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Monday, October 21, 2024

2024 Undergraduate Summer Fellow: Gordon Lichtstein

The UCSF Industry Documents Library is pleased to highlight the work of 2024 Summer Fellow Gordon Lichtstein. Gordon is an incoming MIT student with an interest in the intersection of computer science and linguistics in NLP and the application of NLP for the betterment of humanity such as in environmental sustainability or the digital humanities.

Over the course of the 8-week internship, Gordon crafted and completed four distinct projects that leverage natural language processing and data science within the context of our JUUL Labs Collection and the broader IDL. Project One investigates the optical character recognition (OCR) accuracy of low-quality and handwritten documents in the absence of ground truth data. Project Two explores the implementation of embedding search algorithms and visualizations aimed at enhancing the relevance of document recommendations for users. Project Three employs txt-ferret to conduct a thorough scan of a substantial corpus of industry documents to identify sensitive information, including credit card numbers. Finally, Project Four assesses the biases present in large language model (LLM) summarization through the lens of sentiment analysis.

Read Gordon's entire report and reflection via eScholarship.

The IDL staff is deeply appreciative of Gordon's thoughtful and comprehensive contributions, as well as his engagement in team meetings and Amazon Web Services workshops. His projects and use of NLP techniques with our document corpus have greatly enriched our understanding.

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Season's Greetings! 2023 in Review

As 2023 comes to a close, we’d like to say a big THANK YOU to all of our researchers for your continuing support and connection to the Industry Documents Library.

We’re grateful for your interest in industry documents and for your participation in the IDL community, whether that’s through documents research, workshops and trainings, project partnerships, or strategic planning and guidance.

Here are some of the achievements you helped us reach in 2023:

18,387,011 documents now available through IDL!

  • In collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, we continued to acquire and make available millions of documents created by Insys Therapeutics disclosed in opioid litigation as well as a new collection of DEA materials for the UCSF-JHU Opioid Industry Documents Archive. This brings the total number of OIDA documents to 3.1M.

  • The UCSF-JHU Opioid Industry Documents Archive team was honored to be the 2023 recipient of the Archival Innovator Award given by the Society of American Archivists. The Archival Innovator Award recognizes an archivist, a group of archivists, a repository, or an organization that demonstrates the greatest overall current impact on the profession or their communities.

  • With the support of the UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment (PHRE), IDL added the new Talc Litigation Collection to the Chemical Industry Documents Archive. This initial set of 3,500 documents was obtained through investigations and lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson, which alleged that the company knew its talc products contained asbestos, a known toxin linked to ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.

  • At the closing of the MN Tobacco Depository in 2021, we identified a number of tobacco industry files and videos that were missing from our holdings. The Minnesota Historical Society conducted a search and a major digitization project on our behalf and we are so grateful for their efforts! This year we began adding these missing files to TTID and will continue to do so through 2024.

  • We welcomed J.A. Nelson to the IDL Team this year. J.A. is our Sr Front-end Web Developer helping to build an updated version of the IDL website. More details about this rebuild will be coming in 2024!

  • This summer, we hosted one Senior Data Science Fellow, Noel Salmeron, and two Junior Data Science Fellows, Adam Silva and Bryce Quintos, in collaboration with the UCSF Data Science and Open Scholarship team. As senior fellow, Noel utilized our audiovisual materials on IDL to evaluate the transcription accuracy of digital archives and the impact on documentation along with the creation of subject words and descriptions. Read more about this project on the Archives & Special Collections Brought to Light blog.

  • UCSF Magazine wrote a wonderful piece, Corporate Strategy, National Tragedy: UCSF’s industry archives expose the marketing tactics that fueled the opioid epidemic, featuring Professor Dorie Apollonio and her work with UCSF pharmacy students using the opioid industry documents.

