A History of Information Storage and Retrieval

by Foster Stockwell

Overview

Throughout history, humans have sought ways not only to acquire but to preserve knowledge. From when to plant crops to who begat whom, even the earliest people worked to gather and store information. Today, computers and other technologies have almost completely changed the world of information access and storage. This history traces the development of knowledge-collecting from early humans, whose minds served as repositories of culture and lore, through the first libraries and encyclopedias, to the many advances of the twentieth century. Ironically it is with these latest advances that the preservation of knowledge has foundered. For example, CD-ROMs can last no doubt for decades--but the software programs that run them will not, because they are constantly being upgraded. Both well-known and obscure pieces of the information story are explored in this work. From Diderot's encyclopedia, to anonymous librarians of the ancient world, the people who created information storage systems and the systems themselves are all presented. Fully indexed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786482894
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	10/27/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	972 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The late Foster Stockwell was a publishing consultant for Chinese publishers and authors. He lived in Des Moines, Washington.
The late Foster Stockwell was a publishing consultant for Chinese publishers and authors. He lived in Des Moines, Washington.

Editorial Reviews

The acquisition and storage of knowledge always has been a key element in the development of human society. Stockwell, a publishing consultant for Chinese publishers and author of Encyclopedia of American Communes 1663-1963, gives us a concise overview of how the human race has collected, stored, and shared knowledge. At its core is the history of the encyclopedia, but on the edges it is much more. In the first chapter Stockwell discusses the limitations of human memory. He points out that the human brain is in a state of constant deterioration, which makes memory a poor instrument for the storage and retrieval of precise information. As Stockwell puts it, "knowledge has to be transmitted by deteriorating old minds to deteriorating young ones." He devotes the rest of the text to tracing the history of the storage of knowledge from earliest oral traditions to today's computers. He also discusses the collecting of books, the organization of knowledge, the uses and misuses of knowledge, education, the Bible, encyclopedias, the development of libraries, and the "Strange History of the Britannica." This is a very concise and readable book that hits upon the high points of the history of recorded knowledge how it is stored and how it is shared. Recommended for all library science collections. Tim Daniels, Asheville-Buncombe Lib. Syst., NC Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

This history traces the development of knowledge collection from early humans, whose minds served as repositories of culture and lore, through the first libraries and encyclopedias, to the many advances of the 20th century. Among the topics discussed: early Chinese and Greek civilization, the printing revolution, uses (and abuses) of the Bible, Francis Bacon, Denis Diderot, the , modern American encyclopedias, the growth of libraries, and the impact of computers. The author is a publishing consultant for Chinese publishers and authors. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

recommended”—Library Journal; “an interesting addition”—Public Libraries; “provides easy reading for a lay person interested in how knowledge is aquired and communicated”—ARBA; “very readable...written with evident knowledge and enthusiasm...would certainly recommend it”—Electronic Library and Information Systems; “fascinating stories...interesting information on encyclopedia-making”—The Indexer.

From the Publisher

provides easy reading for a lay person interested in how knowledge is aquired and communicated

ARBA

an interesting addition

Public Libraries