A History of Online Information Services, 1963‐1976

The history of the library/information sciences is a subject which does not receive the attention it deserves. Several authors have argued for the importance of this topic (see, for example, Harrison (1994), Black (1998), Newton and Dixon (1999) and Davis and Aho (2001)) but despite their efforts it does not have a high profile in research, scholarship and teaching. Even this Journal has, to an extent, ignored the topic, though it has published a limited number of excellent papers, usually emphasising information management or scientific information (see, for example, Line (1998), Black and Brunt (1999), and Muddiman (2003)).

There has been a debate as to which model is the most appropriate for the study of the history of these disciplines: a traditional “library history” model, generally focusing on particular institutions; a model more focused on information science; or a model more closely aligned with history per se, or with the history of the book (Black, 2001). As Buckland points out, in his foreword to the book reviewed here, though there are many different genres of history, and equivalently different kinds of historical publication, “the most basic need is for a basic chronology of what happened: who did what and when”. This nuts‐and‐bolts kind of history is what is given here: in Buckland's words, a “very detailed, factual narrative” of the early development of online searching.

It has to be said that the book is a magnum opus, including as much as one might ever wish to find out about its topic. It is based on extensive research, centring on interviews with those actively involved at the time, backed up by personal knowledge; Bourne himself has been deeply involved in the development of the online industry. There is also a seemingly exhaustive literature presentation.

The story starts with the initial “serious” application of computers to document retrieval in the late 1950s, when (slow) serial searches of small magnetic tape files containing bibliographic records were first made. The early R&D activities, often in military and governmental settings, lead to the experiments and prototypes developed in academic laboratories. Separate chapters then cover the development of the early systems – Lockheed DIALOG, SDC Orbit, Mead Data, and so on. The final chapters give contrasting views of the emerging online industry: the public view, and the situation “behind the scenes”. The time period seems an appropriate one. From a European, or at least a UK, point of view, it covers the “pre‐history” of online, up to the first (1977) London International Online Information Meetings, which may be taken as marking the emergence of online searching as a distinct and recognisable part of the information disciplines, at least this side of the Atlantic.

This reviewer found it intriguing, and salutary, to note how much of this history – which many of us may still think of, rather, as current affairs – has already been lost. The authors note how individuals' memories mislead them, over even a relatively short period of time. And in the early 1990s, seeking to set up twentieth anniversary celebrations, several online providers found that they no longer knew the dates on which they had first started commercial services.

The writing style is lucid and clear, and helped along by the inclusion of vignettes, asides and personal anecdotes. Nonetheless, the nearly 500 pages of the book present a formidable degree of detail. The authors help the flagging reader by presenting boxed yearly “milestones”; the most significant advances of each year.

It has to be said that the book is written very much from the US perspective. This is hardly surprising, since most of the developments described here happened in, or at least emanated from, the USA. This is not to suggest parochialism on the part of the authors: on the contrary, they are scrupulous in noting developments elsewhere in the world, usually the provision of access to US databases via international networks. The systems offered by the British Library, the European Space Agency and so on – generally fairly close equivalents of a US original – are mentioned at the appropriate time. However, most of the personal stories are American. Those of us who can remember, for example, the excitement generated by the first demonstrations of interactive searching of the National Library of Medicine databases by trans‐Atlantic link in the early 1970s, and also the (rather grudging) installations of the first “online terminals” within UK library schools, may feel that our stories are worth telling with the same degree of care and detail. Bourne and Hahn have given a marvellous example of how to do it.

This book will undoubtedly, in Buckland's words “remain the generally accepted account … [and] provide a framework for the work of others”. It can be recommended without hesitation to anyone wanting to know the “who did what, when and (for the most part) why” details of the early days of online. It is to be hoped that it acts as the spur for similar study and publication of other aspects of the information sciences.