled where appropriate. 

The series is arranged into two subseries: Subseries 1: Administrative Records; and Subseries 2: Publication. Both are arranged chronologically.

Volume

4 records center boxes (3.25 linear feet)

Preferred Citation

[Item title, date]. Record Group XXI: Academy Projects – Steering Committee for the Survey of Sources in the History of Modern Science and Technology, 1979-1989. Archives, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Subjects

Brooks, Harvey
Oleson, Alexandra, 1939-
Rosenberg, Nathan, 1927-2015
Smith, Charles S.
Voss, John, 1917-
Whittemore, Gilbert
System Development Foundation
Knowledge
Science--History--Bibliography
Technology--History--Bibliography