Herbert Marvin Ohlman

Herbert Marvin Ohlman (1927-2002) was an American information systems specialist.

Image of Herbert Marvin Ohlman

Life

Herbert Marvin Ohlman was born Ohlman worked at: Battelle 1955-57; SDC 1957-60; Lockheed 1960-61; IBM 1961-62; Itek 1963-64; Xerox 1964-67; Cemrel 1967-69. He was also a consultant in information science and technology 1969-?. He wrote programmed texts to teach computer simulation language 1962. He organized and directed programs in computers in education, 1968.

Contributions

Ohlman was co-developer (with H.P. Luhn) of KWIC/permutation indexing in 1957-58, which was done in parallel to Luhn's work. He wrote programmed texts to teach computer simulation language. He also developed a system to compare diverse information systems (activity spectrum). His professional interests included: analysis, design, evaluation of information systems.

Publications

• "Low-cost production of marginal punched cards on accounting machines." American Documentation 8, no 2 (1957): 123-126.
• Educational Computer Trends in the Cemrel Region Analysis and Recommendations. ERIC Report ED031937. 1969.
• Proceedings of a Symposium on the Uses of Computers in Education. ERIC Report ED031936
• Communication Media and Educational Technology: An Overview and Assessment with Reference to Communication Satellites. ERIC Report ED053540. 1971.
• "Information: timekeeping, computing, telecommunications and audiovisual technologies." In: An encyclopaedia of the history of technology. Ed. by I. McNeil. London: Routledge, 1990, pp. 686-758.
• "Mechanical indexing: A personal remembrance." In: Proceedings of the 1998 Conference on the History and Heritage of Science Information Systems. Ed. M. E, Bowden, T. B. Hahn & R. V. Williams. Medford, NJ: Information Today, 1999, pp 187-192.

Offices

• American Documentation Institute. Special Group on Education for Information Science, Chair, 1966-67; Special Interest Group on Information Retention, Chair, 1967.

Further reading

• Williams, Robert V. "Hans Peter Luhn and Herbert M. Ohlman: Their Roles in the Origins of Keyword-min-Context/Permutation Automatic Indexing." Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 61, no 4 (2010): 835-849.
• "Obituary: Herbert Ohlman." Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 28 no 6 (Oct 2002): 6.

Papers

• University of Minnesota Libraries. Charles Babbage Institute Archives. CBI 179: Herbert Ohlman Papers. [1] [2]
• Some papers relating to his work at the System Development Corporation (SDC) may be found in the SDC archives.
• World Health Organization. Herbert Ohlman Papers. Geneva, Switzerland. [Not verified.]