Collections

The records of the American Society of Indexers date from the organizations early years in the late 1960s to as recent as the 2000s, and document the members of the society as well as the society’s activities. The collection is comprised of the following series: Administrative Files, Correspondence, Committees, Meetings, Events, Publications, Chapters, Awards, Other Organizations of Interest, and Multimedia.

Administrative Files (1968-2000, 4 linear feet) documents the organizational activities of ASI including constitution and bylaws, elections, financial documents, general topical files, organizational history, membership, and policies and procedures.

Correspondence (1981-2000, .5 linear feet) consists of the ASI related correspondence of the organization's elected officials, as well as inquiries from members and non members.

The Committees (1974-2006, .5 linear feet) series is comprised of papers relating to and originating from various ASI committees.

Meetings (1981-2000, 1.5 linear feet) documents the meeting materials generated by the board of directors of ASI, and including agendas and minutes. Additionally, this series contains papers relating to business meetings and special meetings held by the organization.

Events (1982-2000, .5 linear feet) consists of papers related to various events held and attended by ASI, including annual meetings and conferences, professional development workshop, and various symposia and workshops.

The Publications (1961-2000, 2.25 linear feet) series is comprised of various documents published by ASI, including newsletters and registers. This series also contains correspondence relating to the newsletter, register, and other publications, as well as reports detailing publication sales.

Chapters (1983-1997, .25 linear feet) consists of papers documenting the various chapters of ASI spread throughout the United States, as well as chapter manuals and general chapter information.

The Awards (1978-2000, .25 linear feet) series documents the various indexing awards given out by ASI, as well as related forms and criteria for selection.

Other Organizations of Interest (1972-1997, .5 linear feet) documents numerous outside organizations with which ASI is affiliated or otherwise interested in. This series includes the newsletters of a number of these organizations.

Multimedia (1970-1995, 1 linear foot) consists of items in a variety of formats created by ASI, including photographs, audio cassettes, and microfilm. The photographs and audio cassettes largely document annual conferences.

ASIS&T (or ASIST) is a professional association which creates, organizes, disseminates, and applies knowledge regarding information and its transfer. ASIS&T was preceded by the American Documentation Institute (ADI), which was founded in 1937 with the goal of acquiring and indexing the knowledge of the world. Name changes followed in 1968 (ASIS) and 2000 (ASIS&T). The records consist of correspondence, business and financial documents, minutes, bylaws, memoranda, manuscript and printed journal articles, printed promotional material, microfiche, photographs, and audio and video tapes covering the society's activities (and those of its predecessor organizations) from 1925 to 2001, with the bulk falling between the 1930s through 2000. Organizational business affairs and activities, including the conceptual evolution of its purpose and mission, are well-documented in several series, most notably in the Council Files. These broad areas are also covered in the Committee Files, but in a more detailed fashion, focusing on specific activities or issues. This series also represents the scope of ASIS's liaison committees, ranging from the American Library Association to the Egyptian Society for Information Technology. Documents generated by ASIS-approved regional and student chapters and the organized professional groups within ASIS devoted to special interests (SIGs) are found in the large Chapter Files and Special Interest Groups series. The Publications series includes significant editorial and administrative documents as well as some manuscript submissions for the "Annual review of information science and technology, and the Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science." Special note may be made of the Special Libraries Association Merger Files which chronicle the history of the ultimately unsuccessful merger of ASIS and SLA. The main correspondents found in the collection include: Robert McAfee, Assistant Executive Director; Joshua I. Smith, Executive director (1973-1976); Bonnie Carroll, Councilor and President; Linda Resnik, Executive Director (1985-1988); Samuel Beatty, Executive Director (1976-1984); and John Brokenshire, ASIS Financial Officer.

For the purpose of clarity, the organization shall for the most part be referred to as "ASIS"--the name by which it has been known for most of its history and to which it is mainly referred in the records--throughout this section.

Throughout the record group, the year listed for a folder is often the fiscal year rather than calendar year. This is particularly so for records in the Financial series. The fiscal year for ASIS runs from October through September.

Materials relating to the work of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science and the 1979 and 1991 White House Conferences on Libraries and Information Services. Includes correspondence, committee files, clippings and subject files.