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Computer Technology in the Library: A Chronology

Introduction If asked when libraries began integrating technology into their operations, the likely answer from most people would be the early 1990s, when the Internet achieved mass popularity, along with the laptop computer, both of which have since gained ubiquity, becoming symbols of our modern society; others will go back a decade, at around the time when personal computersor, microcomputers, as they were called back thenwere being further developed and introduced for home and office use. But, according to Dech (2012),

many historians believe that the use of technology in libraries dates back to the introduction of the Dewey Decimal Classification in the late nineteenth century, during which time the card catalog was also being adopted by libraries to manage information. By keeping

information organized through their unique designs, both the Dewey Decimal System and the card catalog helped to later ease libraries into the modern age of computers and the Internet, a process that may have proved more difficult without them. These two systems, Starting with the

it can be argued, set the stage for the computer revolution that followed.

use of punched cards in libraries in the 1930s, up to the present, this chronological timeline will highlight important events that gave shape to the development of computerized automation in libraries. The Development of Library Automation: A Graphical Timeline

1930s

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Many historians consider the adoption of an invention by an American statistician and inventor named Herman Hollerith to be the start of library automation. Although the punched (or punch) card was not invented by Hollerith and had already existed, he patented its use for data analysis, along with a tabulating machine to read the cards, a sort of mechanical precursor to the electronic computer (Williams, 2002). Starting in the 1930s, punched cards were widely used for many years in libraries for circulation, serials, and cataloging, functions that have since been taken over by computers (Murley, 2009, p. 5).

1950s

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In 1945, an influential American engineer and inventor named Vannevar Bush published a now-famous article titled As We May Think, in which he outlined his vision of a computer; or, as he called it, a memex (Wilson, 2006). In the article,

he describes a memex as a device that, using translucent screens and a keyboard, and sets of buttons and levers, can store and display information with exceeding speed (Bush, 1945, p. 4). Many years would elapse before Bushs vision of what was essentially a desktop computer came true, but the production of the first commercial electronic computers was just around the corner (Wilson, 2006). Although the first computers manufactured in the 1950s were large mainframes, libraries were able to use this technology to take the initial steps toward automation. The computer age had begun.

1960s

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As computers became more advanced and widespread in the 1960s, so did library automation. With the creation of MARC (Machine-Readable Cataloging) in the 1960s by the Library of Congress, library automation gained tremendous momentum. Developed throughout the decade as a digital format for reading

and recording bibliographic records, the MARC cataloging data format eventually became the American standard (Beall & Mitchell, 2010). According to McCallum (2002), MARC took data sharing to new levels and enabled exploitation of future computer developments to create todays online catalog environment (p. 34).

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Another important event from this decade was the founding of the OCLC (Online Computer Library Center). Originally established as the Ohio College Library Center, the OCLC was created to provide access to information through a computerized library network system. Today, more than 60,000 libraries in 112

countries and territories around the world use OCLC services to locate, acquire, catalog, lend and preserve library materials, allowing information seekers to obtain bibliographic, abstract and full-text information when and where they need it (Online Computer Library Center, n.d.). Along with MARC, the OCLC was

a central player in the development of library automation, laying the foundation for the modern digital age of the World Wide Web and the Internet (Rayward, 2002).

1980s

By the early 1980s, the large computers of the 1950s had given way to smaller,

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faster microprocessors, or personal computers.

Although the first personal

computers (PCs) were built in the early 1970s, it would take another decade before PCs are mass produced for commercial use. As PCs continued to be developed throughout the 1980s, they became even faster and more streamlined, ultimately resulting in the ubiquitous portable devices that most of us today are dependent on (Chapman, 2010). Few would argue with Burkes (2009) assertion that todays

modern library is unimaginable without the personal computer as both a staff resource and as a means for the public to access library resources (p. 18).

Developed in the 1960s and the 1970s, the OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) was not widely used by libraries until around the early 1980s, making card catalogs obsolete. An electronic catalog, the OPAC allowed users to find information about a librarys entire collection using a computer terminal located inside the facility (Antelman, Lynema, & Pace, 2006). Marked by improved interfaces, this

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second generation OPAC of the 1980s was a vast improvement over the first generation of the previous decades, giving patrons the flexibility to search by keyword, with the aid of Boolean operators (Husain & Ansari, 2006).

