Documenting CAD History With CHM's Software Industry Special Interest Group

Abstract

From 2004 to the present, the Computer History Museum has enjoyed and tremendously benefitted from the work of its Software Industry Special Interest Group. The Group continues the work of the Software History Center, founded by Burton Grad and Luanne Johnson. The Group has been responsible for conducting nearly 150 oral histories and bringing important materials into the Museum's collections. The signature accomplishment of the Group has been its historical workshops, convening small groups (20 or fewer) of key participants in some facet of the history of the software industry to recount their personal experiences, and to exchange their views about the history of their field. These workshops are audio or video recorded, with the transcripts (and sometimes the recordings) made freely and publicly accessible by the Museum on the Web. Importantly, these meetings have served as the bedrock for the creation of many special issues of this journal.