  • We added 18 new publications which cite industry documents to our Bibliography, bringing the total number of citations to 1,174!
2023 was a busy year for workshops and webinars!
  • In May, we delivered our Annual Tobacco and Industry Documents Workshop.
  • Also in May, we had the pleasure of participating in the joint UCSF-JHU OIDA webinar "Exploring the Opioid Industry Documents: Research Communities, Educational Opportunities, and Community Data" (recording available)
  • In August, we assisted with a workshop on Breast Cancer and Industry Documents where advocates learned about a 1-year research project uncovering what industry knew about breast cancer risk and their products as well as new methodologies for research, advocacy and journalism collaborations.

From all of us at the IDL, we wish you a safe and festive holiday season, and a healthy and hopeful New Year ahead.

Kate, Rachel, Rebecca, Sven, Melissa and J.A.
Thursday, May 25, 2023

May 2023 Updates - Opioid, Food and Tobacco Documents


Collection Updates:

Opioid Industry Documents

The UCSF-JHU Opioid Industry Documents Archive (OIDA) added more than 34,000 documents to the Insys Litigation Documents collection. This documents drop contains emails and spreadsheets from 2014 discussing the many aspects of Insys's business activities, ranging from sales tracking spreadsheets to speakers bureau training.

The Insys collection ultimately will contain several million documents that are currently being processed chronologically. Processed documents are being made public on a rolling basis with monthly releases expected in 2023–2024.


Food Industry Documents

100 documents were added to the USRTK Food Industry collection today. These documents were acquired by US Right to Know (USRTK) during their ongoing investigations into the influence of large food and beverage companies on academic partnerships and government regulatory processes around sugary beverages and obesity, among other topics.


Tobacco Industry Documents

77 new depositions and trial testimony documents were added to the DATTA collection today. These transcripts were donated by Dr. Robert Proctor and come from his efforts as expert witness in tobacco and smokeless tobacco litigation.



Classes/Workshops:

Exploring the Opioid Industry Documents: Research Communities, Educational Opportunities, and Community Data

The recording of the May 5th webinar is now available on the event page!
Many thanks to Cecilia Tomori and Jason Chernesky for MC'ing this amazing event and to our wonderful presenters, Keith Wailoo, Kate Tasker, Adam Koon, and Gaurab Bhardwaj.

Thursday, April 20, 2023

April 2023 Updates - Insys Collection Surpasses 1.5 Million Mark!



Opioid Industry Documents Archive

The UCSF-JHU Opioid Industry Documents Archive added more than 100,000 documents to the Insys Litigation Documents collection. The documents are from 2013 and 2014 and document many aspects of Insys's business activities, ranging from sales tracking spreadsheets to speakers bureau training to Reimbursement Center emails.

This release brings the total number of public Insys documents to more than 1.5 million; the Insys collection ultimately will contain several million documents that are currently being processed chronologically. Processed documents are being made public on a rolling basis with monthly releases expected in 2023–2024.

Food Industry Documents Archive Update

735 documents were added to the USRTK collection today, bringing the total number of documents to over 41,000! These documents were acquired by US Right to Know (USRTK) during their ongoing investigations into the influence of large food and beverage companies on academic partnerships and government regulatory processes around sugary beverages and obesity, among other topics.



Spring Workshops
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Registration open for the Annual Tobacco and Industry Documents Workshop

Friday, May 12, 2023
9:30am - 2:15pm (PT)
This workshop will be a virtual event.

The UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education (CTCRE) will once again hold it's annual one-day workshop on using tobacco and other industry documents for advocacy. This popular workshop highlights how lessons learned from tobacco industry documents also apply to chemical, food, drug and opiate industries.

This year, the annual Tobacco and Industry Documents Workshop is collaborating with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and Breast Cancer Action to uplift the use of the Industry Documents Library for breast cancer advocacy, campaign development, and research collaborations.

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Join us on May 5, 2023 for Exploring the Opioid Industry Documents: Research Communities, Educational Opportunities, and Community Data. This event will feature a webinar where scholars will discuss how they successfully use OIDA and other Industry Documents Library (IDL) collections.
Webinar: May 5: 8am PT / 11 am ET.

