Allen Kent: Difference between revisions
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Kent was born in New York and attended City College of New York. | Kent was born in New York and attended City College of New York. | ||
He died May 1, 2014, | |||
== Relevant Employment == | == Relevant Employment == | ||
* [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology| | * [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] | ||
* Western Reserve University | * Western Reserve University | ||
* University of Pittsburgh (School of LIS) | * University of Pittsburgh (School of LIS) | ||
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== Awards == | == Awards == | ||
*[[ASIST|ASIS]]. Award of Merit, 1977. | |||
*[[ASIST|ASIS]]. Best Information Science Book, 1980. | |||
* | == Further reading == | ||
* | * A brief obituary and biographical statement is available at: [https://web.archive.org/web/20140730101601/http://www.asis.org/news/Allen_Kent.html] | ||
*Burke, Colin B. ''America's information wars: The untold story of information systems in America's conflicts and politics from World War II to the internet age.'' Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. | |||
*"Allen Kent," ''Wikipedia'' [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Kent] | |||
== Papers == | == Papers == | ||
University of Michigan, Rare books. Margaret (Smith) Warden papers. 1944-1987; bulk 1966-1985. 1.9 feet (ca.685 items). | |||
Revision as of 19:38, 26 January 2025
Credit: University of Pittsburgh Library System Digital Collections
Allen Kent (1921- 2014) was a pioneer of information science.
Life
Kent was born in New York and attended City College of New York.
He died May 1, 2014,
Relevant Employment
- MIT
- Western Reserve University
- University of Pittsburgh (School of LIS)
Contributions
Concerned with free-field searching; Realized need for vocabulary control especially when dealing with automated functions; Began developing a semantic code dictionary in 1951; 1953-55 worked on the telegraph abstract; Helped establish the Mark I Information Retrieval Service (based on the WRU System) 1960; Involved in pilot program to study the feasibility of a mechanized information service for educational research materials - led to development of ERIC; Established the Knowledge Availability Systems Center; 1971-1974 Chairman of Board of Trustees of EDUCOM; Co-editor of Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science.
(With Perry) associated with the discovery and pioneering of information science; 1955 went to WRU Center for Documentation and Communication Research with Perry; Worked on an elaborate coding system which involved "telegraphic abstracts;" This system included rules to aid in retrieval.
An extensive oral history interview with Kent was conducted in 1993 by the National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section and the tapes have been digitized and are available for listening at: https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3Aais196440.233 Content of the interview concentrates on his experiences as a Jew but also includes considerable discussion of his career in information science and work at Case Western Reserve University and the Univ. of Pittsburgh.
Kent's family has given permission for the selective publication of a majority of "The Memoirs of Allen Kent," written about 1995 (about 90 pages); see link below. Permission to quote from not required as long as source is cited.
Awards
Further reading
- A brief obituary and biographical statement is available at: [1]
- Burke, Colin B. America's information wars: The untold story of information systems in America's conflicts and politics from World War II to the internet age. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
- "Allen Kent," Wikipedia [2]
Papers
University of Michigan, Rare books. Margaret (Smith) Warden papers. 1944-1987; bulk 1966-1985. 1.9 feet (ca.685 items).