Burroughs Corporation Records

Product Literature, 1910-1984

(Bulk: 1961-1982)

CBI 90

Series 74

Collection size: 72.2 cubic ft. (73 boxes)

Creator: Burroughs Corporation

Prepared by: Susan A. Stepka and Caroline Gasser, February 1997; Updated by Kevin Irving, April 2006

Acquisition: The records were given to the Charles Babbage Institute by Unisys Corporation in 1991, accession 991-35.

Access: Access to the collection is unrestricted.

Copyright: The Charles Babbage Institute holds the copyright to all materials in the collection, except for items covered by a prior copyright (such as published materials). Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provisions of the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred Citation: Burroughs Corporation Records, Product Literature (CBI 90), Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Historical Note

Collection contains manuals for a number of different Burroughs computer systems, including the B6700, the B7000/B6000/B5000 families, and large systems in general. They concentrate on the programming languages (ALGOL and COBOL), but also contain primers on CANDE, WFL, and the DMSII system.

Scope and Content Note

Product Literature is a very large collection within the Burroughs records. It is divided into seven series: General, Software, Government/Defense, A Series, A & V Series, Miscellaneous, and Chronological . The literature includes both brochures, used mainly for promotional and advertising purposes, and manuals, documentation that would assist users in operating the machine. General product literature is arranged by computer name and thereafter by date. Software is arranged alphabetically by program name and thereafter by date. Government/Defense, A, and A & V series are all arranged alphabetically. The Miscellaneous series is arranged alphabetically and includes material , with an alphabetical section at the end to accommodate those computers or other machines (ATLAS, ILLIAC, etc.) that didn't fit into the alphanumeric computer identification scheme of the General series. Chronological is arranged by year and does not offer title access. The amount of computer literature for each computer varies, thus the finding aid has varying degrees of descriptiveness. For a computer with a lot of manuals,identification is at the item level. For computers with fewer manuals, the folders are simply identified by year. Additonal research time may be needed to use this collection to verify the existence or edition of specific manuals. Also, researchers should search this document in a word processing program to find all possible occurrences of a specific computer. 

Index Terms

Box and Folder List

Product Literature: General

Product Literature: Software

Product Literature: Government/Defense

A Series Manuals

Product Literature: A & V Series

Product Literature: Miscellaneous

Product Literature: Chronological File