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Created page with "'''DATES:''' 1919-2006 ----'''WORKED AT:''' Datatrol Corp.; LC ----'''OTHER INFORMATION:''' A systems analyst hired by LC to work on developing the MARC format; She was a key person in this effort; Lilley-Trice consider her important in the area of information science as it is applied to libraries; Lilley-Trice cite her work on MARC I & II, and RECON, as well as her efforts toward a national information network, as her principal contribution; Active in IFLA--held offi..."
 
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'''DATES:'''
'''Henriette Avram''' (1919–2006) was an US computer programmer who developed the MARC format.
[[File:Henriette Avram.jpg|alt=Henriette Avram|thumb|Henriette Avram]]


1919-2006
== Life ==
----'''WORKED AT:'''
'''Henriette Davidson Avram''' was born on October 7, 1919 in Manhattan, New York city. She majored in pre-medicine at Hunter College for two years during the 1930s. In 1952 she joined the National Security Agency as a systems analyst and an early computer programmer. She also took advanced mathematics classes at George Washington University. She later worked as a systems analyst and programmer at the American Research Bureau and then at Datatrol. At Datatrol, her attempt to organize the firm’s library brought her into contact with cataloging concepts. Becoming more and more interested in the idea of a bibliographic utility — a tool for sharing automated, cataloged information about books -— in 1965 she took a position as a systems analyst at the Library of Congress, where she led the development of the Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) format for communicating library catalog data. She died on April 22, 2006 in Miami, Florida.


Datatrol Corp.; LC
== Contributions ==
----'''OTHER INFORMATION:'''
Avram is known for her role in developing the MARC format, an international communications protocol. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MARC_standards] Completed at the Library of Congress in 1968 the MARC has a complex structure that makes it extremely compact. It was implemented in 1971 and adopted as a US national standard (NISO/ANSI standard Z39.2,), became the international standard (ISO 2709) in 1973 and continued to evolve in conjunction with cataloging rules and standards for bibliographic description. The MARC format had a profound effect because it enabled the sharing of bibliographic records between quite different local library systems.


A systems analyst hired by LC to work on developing the MARC format; She was a key person in this effort; Lilley-Trice consider her important in the area of information science as it is applied to libraries; Lilley-Trice cite her work on MARC I & II, and RECON, as well as her efforts toward a national information network, as her principal contribution; Active in IFLA--held offices.
== Publications ==
----'''AWARDS:'''
Google Scholar lists many publications [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Henriette+D.+Avram%22]


* 1971 Margaret Mann Award(ALA); 1977 Academic/Research Librarian of the Year(ALA). Other awards, as listed in Wikipedia:
*"Fields of information on Library of Congress catalog cards: Analysis of a random sample, 1950-1964." With  K. D. Guiles & G. T. Meade. ''Library Quarterly'' 37, no. 2 (1967): 180-192.
* 1971 Margaret Mann Citation in Cataloging and Classification from the American Library Association
*''The MARC II Format: A Communications Format for Bibliographic Data.'' With others. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1968. ERIC report ED 024 413. [https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED024413]
* 1974 Federal Women's Award
*''The MARC Pilot Project. Final Report.'' Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1968. ERIC report ED 029 663. [https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED029663.pdf]
* 1977 Honorary Doctorate of Science from Southern Illinois University
*''MARC; its History and Implications.'' Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1975. ERIC report ED 127 954. [https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED127954.pdf]
* 1979 Academic/Research Librarian of the Year from the Association of College and Research Libraries
*"Authority control and its place." ''Journal of academic librarianship'' 9, no. 6 (1984): 331-35.
* 1980 Achievement in Library and Information Technology Award from Library and Information Technology Association
*"The Linked Systems Project: Its Implications for Resource Sharing." ''Library resources and technical services'' 30, no. 1 (1986): 36-46.
* 1981 Melvil Dewey Medal from the American Library Association
* 1986 Appreciation Award from the National Central Library of Taipei, Taiwan
* 1987 Honorary Fellow of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
* 1988 Joseph W. Lippincott Award
* 1989 Distinguished Executive Service Award from the Senior Executives Association Professional Development League
* 1989 National Information Standards Organization Fellow
* 1990 John Ames Humphrey/Forest Press Award
* 1990 Professional Award from the Special Libraries Association
* 1991 Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Rochester Institute of Technology
* 1992 Distinguished Service Award from the Library of Congress
* 1992 Meritorious Service Award from the American National Standards Institute
* 1993 Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
* 1997 Honorary Life Membership in the American Library Association


----'''OFFICES:'''
== Offices ==
Avram served on the Board of Directors of the Library Information Technology Association (LITA) and the [[ASIST|American Society for Information Science]].


