ASIST
ASIST, the Association for information Science and Technology, is a professional association founded in 1937.
ASIST (or ASIS&T) is a professional association which creates, organizes, disseminates, and applies knowledge regarding information and its transfer. Established as the American Documentation Institute, the name was changed to American Society for Information Science in 1968, to American Society for Information Science and Technology in 2000, and as part of a move to become more international, is now the Association for Information for Information Science and Technology.
American Documentation Institute
On March 13, 1937 nearly sixty delegates of scholarly, scientific, and professional societies and government bureaus met at the US National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, at the invitation of [Watson Davis], director of Science Service, to discuss creation of an organization devoted to the idea of acquiring and indexing the knowledge of the world.
Initially, its primary interest was in microfilm as an aid to learning and the dissemination of learning. Involved in developing microfilm readers, cameras and services, ADI fostered negotiations and research which resulted in the "gentlemen's agreement" covering the duplication of copyrighted materials, the establishment of programs for the storage and reproduction of auxiliary materials in support of journal editors, and the support of international science communications.
ADI was a service organization whose members were nominated by and affiliated with scientific and profession societies, foundations and governmental agencies. A revival and modernization influenced by Luther Harris Evans, ADI President 1950-52, transformed ADI into a professional association with primarily personal membership in 1952. A more complete history can be found here.
ASIS(T)
The name was changed to American Society for Information Science in 1968, to American Society for Information Science in 2000, and as part of a move to become more international to Association for Information for Information Science and Technology in 2013.
Organization
Officers include a President, Board of Directors, and an Executive Director. Past Presidents are listed at [1].
The association has numerous local chapters and special interest groups ("SIGs"). All of these are liable to change over time. For current details see the ASIST website [2].
Works
ASIST serves its membership primarily through meetings, publications, and awards.
Meetings
The principal meeting is an annual conference meeting with published proceedings. For many years there was also an annual mid-year meeting, replaced in 2000 by an annual Information Architecture Summit [3], which became the Information Architecture Conference, a separate organization.
Chapters and SIGs provide programs with ASIST meetings, pre-conference events, and also organize separate meetings.
Publications (Selected)
ASIST makes current and recent publications available on its website [4] and through the Wiley Online Library [5]. Most past publications, other than American Documentation and the Journal, are available open access at the HathiTrust [6].
- The Journal of Documentary Reproduction, edited by Vernon Dale Tate, was published from 1938 to 1942 by the American Library Association, US affiliate of the International Federation for Documentation, to serve as an impartial source for the scientific aids to learning for the members of ADI.
- American Documentation, also edited by Vernon Dale Tate, was a revival by the American Documentation Institute of Journal of Documentary Reproduction to serve as a clearinghouse for information about documentation. Backfiles made available by ASIST through the Wiley Online Library [7]. In 1968 continued as the Journal.
- Journal, 1968- . Initially named the Journal of the American American Society for Information Science, the name has changed with each change of the association's name. Backfiles made available by ASIST through the Wiley Online Library [8].
- Proceedings of annual meetings. Some volumes at the HathiTrust [9].
- Bulletin, association news and short informative articles, published 1974-2017. Vols 1 (1974) - 13 (1987) available open access at the HathiTrust [10].
Vols 22 (1995) - 43 (2017) available open access at the ASIST Digital Library [11]
- Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 1 (1966) - 45 (2011). Excellent specialized literature reviews. Available at the HathiTrust [12]. Additional reviews are now occasionally published in the Journal.
Awards
ASIST and its Chapters and SIGs confer numerous awards. The Award of Merit, the association's highest honor, is a lifetime achievement award that recognizes sustained contributions to and/or achievements in the field of information science and/or the professions in which it is practiced. For list of past recipients see [13]
Other awards include the Best Information Science Book Award; the Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award; and the Watson Davis Award for Service to the Association. For details of these awards and recipients see the ASIST website [14]
Further Reading
- ASIST website. [15]
- Association for Information Science and Technology Wikipedia. [16]
- La Barre, Kathryn. "Bibliography of the History of ASIS&T." (2019) [17].
- Farkas-Conn, Irene S. (1990). From Documentation to Information Science. The Beginnings and Early Development of the American Documentation Institute – American Society for information Science. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. A thorough account of the founding and early decades of ADI-ASIS. [18]
- "ASIS 50th anniversary issue" [Special issue] Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science 14, no. 5 (June/July 1988). Very detailed and factual with many portraits.
Papers
- University of Michigan Hatcher Library. The Special Collections Research Center. American Society for Information Science and Technology Records, 1925-2001 (majority within 1937-2000). [19]