40 years of IVF History: Opening up Access to the Louise Brown Archive (360G-Wellcome-210447_Z_18_Z)

The Louise Brown collection at Bristol Culture documents the birth and life of Louise Brown, the first baby born following conception by in vitro fertilisation, and her parents Lesley and John. A number of academics working on research projects in the field are interested in accessing the material, which crosses the boundaries of medical and social sciences. 2018 also marks the 40th anniversary of Louise’s birth, and we anticipate wider demand for the material as a result, particularly given an exhibition on IVF proposed by the Science Museum. Our overarching goal is to open up these records for research, to be achieved by: - professional cataloguing of archive and museum items, after which they will be available for public consultation in Bristol and for loan to the Science Museum - repackaging, preservation and conservation work to ensure access to the material long term - digitisation of audio-visual items which are currently inaccessible owing to their format and liable to deterioration - publicity to raise awareness of the catalogued collection via links with other archives and research centres - a display of selected material in permanent galleries at Bristol Culture's M Shed museum, launched by a public event with Louise Brown.