Completed Projects Funded by ITHS
CEO John Thompson
was a critical figure in the
history of Symantec's first 25
years, prepared by ITHS
on behalf of the company.
Current ITHS policy is to not undertake historical projects,
for ITHS does not want to compete with other individuals and
organizations working in the IT history field. Instead, ITHS
aims to provide support in various ways to a variety of individuals
and institutions working in the IT history area. The only example
of programmatic effort by ITHS is to organize conferences that
help to build a sense of community and provide a place for the
community to address issues of common concern.
Throughout its history, with few exceptions, ITHS (and its predecessor
organization CBF) have not carried out projects themselves but
have instead played a supporting and enabling role to others
by providing financial support, arranging access to records and
individuals, and helping with publicity.
Thus the projects listed below, other than the ITHS conferences,
are ones that ITHS (or CBF in the past) has supported in various
ways, not carried out itself.
CONFERENCES
Software History Workshop
In 2003 CBF, together with the Software History Center,
sponsored a special workshop in Palo Alto, CA to discuss collection
development and historical research related to software. The
aim of this meeting was to get a better sense of what various
organizations are doing to advance software history, increase
communication between these organizations, and avoid duplication
of effort. Participating in the workshop were the Association
of Computing Machinery, Charles Babbage Foundation, Charles Babbage
Institute, Computer History Museum, Hewlett-Packard Archives,
Indiana University, IEEE Annals of the History of Computing,
IEEE History Center, IFIP, Internet Archives, Smithsonian Institution,
Software History Center, Stanford University, and University
of Maryland. This workshop is exemplary of a series of
occasional workshops CBF has supported over the years.
More
information on the 2003 workshop
HISTORICAL RESEARCH PROJECTS
IBM Rochester History Project
CBF arranged an opportunity for Arthur Norberg and
Jeff Yost of the Charles Babbage Institute to write a history
of IBM Rochester, the facility that produced the highly successful
AS/400 midrange computer system. The 50-page history, completed
in 2007 and focusing on innovation at IBM Rochester, has been
widely distributed to company employees, customers, and vendors.
The project also resulted in the production of 17 oral histories
with IBM executives and engineers.
More
information on the project
More
information on the project
Software History Project
In 1997 CBF formed a Software History Task Force under
the direction of George Glaser that made a set of field-shaping
recommendations. Drawing on these ideas, the Charles Babbage
Institute developed and submitted a successful research proposal
to the National Science Foundation. The project, conducted by
CBI between 1999 and 2004, created an online dictionary of software
history, initiated an online journal (iterations), and
conducted 32 research-grade oral history interviews with software
pioneers. CBI staff also published a 2000-item bibliography in
software history.
More
information on the project
Symantec History Project
CBF convinced Symantec Corporation to undertake professional
archival and historical activities in association with its 25th
anniversary. The result was a website that contains a history
and timeline of the company. CBF arranged for the archival work
to be carried out by Pennington Ahlstrand and the historical
work to be conducted by William Aspray.
Visit
the website
Technology Company Corporate History Project
In conjunction with the Computer History Museum and the Software
History Center, and with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation,
CBF initiated a two-year project in 2004 to explore use of
the World Wide Web to capture information about technology
companies participating in the IT industry. The project was
completed for the Sloan Foundation in 2006 but continues as
an activity of the Computer History Museum.
An
announcement of the project
More
information
FELLOWSHIPS
The Adelle and Erwin Tomash Fellowship in the History
of Information Processing
Beginning in 1978, CBF sponsored a fellowship in the
history of information, which was administered by the Charles
Babbage Institute. Many active scholars in the field launched
their careers through this fellowship.
A
list of the fellowship recipients
PROFESSORSHIPS
ERA Land Grant Chair in History of Technology
Working through CBF, key CBF Trustees and others endowed a named
professorship at the University of Minnesota. The chair is
held by the director of the Charles Babbage Institute, who
also is a professor in the program in the history of science
and technology. The chair is currently held by Thomas Misa
and was formerly held by Arthur Norberg and Robert Seidel.
PUBLICATIONS
CBI-Tomash Reprint Series in the History of Computing
A book series, co-published by Tomash Publishers and MIT Press,
reprinted classic works important in the historical development
of the computing field.
A
list of the publications in the series
ARCHIVAL COLLECTIONS
Auerbach Associates Collection
CBF regularly helps archives to collect important records
important in the documentation of the history of information
processing. One example is the Auerbach Associates Collection,
which CBF helped the Charles Babbage Institute to acquire. Auerbach
Associates, Inc., founded by Isaac L. Auerbach in 1957, was one
of the earliest systems design and software companies formed
in the United States. It grew to become a major consulting firm
in the computer industry and was known for its series of subscriber
publications relating to industry overviews, market analyses,
computers, peripherals, and software. The collection contains
private consulting reports commissioned by government agencies
and corporations on software, hardware, and information technology
industries.
A
description of the Auerbach Associates collection |
