A crucial need for researchers in the area of science and technology studies is access to the works of scientists and engineers. Traditionally, this has required travel to the archives where the papers and other materials are kept. In a few special circumstances, the works have been published in scholarly editions. Yet for certain purposes, even published papers are not sufficient for the kinds of studies that researchers wish to undertake. A new technology, CD-ROM, allows easy reproduction of the original sources as well as computer searches of texts. Under this grant, Dr. Renn is seeking to establish an international collaboration in order to enhance the accessibility of some of the major collections in the history of science such as the Galileo collection in Florence and the Einstein Archive in Jerusalem. In order to be able to assess the existing technical possibilities for realizing this project, this grant provides support for an exploratory study over 8 months of various approaches to putting the Galileo and Einstein papers on CD-ROM. At the completion of this feasibility study, a meeting will be held in Italy to discuss future directions for the use of CD-ROM technology in the history of science and technology.
