Research Guides: Science Communication at NBLA: Archival Collections and Journals

Overview

Archival collections, general:
The Niels Bohr Library & Archives has various types of archival collections related to science communication. You can search our archival collections both in our catalog and our finding aids. In personal papers of scientists, journal editors, and scientific organizations you will find correspondence and materials related to conferences, scientific journal publishing, and science outreach efforts. As the institutional archive for the records of the American Institute of Physics and many of its member societies, we have the records of many major scientific journals, informal communications among member societies such as newsletters and member bulletins (miscellaneous publications), as well as meeting minutes and records of committees dedicated to communicating science to stakeholders and the general public. We also have audio visual collections with talks on science communication and films explaining science to the general public.

Journals and associated archival collections:
The Niels Bohr Library & Archives is the official repository for AIP Publishing (AIPP) as well as several Member Society publications. In addition to full runs of the major journals and many of the books and conference proceedings published by the American Institute of Physics, we also have several archival collections containing referee files, correspondence, and other materials related to the publication of peer-reviewed journals which are highlighted below.

Personal Papers containing materials on Scientific Communication

AIP Office of the Director H. William Koch records, 1932-1988
Records of former AIP Director H. William Koch containing information on the growth and technological advancements of the AIP Publishing Division, including the development of a policy for page charges in scientific publishing, the addition of electronic resources like Pi-Net, and the expansion of international translation journals. This collection also records the move of the AIP publication production facilities from New York City to Woodbury, New York and contains the beginnings of the discussion of relocating the AIP headquarters to Washington, DC.
Floyd A. Firestone papers, 1925-1956.
Records of physicist Floyd Firestone who was the former editor of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA). The collection includes correspondence related to his role as editor of JASA.
Benjamin B. Bauer Papers
Benjamin Baumzweiger Bauer, a leading figure in audio and acoustics, engaged in research, development, engineering, management, teaching, writing, and lecturing in acoustics and communications for over forty years. In his papers, Series VII contains material from conferences he attended.

Nancy Grace Roman Papers, 1931-1993
The papers of astrophysicist and NASA program director Nancy Grace Roman contain many draft speeches and materials related to her efforts in public outreach and science education.

For more on the Nancy Grace Roman collection, check out this blog post on materials relating to science communication and outreach for space telescopes that was featured at the the June 2024 Trimble Lecture featuring John Mather and Mark Clampin which also discussed the importance of advocacy and communication in gaining funding and support for space telescopes.

Archives of Scientific Journals

AIP holds many archival collections related to specific journal titles published by the American Institute of Physics and related societies. These often contain referee files, correspondence on publishing decisions, and behind the scenes documentation scientific publication.

Physical Review referee files, 1932-1943
Charts and logbook pages documenting the referee process of article submissions and letters to the editor of American Physical Society (APS) publication, The Physical Review.
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Referee files are closed for 50 years from the date of creation. For more information, see https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/aip-policy-preservation-journal-referee-files or contact the Library.
AAPT American Journal of Physics records, 1972-1985.
This collection contains referee reports on the review and revision of accepted and rejected manuscripts for publication in the American Journal of Physics, a publication of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).
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Referee files are closed for 50 years from the date of creation. For more information, see https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/aip-policy-preservation-journal-referee-files or contact the Library.
Physics of Fluids records, 1956-1981.
Correspondence and referee files. Correspondence of François N. Frenkiel (editor, 1958-1981) concerns the founding of the journal and other publication matters. Selected referee files from 1965 and 1975 contain rejected manuscripts and associated reviewers' reports. The Physics of Fluids is published by the American Institute of Physics.
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Referee files are closed for 50 years from the date of creation. For more information, see https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/aip-policy-preservation-journal-referee-files or contact the Library.
AIP Physics Today Division records, 1948-1971
Correspondence; clippings; memoranda; typescripts. The correspondence files (bulk dates, 1965-1971) of the editorial staff of PHYSICS TODAY are primarily concerned with the publication, editing, and scheduling of articles and letters appearing in the journal. The clippings document other press coverage of issues of concern to the staff of PHYSICS TODAY, including the activities of the House Committee on Un-American Activities (ca. 1952). The memoranda consist of internal reviews of articles and letters being considered for publication, while the typescripts are of selected articles and letters. Also contains biographical files of physicists, including obituaries and press releases on individuals.
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Permission of an officer of depositing organization required for access to records less than 25 years old

Audio Visual Materials on Science Communication

Peer Review: History and Issues [sound recording], 2016 March 14.
Audio recording of session A14 of the March 2016 annual meeting of the American Physical Society, held in Baltimore, Maryland in March 2016 on the history of Peer Review in scientific publishing.
50th anniversary of Physical Review Letters [audiorecording], March 2008.
Audio recording of session J2 of the 2008 APS March meeting, held in New Orleans, Louisiana which features a history of the Physical Review journal and a look forward to the future of scientific publishing.
History of the Communication of Science to the Public [sound recording], 2014 March 5.
Audio recording of session L38 of the March 2014 annual meeting of the American Physical Society, held in Denver, Colorado in March 2014. A series of talks on the evolution of science communication to the public through museums and media.
Discoveries and Breakthroughs Inside Science (DBIS)
The full run of the AIP Inside Science video series Discovery and Breakthroughs Inside Science (DBIS), which are news reports on a variety of scientific topics aimed at informing a general audience. Inside Science was a news service run by the American Institute of Physics.

AIP Publications at NBLA

AIP Journals
A link to our catalog showing the scientific journal titles we hold published by AIP and its member societies. These also include Russian and Chinese titles translated as part of the AIP Translation Journal program. For many of these we have full runs going back to the start of publication.
AIP Conference Proceedings
NBLA holds the full print run (1700+ volumes) of the AIP Conference Proceedings Series in our AIP Press Archive. Since 1970, AIP Publishing has assisted several organizations in publishing conference proceedings for conferences all over the world on a variety of topics related to the physical sciences. You can find them in our catalog under "AIP Press Books"
AIP Press Books
Books and monographs published by or in association with the American Institute of Physics can be found in our library stacks. While we do not have a full run of these publications you will find many of the AAPT educational handbooks, translation journals, and scientific monographs.
Member Society Publications
Many newsletters, bulletins, and informal publications by AIP and its member societies are located in the Archives in collections called "miscellaneous publications".

Foreign Language and Translations

Max Born Journey to Russia, 1945.
An account, in the form of diary excerpts, describing physicist Max Born's trip to the Soviet Union in 1945, which describes his observations of international science collaboration and communicating science across language and cultural barriers.
AIP Advisory Board on Translations Robert T. Beyer records, 1946-1966.
Collection of correspondence from the first chairman of the AIP Advisory Board on Translations on AIP's efforts to acquire and translate Russian journals. AIP began its program of translating Russian physics journals in 1955 with financial underwriting from the NSF in order to make the results of Soviet physics research widely accessible in the West. In 1981 a similar program was started for Chinese physics journals.