Richter Conference

Purpose of Cyberconference

The purpose of this conference is to explore how the research data that Curt P. Richter collected throughout his career at Johns Hopkins may be preserved and utilized in ongoing teaching and research activities. By using the example of Richter's data as a case study, we hope to stimulate interest in ways primary data from other research laboratories may be recycled for future use in teaching and research.

We ask conference participants to discuss and debate the following issues:

The scientific usefulness of data from Curt P. Richter's research to contemporary investigators in psychobiology and related disciplines;
The informational and evidential value of data from Curt P. Richter's research to investigators in anthropology, history, sociology, and other disciplines in the social sciences;
The viability of converting data in hard copy to electronic formats.

Our objective is to utilize recommendations provided by conference participants to do the following:

Establish criteria for selecting data to be preserved;
Identify audiences of potential users and the particular information needs of these audiences;
Adopt electronic formats for the conversion of data to meet the reference and research needs of potential users;

Our ultimate goal is to develop a strategic plan for the electronic preservation of Curt P. Richter's data. The intention is that this plan will also serve as a model for the electronic preservation of other large sets of laboratory data in hard copy.

We are conducting this conference in conjunction with research fellowships awarded by the University of Michigan for the study of modern archives. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the University of Michigan have funded the fellowships. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has funded the development of the conference site on the World Wide Web.

On 25 July 1996 we will present the findings from the conference at a symposium for the study of modern archives at the Bentley Historical Library of the University of Michigan. In August we will post the findings from the conference and the response of the symposium presentation on the proceedings page of the conference Web site.

We thank you for your willingness to participate in the conference and look forward to your commentary in the poster sessions.

Nancy McCall and Lisa A. Mix
The Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives of The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions

The Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions