Mission & Values
Our mission is to preserve and share the untold stories of the computing industry.
We aim to identify overlooked contributors, trace the genealogy of ideas, and capture living memory into a structured, searchable record. We bridge academic rigor with grassroots passion, engaging collectors, enthusiasts, and pioneers to build a more complete history of how computing was created, and how it continues to shape our world.
In the AI era, this work takes on new urgency: the people who built foundational technologies are aging, and their firsthand accounts, artifacts, and institutional knowledge risk disappearing. The Society is committed to capturing these contributions and making them discoverable for researchers, educators, and the public. This is not just about the famous names, but also the teams, the failed experiments, the connections between ideas.
Values
Historical research and writing
- Scholarship, essays, and well-sourced narratives that clarify what happened and why it mattered
- Biographical research and verification, including dates, roles, and primary sources
Archival stewardship and curation
- Archival acquisition, processing, preservation guidance, and responsible use of primary materials
- Intentional curation of reference resources, including the Society's own datasets and collections
Public engagement and community participation
- Conversations, interviews, and curated discussions with pioneers and domain experts
- Member interaction and collaboration through online communities and live events
- Published episodic content such as newsletters and short-form updates through modern channels
Educational and cultural work
- Lectures, workshops, conferences, and courses
- Exhibits, museums, web projects, and other public-facing presentations of IT history
- Creative works that responsibly incorporate IT history as a theme, including films, plays, or novels
Collaboration and coordination
- Partnerships with museums, archives, academic programs, and other organizations active in IT history
- Efforts that reduce duplication by connecting people to existing collections and work already underway