1990s &Beyond

Originally developed in the late 1960s, 1995 is generally recognized as the year the Internet was commercialized. Since its introduction to the general public, the

Internet has significantly changed our modes of communication, how information is stored and disseminated, and the way we seek and retrieve information. Perhaps no

other recent technological innovation has affected librarianship to such an extent as the Internet, forever changing the way libraries and librarians meet the demands of their patrons (Impact of Internet on Library and Information Services, n.d.). By

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providing libraries with a greater access to a wider range of information, increased speed in acquiring information, greater complexity in locating and linking information, and the ability to provide information remotely, the Internet has allowed libraries the opportunity to provide faster and more sophisticated service to their patrons (Rao & Babu, 2001).

Coinciding with the growth of the Internet in the 1990s was the increased demand for OSS (Open Source Software). Although OSS had been around since the 1960s, it was not until the 1998 that the term open source was coined, when Netscape released the source code for its browser (History of the OSI, 2012). By enabling

changes to its code, and because it does not depend on any particular hardware or operating system platform to function, libraries are able to customize open source software to meet their specifics requirements without the need to purchase additional equipment, resulting in useful savings in time and valuable resources (Barve & Dahibhate, 2012). Barve and Dahibhate (2012) note the significance of this

application by stating that it is vitally important for libraries to adopt as many OSS

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as they can in order to participate in, and encourage, the growing movement of sharing information globally with open standards and open formats (p. 408).

Conclusion Since their earliest beginning, libraries have been informed by technology. From papyrus scrolls and the printing press, to the card catalog and the Internet, libraries have always found ways to make use of the latest in human ingenuity. But, as digital technology

continues to develop at an almost breakneck speed in the twenty-first century, how will libraries cope with the multitude of new innovations yet to come? the past to predict the future? Will they look back to

Or, will they follow societal trends and hope for the best?

With so much new technology already here, and many more to arrive, it should be interesting to see how libraries solve this dilemma in the coming years.

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References Antelman, K., Lynema, E., & Pace, A. K. (2006). Toward a twenty-first century library catalog. Information Technology & Libraries, 25(3), 128-139. Barve, S., & Dahibhate N. (2012). Open source software for library services. DESIDOC Journal Of Library & Information Technology, 32(5), 401-408. Beall, J., & Mitchell, J. S. (2010). History of the representation of the DDC in the MARC classification format. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly, 48(1), 48-6. Burke, J. (2009) Neal-Schuman library technology companion (3rd edition). Chicago: Neal Schuman. Bush, V. (1945). As we may think. Atlantic Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/ Chapman, C. (2010). The history of computers in a nutshell. Retrieved from http://sixrevisions.com/resources/the-history-of-computers-in-a-nutshell/ Dech, L. (2012). Technology in libraries: Past and present. PNLA Quarterly, 76(2), 56-60. Hane, P. J. (2004). Project Gutenberg progresses. Information Today, 21(5), 28-52. Husain, R., & Ansari, M. (2006). From card catalogue to web OPACs. DESIDOC Bulletin Of Information Technology, 26(2), 41-47. History of the OSI. (2012). Retrieved from http://opensource.org/history Impact of internet on library and information services. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://ir.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/handle/1944/279/Inf_5.pdf McCallum, S. H. (2002). MARC: Keystone for library automation. IEEE Annals of the

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History of Computing, 24(2), 34-49. Murley, D. (2009). A selective history of technology in law libraries. Law Library Journal, 101(3), 415-420. Online computer library center. (n.d.). In New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Online_Computer_Library_Center Rao, K., & Babu, K. (2001). Role of librarian in internet and world wide web environment. Informing Science, 4(1), 25-34. Rayward, W. B. (2002). A history of computer applications in libraries: Prolegomena. IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 24(2), 4-15. Williams, R.V. (2002). The use of punched cards in US libraries and documentation centers, 1936-1965. IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, 24(2), 34-49. Wilson, K. (2006). Computers in libraries: An introduction for library technicians. New York: Haworth Information Press.

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