Served on Board of Directors for LITA and '''ASIS'''.
== Awards ==
----'''PAPERS AT:'''
Henriette Avram received numerous awards from professional associations and other institutions, including three honorary doctorates. Many are listed in the ''Wikipedia'' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henriette_Avram]


'''LOCATION #1'''
== Further reading ==
*"Henriette D. Avram" ''LISWiki'' [https://liswiki.org/wiki/Henriette_D._Avram]
*"Henriette Avram" ''Wikipedia'' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henriette_Avram]
*Schudel, Matt. "Henriette D. Avram; Transformed Libraries." [Obituary] ''Washington Post'' (April 28, 2006) [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/27/AR2006042702105.html] Reprinted in the ''Library of Congress Information Bulletin'' 65, no 5 (May 2006) [https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/0605/avram.html]
*Dwoskin, Beth. "Henriette Avram: Innovative Librarian 1919 – 2006." ''Jewish Womens Archive'' [https://jwa.org/weremember/avram-henriette]


Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
== Papers ==
 
*Library of Congress Archives, Washington, DC. Henriette D. Avram MARC development collection, 1964-1989. MSS86180. Materials related to the development of the MARC (MAchine-Readable Cataloging) standard and related international standards. [https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadlca.lc017002]
'''PAPERS DATES:'''
 
1966-1980
 
'''SIZE:'''
 
124 cubic feet
 
'''INCLUDES:'''
 
Title of collection: "MARC Archives;" Documents the work of the MARC program; These are essentially the office files of the program; Files are open with no restrictions.
 
'''FINDING AID:'''
[[File:Henriette Avram.jpg|alt=Henriette Avram|thumb|Henriette Avram]]
A detailed description inventory is available from LC for a fee. Also includes 1 tape recording about her work at LC. <nowiki>http://lccn.loc.gov/00579849</nowiki>

Latest revision as of 15:26, 30 March 2025

Henriette Avram (1919–2006) was an US computer programmer who developed the MARC format.

Henriette Avram
Henriette Avram

Life

Henriette Davidson Avram was born on October 7, 1919 in Manhattan, New York city. She majored in pre-medicine at Hunter College for two years during the 1930s. In 1952 she joined the National Security Agency as a systems analyst and an early computer programmer. She also took advanced mathematics classes at George Washington University. She later worked as a systems analyst and programmer at the American Research Bureau and then at Datatrol. At Datatrol, her attempt to organize the firm’s library brought her into contact with cataloging concepts. Becoming more and more interested in the idea of a bibliographic utility — a tool for sharing automated, cataloged information about books -— in 1965 she took a position as a systems analyst at the Library of Congress, where she led the development of the Machine Readable Cataloging (MARC) format for communicating library catalog data. She died on April 22, 2006 in Miami, Florida.

Contributions

Avram is known for her role in developing the MARC format, an international communications protocol. [1] Completed at the Library of Congress in 1968 the MARC has a complex structure that makes it extremely compact. It was implemented in 1971 and adopted as a US national standard (NISO/ANSI standard Z39.2,), became the international standard (ISO 2709) in 1973 and continued to evolve in conjunction with cataloging rules and standards for bibliographic description. The MARC format had a profound effect because it enabled the sharing of bibliographic records between quite different local library systems.

Publications

Google Scholar lists many publications [2]

  • "Fields of information on Library of Congress catalog cards: Analysis of a random sample, 1950-1964." With K. D. Guiles & G. T. Meade. Library Quarterly 37, no. 2 (1967): 180-192.
  • The MARC II Format: A Communications Format for Bibliographic Data. With others. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1968. ERIC report ED 024 413. [3]
  • The MARC Pilot Project. Final Report. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1968. ERIC report ED 029 663. [4]
  • MARC; its History and Implications. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1975. ERIC report ED 127 954. [5]
  • "Authority control and its place." Journal of academic librarianship 9, no. 6 (1984): 331-35.
  • "The Linked Systems Project: Its Implications for Resource Sharing." Library resources and technical services 30, no. 1 (1986): 36-46.

Offices

Avram served on the Board of Directors of the Library Information Technology Association (LITA) and the American Society for Information Science.

Awards

Henriette Avram received numerous awards from professional associations and other institutions, including three honorary doctorates. Many are listed in the Wikipedia [6]

Further reading

  • "Henriette D. Avram" LISWiki [7]
  • "Henriette Avram" Wikipedia [8]
  • Schudel, Matt. "Henriette D. Avram; Transformed Libraries." [Obituary] Washington Post (April 28, 2006) [9] Reprinted in the Library of Congress Information Bulletin 65, no 5 (May 2006) [10]
  • Dwoskin, Beth. "Henriette Avram: Innovative Librarian 1919 – 2006." Jewish Womens Archive [11]

Papers

  • Library of Congress Archives, Washington, DC. Henriette D. Avram MARC development collection, 1964-1989. MSS86180. Materials related to the development of the MARC (MAchine-Readable Cataloging) standard and related international standards. [12]
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