View source for National Federation of Abstracting and Indexing Societies


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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>ORGANIZATION:</b></td>

<td><font size=+1>National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services</font></td>
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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>ACTIVE DATES:</b></td>

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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>ADDRESS:</b></td>

<td>1518 Walnut St., Suite 307, Philadelphia, PA 19102-3403&nbsp;</td>
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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>E-MAIL:</b></td>

<td>nfais@hslc.org.</td>
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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>PERSONS INVOLVED:</b></td>

<td><b>[[Dale Burdette Baker|Dale Baker]]</b></td>
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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>MAJOR PROJECTS:</b></td>

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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>OTHER INFORMATION:</b></td>

<td>Founded in 1958, the National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services (NFAIS ) is a membership organization made up of more than 60 leading information publishers, producers, and providers. Its purpose is to serve the world's information community through education, research, and publication.
<p>Stella Keenan, NFAIS Executive Director from 1968 to 1974, once commented
on the NFAIS name. "The 'Federation,'" she said, "sounds like a galactic
mass born out of Star Wars, although in reality it was born out of Sputnik
. . ."
<p>The year was 1957. The Soviet Union had just launched the world's first
spacecraft. Suddenly, everyone west of the USSR was focused on international
competitiveness in science and technology. It was generally acknowledged
that information would be the key . . . high-quality, reliable sci-tech
information.&nbsp;
<p>As the United States mobilized to create a new information infrastructure
to promote scientific innovation, G. Miles Conrad, Director of Biological
Abstracts--now BIOSIS--called an urgent meeting of leading not-for-profit
and government scientific abstracting and indexing services.&nbsp;
<p>Conrad implored the assembled group to join forces, cooperate, and interact,
so that together we could make rapid progress in achieving national priorities
while at the same time promoting the international advancement of science.
As a result, the Federation was formed. From the ensuing cooperative efforts
of Federation members the world's first computer-assisted publishing efforts
were innovated, the world's first electronic databases were developed,
and the world's first online services were deployed. The Information Age
was born.&nbsp;
<p>Today--nearly 40 years after the birth of NFAIS--social, economic, and
political forces are once again driving change in the scholarly publishing
world. Once again, the newspapers are full of talk about the need for a
national information infrastructure, this time to be built around the "new"
electronic media that NFAIS members helped invent
<p>In the last year alone, the once esoteric terms "online" and "Internet"
have risen to the status of household words. The Internet--which is growing
increasingly synonymous with "online"-- promises a global information highway
for the sale and distribution of information and other goods and services.
But it also opens the door to new competitors, including information pirates.
And it challenges existing institutions--publishers, libraries, and other
information providers--to reinvent themselves and their products and services
for the new age. There has never been a more important time for the Federation
to exist. There has never been a more urgent need for information publishers,
producers, and providers to collaborate. The Federation provides the context.&nbsp; <br>

<b>Federation Activities</b><br>

The Federation dedicates itself to the enhancement and advancement of the
scholarly publishing community by:
<ul>
<li>
facilitating the exchange of information among NFAIS members</li>

<li>
presenting the collective opinion of NFAIS members to the public</li>

<li>
promoting NFAIS members and the role they play in the information community</li>

<li>
sponsoring timely and topical conferences, seminars, and courses</li>

<li>
publishing newsletters, books, report series, and codes of practice for
new technologies</li>

<li>
encouraging cooperation among the players in the information community</li>
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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>SOURCE:</b></td>

<td>NFAIS home page</td>
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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>PAPERS AT:</b>
<br><b>LOCATION</b></td>

<td>Temple University Library, Philadelphia, PA.</td>
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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>PAPERS DATES:</b></td>

<td>&nbsp;1958-1985</td>
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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>SIZE:</b></td>

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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>INCLUDES:</b></td>

<td>The records of this international federation of abstracting and indexing
services includes corporate
<br>&nbsp;bylaws and meeting minutes, correspondence, membership directories,
reports, speeches,
<br>&nbsp;manuscripts, conference proceedings, and financial records.&nbsp;
The archives have been arranged into fourteen series including: the Board
of Directors Files (1958-1984); the NFAIS Assembly (1971-1984); NFAIS Committees,
Task Forces and Working Groups (1962-1985); Membership and Member Organizations
(1968-1985); Annual Conferences (1964-1984); Seminars (1969-1984); Manuscripts
and Correspondence (1963-1985); Publications (1958-1986); Special Projects
(1959-1983); Liaison Organizations (1959-1985); Unaffiliated Organizations
(1969-1985); Other Meetings (1969-1984); and Personnel and Professional
Papers (1970-1985). The records include papers and talks given by prominent
leaders within the organization including; Toni Carbo Bearman, Raymond
A. Jensen, Stella Keenan, M. Lynne Neufeld, and John W. Senders. Frequent
references are made to the following organizations including; Syracuse
University School of Information Studies, American National Standards Institute,
American Society for Information Science, and the Miles Conrad Memorial
Lectures.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<br>Note: The National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services
grew out of a conference convened in Philadelphia in 1958 by the director
of BIOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS, G. Miles Conrad. The original membership of fourteen
scientific abstracting and indexing services organized to improve the documentation
of scientific and technological literature and to foster the exchange of
information among scientists worldwide. The goals are pursued through a
variety of activities including; conferences, publications such as the
NFAIS NEWSLETTER, research projects, and seminars. The membership has been
broadened to 50 organizations, including humanities and social science

agencies.&nbsp; Indexes Register-Descriptive inventory.</td>
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<td VALIGN=TOP><b>SOURCE:</b></td>

<td>Temple University Library Web catalog</td>
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