Scope and Content Note

This series consists of 180 cassette tapes of varying lengths arranged chronologically. It also includes recording notes made by Dreyfus staffers on 142 tapes, 118 abstracts prepared by the Assembly Democratic Caucus (the abstracts were called alternately “LSD Meets the Press” and “The Vest Meets the Press”), and 32 abstracts prepared by State Historical Society of Wisconsin (SHSW) staff during mastering of the tapes. The SHSW abstracts cover tapes not notated by Dreyfus staffers, but duplicate some Caucus abstracts because the latter were not acquired until after most of the tape mastering had been completed.

There are five incomplete indexes for this collection:

Indexes

1. The most extensive, although not easily accessed, collection of abstracts were created by the Assembly Democratic Caucus. Although these are frequently couched in partisan terms, they provide the most complete coverage of Dreyfus' press conferences. They are arranged chronologically by the date of each conference.
2. A Topic Index (Series 2104) created by Dreyfus' staff covers 62 press conferences from October 1980 to July 1982. Subject headings (such as “Agriculture,” “Health and Social Services,” et cetera) are arranged alphabetically with specific topics under them keyed to counter locations on individual tapes.
   Note: Missing as of August 5, 2010.
3. Approximately 57 press conferences conducted between January 15, 1981 and March 18, 1982 were indexed by the Assembly Democratic Caucus (Series 2105). Subject headings, arranged alphabetically, are keyed to individual tapes by the date of the press conference. No reference is made to specific locations of subjects on individual tapes.
   Note: Missing as of August 5, 2010.
4. During preservation mastering, 32 tapes were abstracted by SHSW staff. Tapes which had no accompanying notes made by Dreyfus staffers were selected for abstracting. For each tape, the subjects are listed in the order in which they were discussed by Dreyfus.
5. 142 sets of recording notes created by Dreyfus staffers have been arranged chronologically. Because the notes were written hastily and by several different staff members, they are not always legible nor complete. Topic headings are indicated in a majority of the notes. However, some list only the first few words of significant passages.