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| You've got to start somewhere. Here I am starting the outline of the electrical cord that represents the timeline. |
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| It takes some planning. |
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| A lot of planning. |
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| Here's a close up of the finished cord. |
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| Sometimes I had companionship for my sewing. Not the most convenient companionship, but companionship all the same :) |
| Technology Chronology
Libraries have been around since ancient times. The
concept of the library has been relatively constant, in that a library is
usually recognizable as a library although admittedly there have historically
been different schools of thought as to its purpose. The library's technology has not exhibited
the same constancy, which is most assuredly beneficial. One can only imagine
how difficult it would be to locate a scroll or scratch information onto a clay
tablet. The following is a collection of events and/or objects that I deem to
be of importance in shaping the technology in use by libraries today. In a fit
of ironic fancy, I have decided to illustrate these events with stitchery,
which takes some extra effort, thus making me appreciate these technological
advances even more.
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Punch
Cards
“
The punched card was essentially a data-processing card through which holes
were punched in columns that related to specific data or facts” (Black, 2007,
p. 292). Notably used in 1936 at University of Texas Libraries, the system and
organization laid groundwork for later computerization (Pace, 2009, p641).
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Databases
Databases
could technically be traced back to the punched cards, however the first
word-based formats can be traced to the mid 1960’s as information in a variety
of formats was translated to magnetic tape (Neufeld & Cornog, 1986,
p.183). “This evolution of commercially
available database services continues today” (Griffiths & King, 2002,
p.37).
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MARC
Proposed
by the Library of Congress in the late1960's, MARC - Machine Readable
Cataloging was adopted in the early 1970's by a majority of libraries. MARC
provided a standard for libraries. MARC
was a key in “the transition from card to online catalogs” (Rayward, 2002,
p.7). MARC was key as it was compatible
with later library management software (Guy, 2007, p.65).
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Microcomputer
By the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, computers
decreased in physical size and there were improvements in speed (Tedd, 2007,
p.309). Advances in microcomputers allowed for the implementation of turnkey
library management software (Guy, 2007, p.65).
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ALS
An
automated library system is a “database to house and retrieve a library’s
holdings” (Kinner & Rigda, 2009, p. 401). These systems cannot be
considered advanced from today’s perspective but they were an important
stepping stone (Kinner & Rigda, 2007). “The period from the late 1970’s to
early 1980’s was marked by rapid growth in the number of libraries automating
their operations” (Borgman, 1997, p. 222).
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OPAC
Online
Public Access Catalog, an almost revolutionary concept that the public should
be able to access a library's catalog (Guy, 2007, p.67). Early OPACs provided
the ability to search by title, class number, or author (Black, 2007, p.318).
The first OPACs were most effective when searching for a known item (Tedd,
2007, p.310).
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CD-ROM
The
1980’s saw the introduction of CD-ROMs (Rayward, 2002, p. 13). CD-ROMs were
adopted as “a carrier for resources and for library catalogs” (McCallum, 2003,
p. 4). CD-ROMs are still used today as
carriers for computer programs.
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ILS
Integrated
library systems emerged as a merger of automated library systems and the online
public access catalog. The integrated library system was the answer for
librarians who felt that they had lost control over their collections with the
adoption of automated library systems (Kinner & Rigda, 2009, p. 403). An important event in library technology, it
was somewhat tarnished with the introduction and subsequent popularity of GUI
and the Internet (Pace, 2009, p.642).
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GUI
An
important development, GUI, remodeled the appearance of the (micro)computer
with rip-roaring success as it is still utilized today (Pace, 2009, p. 642).
GUI helped improve the standardization of OPAC interfaces in the early 1990's
(McCallum, 2008, p.4).
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Internet
Although
the Internet has existed in previous iterations, i.e. ARPANET, it was only when the Internet or the World
Wide Web emerged in the 1990’s, that there were “profound effects on electronic
publishing” (Griffiths & King, 2002, p. 37). Touted as the “most successful example” in
searching and data exchange, the Internet (WWW) introduced new possibilities in
scholarly communication, access of library materials, et cetera (Borgman, 1997,
p. 230).
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Wireless
Internet
Wireless
Internet allows the library to provide Internet access without being hindered by
the number of workstations that are typically high in demand (Bertot, McClure,
& Jaeger, 2008, p. 292). There is an increased need to implement Wi-Fi
hotspots in libraries. As mobile devices become more prevalent, users expect to
be able to access library websites or catalogs from their devices (Barnhart
& Pierce, 2011, p.280). Wireless Internet facilitates this process.
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Social
Media
Social
media in its various guises provides a new platform with which to interact with
library users. Twitter in particular allows for transmission of information
quickly and in real time (Aharony, 2010, p. 334). Information gathered from the
use of social media can help libraries make decisions concerning the library -
even decisions that involve adopting new technologies (King, 2012, p. 23).
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