Guide to Oral Histories in Medicine and the Health Sciences

BROWSE by:   Location   Subject   Interviewees

Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum   National Institutes of Health 31 Center Drive, Room 5B-38, MSC 2092 Bethesda, Maryland 20892-2092   (301) 496-6610   (301) 402-1434   http://www.history.nih.gov   Alan Schechter, Acting Director aschecht@helix.nih.gov Michele Lyons, Curator lyonsm@mail.nih.gov Sarah Leavitt, Associate Historian leavitts@mail.nih.gov Brooke Fox, Archivist foxbro@mail.nih.gov Buhm Soon Park, Associate Historian parkb@mail.nih.gov   museum@nih.gov history@nih.gov   Services are provided on a case-by-case basis. We have a small staff but are able to accommodate most requests. We do not loan out the tapes, but many of the oral histories are available digitally.   The Office of NIH History maintains a collection of several hundred oral history interviews conducted by staff and fellows since the late 1980s. The subjects of the interviews include NIH scientists and administrators.   There are several hundred oral histories in our collection. Oral histories are added to the collection each year by the Stetten fellows and by staff members.   The oral histories have been collected on a project basis. Each year we have several fellows who conduct their own research projects and most of them conduct between five and twenty oral histories on specific themes. We have a strong collection of oral histories of NIH scientists and staff who worked with AIDS patients in the 1980s that were conducted by the then-Director of our office and her staff. Also, our collection includes interviews with retiring scientists and high-level administrators that were conducted upon request by particular institutes at NIH.   Our oral histories were recorded on cassette tapes which are retained by the office. We have digital video images of one oral history.   No. The interviews are in the public domain.   Yes, all oral histories are transcribed. We have a selected few available on the web (http://www.history.nih.gov , click on "oral histories") but most are available digitally upon request (i.e. they can be emailed as an attachment).

Last reviewed: 21 May 2009
Last updated: 20 July 2006
First published: 20 July 2006
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