Thursday, March 23, 2023

March 2023 Updates - Opioid & Food Industry Documents Added and Upcoming Spring Workshops


Opioid Industry Documents Archive update

The UCSF-JHU Opioid Industry Documents Archive (OIDA) has added another 224,322 documents to the Insys Litigation Documents collection.

This batch includes a large portion of documents from 2014, the year Insys began direct-shipping their fentanyl-based Subsys to C&R Pharmacy in Florida, a pill-mill owned by Drs. Couch and Ruan, two of the highest prescribers of Subsys in the United States.

This release is the sixth batch of Insys documents to be added to OIDA; the Insys collection ultimately will contain several million documents that are currently being processed chronologically. Processed documents will be made public on a rolling basis with monthly releases expected in 2023–2024.


Food Industry Documents Archive update

Over 7,300 new documents were posted to the USRTK collection today. This set of documents was donated by US Right to Know (USRTK) and acquired during their ongoing investigations into the influence of large food and beverage companies on academic partnerships and government regulatory processes around sugary beverages and obesity, among other topics.


Spring Workshops

Annual Tobacco and Industry Documents Workshop
Friday, May 12, 2023
9:30am - 2:15pm (PT)
This workshop will be a virtual event.

The UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education (CTCRE) will once again hold it's annual one-day workshop on using tobacco and other industry documents for advocacy. This popular workshop highlights how lessons learned from tobacco industry documents also apply to chemical, food, drug and opiate industries.

This year, the annual Tobacco and Industry Documents Workshop is collaborating with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies and Breast Cancer Action to uplift the use of the Industry Documents Library for breast cancer advocacy, campaign development, and research collaborations.

More information and upcoming registration link

Exploring the Opioid Industry Documents: Research Communities, Educational Opportunities, and Community Data
Friday, May 5, 2023
8am - 11am (PT)
This workshop will be a virtual event.

This event will feature a webinar where scholars will discuss how they successfully use OIDA and other Industry Documents Library (IDL) collections. We will conduct a hands-on virtual workshop that will help researchers navigate and explore OIDA’s rich collections.

Webinar: May 5: 8 am - 9:45 am (PT) Free and open to the public - Zoom Link
Workshop: May 5: 10 am - 11 am (PT). Registration is free, but space is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis.
Thursday, January 19, 2023

130,000 New Industry Documents Posted & New Fellowship Opportunities for 2023


OIDA Updates


Opioid Industry Documents Archive
We added 127,511 documents to the UCSF-JHU Opioid Industry Documents Archive's Insys Litigation Documents collection. These documents, which arise from Insys’s early years bringing the fentanyl spray Subsys to market (2012–2013), shed new light on the genesis of the company’s speaker program and reimbursement center (See the Insys At a Glance page for more information), both of which have featured prominently in litigation against Insys.

This release is the fourth batch of Insys documents to be added to OIDA; the Insys collection ultimately will contain several million documents that are currently being processed chronologically. Processed documents will be made public on a rolling basis with monthly releases expected in 2023–2024. Information arising from a December 2022 release (UCSF News, Johns Hopkins University News) served as the basis for reporting from USA Today.

Opioid Industry Documents Archive National Advisory Committee Update
We are pleased to welcome four new members to our National Advisory Committee, a group that supports the Archive through expert recommendations on the project’s development and sustainability pertaining to use, transparency, accessibility, impact, and other measures: Sandy Alexander (former Massachusetts Assistant Attorney General), Michelle Muffett-Lipinski (recovery advocate and Founding Principal, Northshore Recovery High School), Melina Sherman (communications scholar, Knology), and Anthony Ryan Hatch (Professor of the Science in Society Program, Wesleyan University). Many thanks to our outgoing NAC member Beth Macy (author of Raising Lazarus and Dopesick) for her remarkable service.


Food Industry Documents Updates

3,600+ New USRTK Food Industry Documents Added
The 3,634 new documents posted today were donated by USRTK and acquired in their ongoing investigations into the influence of large food and beverage companies on academic partnerships and government regulatory processes around sugary beverages and obesity, among other topics.

