Essay Archive - Brief History of Library Automation: 1930-1996
Brief History of Library Automation: 1930-1996
An automated library is one where a computer system is used to manage
one or several of the library's key functions such as acquisitions, serials
control, cataloging, circulation and the public access catalog. When exploring
the history of library automation, it is possible to return to past centuries
when visionaries well before the computer age created devices to assist with
their book lending systems. Even as far back as 1588, the invention of the
French "Book Wheel" allowed scholars to rotate between books by stepping on a
pedal that turned a ....
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