THE PIONEERS OF INFORMATION SCIENCE IN THE USA

Abstract

This article, based on the American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) index of pioneers in Information Science in the USA, categorises the criteria for the choice of the names in this list and of others indicated by the ASIS&T in the “Album of cuttings” in which exponents of Information Science reflect and comment on their careers. To that end, it uses as instruments of comparison an article containing a brief history of Information Science; another on the most cited names in the field between 1972 and 1995 and the Proceedings of the meetings of the Georgia Institute of Technology in which are registered the names and the institutions of the participants in those events considered as bench marks for the field. After crossing data, some conclusions concerning the criteria adopted are formulated which in turn provide clues about the history of Information Science in the USA.