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2023 Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunities for Industry Documents Research - Apply Now!
We are pleased to share two 2023 postdoctoral fellowship opportunities at UCSF that will work with our collections.


Postdoctoral Fellowship in Opioid Industry Documents Research and Community Data Engagement - The UCSF OIDA Postdoctoral Fellow will pursue original, publishable research using materials housed in OIDA and work closely with the archive research team to enhance the accessibility and usability of archival materials for a diverse array of communities, with a particular focus on racial and health equity. Fellows will work on a multidisciplinary team including faculty, other postdoctoral fellows and research assistants and will be mentored by and work closely with researchers and information specialists at UCSF. Fellows will be based at the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education (https://tobacco.ucsf.edu/) and participate fully in the fellowship program. Fellows will also be affiliated with the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the UCSF School of Medicine (https://humsci.ucsf.edu/).

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Tobacco Control Research -
The CTCRE Postdoctoral Fellowship offers diverse educational and research opportunities, including a grant writing seminar, graduate research positions, advocacy training, and individualized documents training. Work spans policy and historical research, economics, and science. Fellows are recruited from a variety of fields including the basic sciences, social sciences, public health practitioners, clinical fields, political science, history, economics, law, and marketing. Fellowship stipends range from $55,500 - $66,600, depending on years of postdoctoral experience.

More about the fellowships and application submission

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UCSF Digital Health Humanities Pilot


The Digital Health Humanities Pilot (DHHP) will facilitate new insights into historical health data. Participants from all disciplines (including faculty, staff, and other learners) will learn how to evaluate and integrate digital methods and “archives as data” into their research through a range of offerings and trainings utilizing datasets from holdings within the UCSF Archives and Special Collections (including the AIDS History Project and Industry Documents Library, among others.)

Check out the workshops and sign up!

UC Love Data Week (February 13-17)

Want more information on working with data?
The UC-wide Love Data Week offers free sessions on topics such as data access, management, security, sharing, and preservation.

Friday, December 16, 2022

Our Year in Review... Goodbye 2022!

As 2022 comes to a close, we’d like to say a big THANK YOU to all of you for your continuing support and connection to the Industry Documents Library.

We’re grateful for your interest in industry documents and for your participation in the IDL community, whether that’s through documents research, workshops and trainings, project partnerships, or strategic planning and guidance.

This year we celebrated 20 years (!!!) of making industry documents available online and we appreciate all the ways you’ve worked with us to make the IDL stronger.

Here are some of the achievements you helped us reach in 2022:

17,508,831 documents now available through IDL!
We added 2.3 million new documents to the collections in 2022 -

  • 156 in Tobacco,
  • 20,924 in Food,
  • 2,293,591 in Opioids

  • In collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, we continued to acquire and make available millions of documents created by Insys Therapeutics, Mallinckrodt, McKinsey & Co, Walgreens and Purdue Pharma disclosed in Opioid Litigation for the Opioid Industry Documents Archive.

  • We welcomed two new additions to the IDL Team this year and are very grateful for their needed presence and contributions:
    Melissa Ignacio, IDL Program Coordinator
    Erik-Paul Gibson, IDL User Experience Designer

  • We delivered our Annual Tobacco and Industry Documents Workshop in May, and a follow up webinar to last year's Food Industry Documents Archive Training Institute to help global health advocates learn how to search and use industry documents in their work

  • We hosted three incredible summer interns: 2 SFUSD students as Junior Data Science Fellows and a graduate student as a Senior Fellow in a program cohosted by IDL and UCSF Library's Data Science Initiative.

  • In November, we participated in the first Everlaw Summit and were featured in a fireside chat titled “Seeking Truth & Healing in Our Nation’s Deadly Opioid Crisis.”

  • We added 27 new publications which cite industry documents to our Bibliography, bringing the total citations to 1,145!


  • If you’re able, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Industry Documents Library to help us preserve and provide access to the collections for years to come.


    From all of us at the IDL, we wish you a safe and festive holiday season, and a healthy and hopeful New Year ahead.

    Kate, Rachel, Rebecca, Sven, Melissa and Erik
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