News from the Archives
Archivist’s Activities
This past June saw the fruition of two years worth of planning I put in as chair of the 50th annual Preconference of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). Held in Charlottesville, VA, the site of the first preconference (it’s called the preconference because it traditionally just precedes the annual meeting of the ALA), this special anniversary event allowed me to focus the attention of the rare book and manuscript communities of librarians, archivists, rare book dealers, publishers, and conservators on the significant changes faced by the associated professions in the 50 years since that first meeting and where we stand in respect to contemporary changes. Seas of Change: Navigating the Cultural and Institutional Contexts of Special Collections brought together plenary speakers addressing a wide range of topics: publishing and the popular consumption of print materials; the practical and legal details of large-scale digitization efforts; and issues faced by academic research universities, independent research libraries, the scholarly community, library educators and professional organizations, and book collectors and dealers. These sessions were supplemented with a range of seminars, discussion sessions, workshops, short papers, and tours. For the first time in the history of the preconference, digital audio recordings were made of many sessions and these are available online, along with copies of slide presentations, the formal conference program, and a special keepsake publication on the history of the preconference. Those interested can find these materials at: <rbms.info/conferences/preconfdocs/2009/2009docs.shtml>.
Collections News
The past year proved busy and very exciting in respect to CBI’s collections. While we received a large number of collections, a few require special attention for the significance of their contents, size, and provenance. Of special note are the important print publications – books and journals – added to CBI’s holdings. Traditionally conceived as simply an archive – or a place for personal papers and corporate records – CBI did not actively collect published materials, except for the occasional reference work and monographs on computer history. The historical importance of published materials in computing and related fields requires us to rethink this approach to materials. It is especially important because, due to the speed of advances in computing, materials appear to go “out of date” fast, often faster than their ability to attain the patina of historical significance that allows other types of published work to be seen as “collectible.” By way of example, think about all of the books and articles written before the turn of the millennium when people were concerned about “Y2K.” As of January 1, 2000, those materials seemed irrelevant to contemporary life and in some cases were removed from collections, but less than a decade later we can look back at what was a significant societal concern – or obsession. It is our responsibility as curators to ascertain what contemporary materials will reveal about the computer industry, and the society in which it continues to develop, in order to see what may be of historical significance to future scholars. That said, there are now decades-worth of materials whose historical value is readily evident but that were not previously acquired for CBI’s holdings, and so it is with gratitude that we acknowledge the collections acquired by those with the foresight to do so and offered so generously to CBI’s research communities.
Erwin and Adelle Tomash Collection
The collection recently donated by Erwin and Adelle Tomash includes books and off-prints published on the history of computing and computation since 1954. Many significant areas are covered in this collection, including early materials on digital and analog computers, the computer industry, biographies of significant individuals (Alan Turing and Ada Lovelace), cybernetics, game theory, graphics, artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, and societal issues around computing. Also well represented are materials that discuss precursors and foundational concepts and machines that led to modern computing, such as “computing before the computer,” ready-reckoning, slide-rules, ancient and cross-cultural computational methods (Japanese, Chinese, Indian), typewriters, business machines, printing, and electricity. Although these materials are of a relatively recent date many are rare, being hard to find materials illustrating early and perhaps forgotten (although historically important) concepts or expanding on the often limited resources known in specific topics (such as the lives and work of Turing and Lovelace). The collection is currently in process; information about specific titles held will be posted on the CBI website as it becomes available.
Carl Machover Papers
Carl Machover is a computer graphics pioneer, internationally known spokesman for electronic graphic display, author, editor, and principal of Machover Associates, a computer graphics consultancy founded in 1976. The archive consists of 245 linear feet 
containing the extant business records of Machover Associates (including correspondence with many of the most influential computer companies in the United States), approximately 600 video tapes and CDs, about 300 related books, and long runs of pertinent periodicals. This archive documents the development of the computer graphics industry from the early 1970s to the beginning of the 21st century. Subjects addressed in the collection include 3-D imaging, applied graphics, color graphics, data processing, ergonomics, visual games and entertainment, image processing, modeling and animation, multimedia, output and display devices, computer graphic presentations, electronic and optical publishing, high speed scanning, computer art, global positioning systems, robotics, weather simulation technology, virtual reality, all segments of computer-aided design and manufacturing, and a great deal on ACM SIGGRAPH. This collection is also currently in process; information about specific titles held will be posted on the CBI website as it becomes available.
Michael S. Mahoney Papers
This past summer, we received a large collection of books, journals, and archival materials from the collection of Mike Mahoney, an eminent historian of science, mathematics and computing at Princeton University from 1967 to 2008. The collection is wide-ranging, reflecting Mahoney’s eclectic scholarly interests, and includes his personal papers and manuscripts as well as nearly 500 rare books and reference works in the history of computing and information technology. Special thanks are due to Mahoney’s wife, Jean, for this fascinating collection of materials.
James W. Cortada Collection
In April 2009 I drove to Madison, Wisconsin, to examine a collection of materials acquired by historian and CBI donor and supporter, Jim Cortada. Jim’s sales pitch for the materials, while typically interesting and enlightening, was hardly necessary as the significance of the materials was apparent. In August I drove a 15-foot furniture moving truck to Madison to pick up the collection, which consists of 204 cubic feet of books, journals, and newsletters acquired from decommissioned regional IBM research libraries – including a complete run of newsletters from the IBM users’ group SHARE.
Association for Computing Machinery Records
Although acquisition of the records of the Association for Computing Machinery was announced previously in this publication, it was on August 10, 2009 that the Charles Babbage Institute proudly announced the availability of the online finding aid for the collection: Association for Computing Machinery Records, 1947-2007 (CBI 205) at <purl.umn.edu/51982>. Everyone at CBI remains very excited to make this collection accessible and we invite scholars to make use of the materials on-site or to make inquiries and requests for information via phone, email, or IM on the CBI website, www.cbi.umn.edu
I would like to thank Pat Ryan and the ACM for their generosity with this collection and its processing. I would also like to thank Loralee Bloom, project archivist, for all of her wonderful work on the collection, as well as her student assistant Valerie MacDonald, whom CBI was fortunate enough to retain after completion of the project and who will - no doubt - prove immensely valuable in our exhibition ventures.
Stephanie Crowe and Valerie MacDonald are preparing online and physical exhibits about the history of ACM, featuring materials from this and related CBI collections. The on-site exhibit will be on display in the atrium of the University of Minnesota’s Elmer L. Andersen Library, January 11 – March 5, 2010. Further information about both exhibits – and associated receptions – will be posted on the CBI website as it becomes available.
Arvid Nelsen