Eugene Barnum Power: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:37, 19 January 2025

Eugene Power (1905-1993) was a US pioneer of microfilm.

Life

Eugene Barnum Power was born June 4, 1905 in Traverse City, Michigan. He received BA and MBA degrees from the University of Michigan.

Contributions

Eugene Power was involved in the founding in 1937 and later development of the American Documentation Institute, which was renamed American Society for Information Science, later Association for Information Science and Technology.

Power founded University Microfilm Inc. in 1938 and developed ""micropublishing." With the ability to generate print copies on paper the company helped to make out-of-print books available. The company became the publisher of record for all U.S. dissertations in 1951.

Power was asked by the Office of the US Coordinator of Information to help film enemy documents obtained by the British so that they could be shipped to the US during WWII.

In 1962 University Microfilms was acquired by the Xerox Corporation. Power continued to work for Xerox until his mandatory retirement in 1970 at the age of 65. The company he founded is now ProQuest.

By May 1942, Power brought all of the different Allied agencies interested in enemy publications import together and established the Executive Committee of the Aslib Microfilm Service. AMS was core of what Kilgour later developed as the OSS's microfilm supply of strategic German scientific publications. Power had worked for Edwards Bros (?) on replication on paper from microfilm. Between 1939 and 1945, Power advised a Rockefeller funded project to microfilm important British manuscripts at Oxford and Cambridge.

NMA | Pres., year?.

Publications

"The Manuscript Copying Program in England." American archivist, 7, no 1 (1944): 28-32. [1]
Edition of one : the autobiography of Eugene B. Power, founder of University Microfilms. Ann Arbor, Mich. : University Microfilms International, 1990.

Papers

University of Michigan. Bentley Historical Library, Ann Arbor. Eugene Power papers, 1937-1993. 145 linear feet & 1 vol. Finding aid [3].

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-== Life ==
+'''Eugene Power''' (1905-1993) was a US pioneer of microfilm.
-Eugene Barnum Power (1905-?)
-== Relevant Employment ==
-* Edwards Brother (reprint publishers) before founding UMI (Richards)
+== Life ==
+'''Eugene Barnum Power''' was born June 4, 1905 in Traverse City, Michigan. He received BA and MBA degrees from the University of Michigan.
 == Contributions ==
-Power founded University Microfilm Inc. in 1938. He wrote an autobiography, Edition of One. He was involved in the beginnings of American Documentation. He was asked by the Office of the US Coordinator of Information to help film enemy documents obtained by the British so that they could be shipped to the US during WWII.
+Eugene Power was involved in the founding in 1937 and later development of the American Documentation Institute, which was renamed American Society for Information Science, later [[ASIST|Association for Information Science and Technology]].
-By May 1942, Power brought all of the different Allied agencies interested in enemy publications import together and established the Executive Committee of the Aslib Microfilm Service. AMS was core of what Kilgour later developed as the OSS's microfilm supply of strategic German scientific publications. Power had worked for Edwards Bros (?) on replication on paper from microfilm. Between 1939 and 1945, Power advised a Rockefeller funded project to microfilm important British manuscripts at Oxford and Cambridge.
+Power founded University Microfilm Inc. in 1938 and developed ""micropublishing." With the ability to generate print copies on paper the company helped to make out-of-print books available. The company became the publisher of record for all U.S. dissertations in 1951.
-== Awards ==
+Power was asked by the Office of the US Coordinator of Information to help film enemy documents obtained by the British so that they could be shipped to the US during WWII.
-== Offices ==
+In 1962 University Microfilms was acquired by the Xerox Corporation. Power continued to work for Xerox until his mandatory retirement in 1970 at the age of 65. The company he founded is now ProQuest.
-* NMA | Pres., year?.
-== Papers ==
+By May 1942, Power brought all of the different Allied agencies interested in enemy publications import together and established the Executive Committee of the Aslib Microfilm Service. AMS was core of what Kilgour later developed as the OSS's microfilm supply of strategic German scientific publications. Power had worked for Edwards Bros (?) on replication on paper from microfilm. Between 1939 and 1945, Power advised a Rockefeller funded project to microfilm important British manuscripts at Oxford and Cambridge.
-'''LOCATION #1''' Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2113; search under: ''Power, Eugene Barnum, 1905-1993. Eugene Power papers, 1937-1993.''
-* Papers dates: 1937-1993
-* Size: 145 linear feet and 1 volume [outsize]
-* Includes:
-** Correspondence, agendas of meetings, memoranda, reports and printed material relating to his business and University activities;
-** Also photographs which are described in the Visual Materials File.
-** Power was founder and director of University Microfilms and also a member of the board of regents of University Microfilm.
-** An oral history interview was conducted with him in 1986 but appears to mostly relate to  his work as a member of the board of regents.
-* Finding aid: Finding aid in the library.
-* Source: RLIN
+* NMA | Pres., year?.
-'''LOCATION #2''' Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2113; search under: ''University of Michigan. Library. Library (University of Michigan) records, 1837- [ongoing].''
-* Papers dates: 1837- [ongoing]
+== Publications ==
-* Size: 204 linear feet and 1 oversize volume
+*"The Manuscript Copying Program in England." ''American archivist'', 7, no 1 (1944): 28-32. [https://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/7/1/28/2741990/aarc_7_1_c282357179n00444.pdf]
-* Includes:
+*''Edition of one : the autobiography of Eugene B. Power, founder of University Microfilms.'' Ann Arbor, Mich. : University Microfilms International, 1990.
-** Topical files, miscellaneous correspondence and reports, and business record books, 1886-1916.
-** Includes files of librarians/directors/deans Koch, Bishop, Rice, Wagman, Dougherty, Warnerm and Riggs.
-** Also includes assorted papers of earlier librarians, Brook and Davis.
-** Photographs described in the Visual Materials File.
-* Finding aid: Finding aid in the library.
-* Source: RLIN
+== Further reading ==
+*Power, Eugene. ''Edition of one : the autobiography of Eugene B. Power, founder of University Microfilms.'' Ann Arbor, Mich. : University Microfilms International, 1990.
+*"Eugene Power." ''Wikipedia'' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Power]
-'''LOCATION #3''' University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library, Michigan Historical Collections, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2113.
+== Papers ==
+University of Michigan. Bentley Historical Library, Ann Arbor. Eugene Power papers, 1937-1993.  145 linear feet & 1 vol. Finding aid [https://findingaids.lib.umich.edu/catalog/umich-bhl-852048].
-* Papers dates: 1937-1972
-* Size: 47 ft., 11 reels of microfilm (positive).
-* Includes: Correspondence, agenda of meetings, memoranda, and reports, relating to Power's Business and university activities. (Access restricted.)
-* Finding aid: Unpublished finding aid in the repository.
-* Source: NUCMC, MS 80-1529, p. 176.