| Title: |
The Role Of Computers |
| Author(s): |
Melcher, Daniel
|
| Subject(s): |
Publishers and publishing --United States
|
| Abstract: |
Several years ago, in 1963 to be exact, I drafted an advertisement
in which Bowker announced that any of its book information
could be had in any form, including punched cards, punched paper
tape, magnetic tape, or any other machinable form, including overthe-
wire service. The advertisement was repeated once or twice.
I think it will come as no surprise, however, that the only responses
were received from branches of the IBM company. The offer was
bona fide. We were already using punched cards and punched paper
tape in various ways and were fully prepared to deliver whatever
anyone might want at a nominal rate, just to lend a hand with any
experiments.
Four years have passed since that announcement and I must
confess that the future is still where it always was, although various
experiments have been tried. We were at one point supplying the data
on Forthcoming Books to the Library of Congress for magnetic tape
conversion. The idea was to help LC know when to expect books announced
for publication but not yet received for cataloging, but any
actual use of the data in this way by the Library of Congress is still
in the future. In another experiment we started supplying inventory
control data to forty college stores, covering Paperbound Books in
Print. Some of the data went out as punched cards, some in other
forms. It was and remains an "interesting experiment," if I may use
the conventional euphemism for "unsuccessful experiment." |
| Issue Date: |
1967 |
| Publisher: |
Graduate School of Library Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. |
| Citation Info: |
In K.L. Henderson (ed). 1967. Trends in American publishing; papers presented at an institute conducted by the University of Illinois Graduate School of Library Science, November 5-8, 1967. Urbana, Il: Graduate School of Library Science: 49-59. |
| Series/Report: |
Allerton Park Institute (14th : 1967) |
| Genre: |
Conference Paper / Presentation |
| Type: |
Text |
| Language: |
English |
| URI: |
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/1543
|
| ISSN: |
0536-4604 |
| Publication Status: |
published or submitted for publication |
| Rights Information: |
Copyright owned by Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 1967. |
| Date Available in IDEALS: |
2007-07-16 |
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