computer technology in the library

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Running head: Computer Technology in the Library

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,

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

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 statisticianand 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 Bushpublished 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 libraryautomation. 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 (OnlineComputer 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).

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

1980s


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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).

Originally developed in the late 1960s, 1995 is generally recognized as the year theInternet 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

1990s &Beyond


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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 forOSS (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? Will they look back to

the past to predict the future? 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
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/http://sixrevisions.com/resources/the-history-of-computers-in-a-nutshell/http://sixrevisions.com/resources/the-history-of-computers-in-a-nutshell/http://sixrevisions.com/resources/the-history-of-computers-in-a-nutshell/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/


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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.). InNew 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.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Online_Computer_Library_Centerhttp://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Online_Computer_Library_Centerhttp://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Online_Computer_Library_Center


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