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Fwd: Hospital Archivists 

To STHC-L

Here is a query for hospital archivists. If you have any helpful 
information, please CONTACT THE RESEARCHER DIRECTLY, as she is not a member 
of this list. (though even if any of our repositories hold the records that 
she seeks, they may be considered PHI, depending on how your institution is 
interpreting HIPAA.)

Date: Wed, 21 May 2003 13:03:36 -0500
From: KENDRA DEONNE SMITH  [kendrasmith@students.wisc.edu]
Subject: Hospital Archivists.

********************
To Lisa Mix,
I write as a graduate student research assistant for Professor Judith W. 
Leavitt, Department of Medical History, University of 
Wisconsin-Madison.  I found your name as the chairperson of the Society of 
American Archivists' Science, Technology, and Health roundtable, and 
thought you might be of assistance or could direct us toward hospital 
archivists that could be of assistance in Professor Leavitt's latest book 
project.
The letter attached explains the scope of the project and the kinds of 
collections that she seeks.
Thank you for your help.
Kendra Smith, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

To Hospital Archivists and Medical History Librarians:

I am currently working on a book project about the changing role of 
fathers in childbirth during the mid-twentieth century.  My most exciting 
sources, which have been especially fruitful in illuminating expectant 
fathers' experiences during the mid-twentieth century, are the "fathers' 
books" that many hospitals provided for fathers in waiting rooms.  These 
books were blank journals in which expectant fathers could express their 
own thoughts on the childbirth experience or read the comments of other 
waiting fathers.  The years of their most common use seem to be between 
about 1940 and 1975, but I would be interested more generally in the 
twentieth century.  I have used the books of Wesley Memorial Hospital at 
the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Archives, Chicago, Illinois, and of St. 
Mary Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. I have seen references to such books 
in hospitals in the New York area and elsewhere.

At this time, I am searching for more fathers' books to expand the depth 
of my study and to consider a wider diversity of fathers' experiences in 
childbirth during this period.  To this end, I am writing to inquire 
whether your medical library or archival collection might have any such 
books or similar documents in its collection.  If so, I would appreciate 
the opportunity to look at them.

Please contact me at the following address to describe the holdings and 
discuss the possibilities for further research. You can also reach me by 
email at: jwleavit@wisc.edu or by telephone at 608 263-4560.

Thank you very much for your time and assistance.
Sincerely yours,
Judith W. Leavitt, PhD
Department of Medical History
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1419 Medical Science Center
1300 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706
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