Brief History Of Library Automation: 1930-1996

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Term Paper Title	Brief History Of Library Automation: 1930-1996
# of Words	1602
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	6.41

Brief History of Library Automation: 1930-1996

Brief History of Library Automation: 1930-1996

     An automated library is one where a computer system is used to manage
one or several of the library's key functions such as acquisitions, serials
control, cataloging, circulation and the public access catalog. When exploring
the history of library automation,  it is possible to return to past centuries
when visionaries well before the computer age created devices to assist with
their book lending systems. Even as far back as 1588, the invention of the
French "Book Wheel" allowed scholars to rotate between books by stepping on a
pedal that turned a book table. Another interesting example was the "Book
Indicator", developed by Albert Cotgreave in 1863. It housed miniature books to
represent books in the library's collection. The miniature books were part of a
design that made it possible to determine if a book was in, out or overdue.
These and many more examples of early ingenuity in library systems exist,
however, this paper will focus on the more recent computer automation beginning
in the early twentieth century.

The Beginnings of Library Automation: 1930-1960
     It could be said that library automation development began in the 1930's
when punch card equipment was implemented for use in library circulation and
acquisitions. During the 30's and early 40's progress on computer systems was
slow which is not surprising, given the Depression and World War II. In 1945,
Vannevar Bush envisioned an automated system that would store information,
including books, personal records and articles. Bush(1945) wrote about a
hypothetical "memex" system which he described as a mechanical library that
would allow a user to view stored information from several different access
points and look at several items simultaneously. His ideas are well known as the
basis for hypertext and mputers for their operations. The first appeared at MIT,
in 1957, with the development of COMIT, managing linguistic computations,
natural language and the ability to search for a particular string of
information. Librarians then moved beyond a vision or idea for the use of
computers, given the technology, they were able make great advances in the use
of computers for library systems. This lead to an explosion of library
automation in the 60's and 70's.

Library Automation Officially is Underway: 1960-1980
     The advancement of technology lead to increases in the use of computers
in libraries. In 1961, a s...

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