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History of Information Science

Dr. Eugene Garfield (b.1925) is associated with the discovery and pioneering of information science.

This page draws together a variety of different types of activities and projects related to the History of Information Science and technology as they have been documented on the Internet. These projects and activities represent the work of organizations, associations, and, particularly, individual historians with an interest in the history of Information Science and technology. If you know of additional projects or activities that should be linked from this site please inform me, using the e-mail link provided below.

Bibliography of the History of Information Science and Technology, 1900-2004 8th edition
This is a revised and updated “edition” of previous versions of this bibliography.  This edition combines the North American and international citations that were previously listed separately.

Chronology of Chemical Information Science
Web version of a two-part poster on the topic. Funded by the Chemical Heritage Foundation, Philadelphia, and the Univ. of South Carolina College of Library and Info. Science. Originally published in 1999 and updated on this site.

Chronology of Information Science and Technology 
Draft version created by Robert V. Williams, Jan., 2001. Includes links to images to some of the equipment and people mentioned.

Conference on the History and Heritage of Science Information Systems (1998) Conference sponsored by the Garfield Foundation, Chemical Heritage Foundation, and the National Science Foundation, Nov., 1998. The print edition of the Proceedings is available from Information Today, Inc.

From Documentation to Information Science / The Beginnings and Early Development of the American Documentation Institute-American Society for Information Science
This book examines the emergence of documentation/information science in the United States through the activities of the American Society for Information Science (ASIS). It traces the origin of ASIS in post-World War I Washington, the beginning of the organization in the 1930s as the American Documentation Institute (ADI), and its early activities. The work then explores the remarkable organization of science and technology during World War II that affected scientific communication,and follows the activities in the post-war era, which led to ADI’s reorganization as a professional society in 1952. The last chapter sketches ADI’s critical period following the reorganization and concludes with a look at the organization and the profession as the 1990s begin.

The History and Heritage of Scientific and Technological Systems: 2002 Conference Proceedings
Conference sponsored by the Garfield Foundation and the Chemical Heritage Foundation, held in 2002 in Philadelphia.

International Perspectives on the History of Information Science and Technology
Proceedings of the ASIS&T 2012 Pre-Conference on the History of ASIS&T and Information Science and Technology

Pioneers of Information Science
Project funded by the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) and the Univ. of South Carolina College of Library and Info. Science to locate and document the archives and personal papers of individuals and organizations (predominantly in the USA and Canada) considered significant to the history of Information Science and Technology in the 20th century. Site originally created in 1996 and updated on a regular basis.

Termatrex Information Retrieval System Demonstration Video (15 minutes)
(Netscape users need to open Windows Media Player first and then type in URL).  Id and Password: mcis@deis.sc.edu  ; DAVIS (use uppercase only)

What has Information Science contributed to the World? A Continuing Discussion 
This page documents and continues the discussion initiated by Trudi Bellardo Hahn, ASIS&T President, 2002-2003, on the question of the types of contributions IS has made to the world.)

Links to other valuable history of Information Science and technology Web sites: