During the first half of the 20th century, Bell Telephone Laboratories (BTL) carried out an extensive research program aimed at improving the quality of telephone-transmitted speech. This effort was led by Harvey Fletcher who also served as the first president of the Acoustical Society of America. The contributions of Fletcher and his colleagues helped produce not only the world's leading telephone system but also built the foundation of the field of speech and hearing sciences.

This compact disc (CD) contains nearly 10,000 pages of internal documents generated at BTL during that era. These documents were recently discovered at the AT&T Archives, and are published here for the first time. The majority are scientific reports showing the extraordinary thinking and foresight of these world-class researchers. In addition to their historical importance, the documents also provide insight and clarity on topics of current interest to speech and hearing scientists.

Three categories of documents are included on the CD. Correspondence Files include letters and original correspondence files sent or received by administrators and researchers covering topics such as discussions of project plans and experimental results. Historical Documents include technical reports that were filed separately from the speech and hearing correspondence files. Laboratory Notebooks of R. Galt are included because of their depth, insight and detail.

Documents can be viewed using either the Netscape® Navigator or Microsoft® Internet Explorer browsers after downloading the DjVu plug-in from the Internet. Complete instructions are included on the CD.

The CD was compiled by Christine M. Rankovic and Jont B. Allen of AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey.

Price: Bell Telephone Laboratories Historical CD ROM @ $20/each postage included. Prepayment required by check or money order in U.S. dollars drawn on a bank in the U.S. or by Visa, MasterCard or American Express credit card.

Send orders to the Acoustical Society of America, Suite 1N01, 2 Huntington Quadrangle, Melville, NY 11747-4502, Tel.: 516-576-2360; Fax: 516-576-2377; Email: asa@aip.org.