Access to the collection is unrestricted.
The Charles Babbage Institute holds the copyright to all materials in the collection, except for items covered by a prior copyright (such as published materials). Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provisions of the copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).
The records were given to the Charles Babbage Institute by the American Federation of Information Processing Societies in 1988, by Eddie M. Ashmore in 1991, by Howard Funk in 1991, and by Walter L. Anderson in 2002.
American Federation of Information Processing Societies Records (CBI 44), Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
The materials in this collection are arranged into the following groups:
Most materials are alphabetical within, with the exception of board of directors and conference board minutes, which are arranged chronologically.
The American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) was established on May 10, 1961, to advance and disseminate knowledge in the field of information science and to represent member societies on an international level in the newly formed International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP). The three founding societies of AFIPS were the Association for Computing Machinery, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, and the Institute of Radio Engineers (the latter two eventually merged into the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers).
AFIPS was managed by a board of directors, originally called the "Governing Board." Each member society had one to three directors on the board depending on the size of the society; each affiliated member had one director. Under this board were various committees including the executive committee, the education committee, the finance committee, and the awards committee.
AFIPS was an outgrowth of the National Joint Computer Committee, which was established in 1951 and sponsored the Eastern and Western Joint Computer Conferences (EJCC, WJCC). AFIPS took over major sponsorship of the semi-annual conferences beginning in 1962, and renamed them the Spring and Fall Joint Computer Conferences (SJCC, FJCC). The conferences were merged into one annual conference and renamed the National Computer Conference (NCC) in 1973. A conference board set the overall direction and policies of the conferences, coordinated the actions of the Conference Steering Committee and the National Computer Conference Committee, and referred problems to appropriate committees such as the finance and executive committees of AFIPS. The conferences featured technical sessions and exhibits relating to the field of information processing. The National Computer Conference was discontinued after 1987.
AFIPS also supported smaller conferences and workshops such as the Office Automation Conference (OAC), produced publications including the
AFIPS was dissolved in 1990. The IEEE Computer Society (IEEE-CS)
continued the Goode Award, and took over publication of
The American Federation of Information Processing Societies (AFIPS) records document the organization’s administration and activities, and the AFIPS-sponsored Spring and Fall Joint Computer Conferences (later the National Computer Conference). The records include budget and financial information, reports, board and committee minutes, conference materials, and publications. A few brochures, minutes and conference materials on the International Federation of Information Processing (IFIP) are also included.
Researchers should note that these materials include official AFIPS records as well as materials from the personal papers of several organization presidents: Walter Anderson (1972-1973), Eddie Ashmore (1987), and Howard Funk (1988-1990). For example, the majority of “Board of Directors Minutes” files include only the official minutes of the board and attachments, but some files also include notes, correspondence, and other materials gathered by Walter Anderson in his capacity as AFIPS president.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Contains organizational manuals, correspondence, budget and financial materials, legal documents, news releases, reports, and activity logs documenting AFIPS’ internal operations. Records documenting the curtailment of the organization’s activities due to financial difficulties in 1987, such as the reports of executive director John Gilbert, are included. Also included is a chronological set of “President’s Files” from Walter L. Anderson’s tenure as the organization’s president, 1972-1973, which provide good documentation of the background and reasons for the transition from the semi-annual Spring and Fall Joint Computer Conferences to the annual National Computer Conference.
Includes minutes, exhibits, and reports of the governing board, later called the board of directors. The board delegated authority to various committees, appointed committee chairmen, made overall policy decisions, and had final authority in any action taken by AFIPS. Also included are minutes of the 1966, 1967, and 1968 meetings of the "Federation," which seems to have been a member society group that seconded the actions of the board.
Committee files include correspondence, reports, agendas, minutes and exhibits from AFIPS Board committees, including the education committee, the finance committee, and the awards committee. The executive committee approved expenditures, negotiated on behalf of the board of directors, recommended appointments of committee chairs, and carried out other actions of the board; its activities are especially well documented, with materials covering 1964-1990.
Also included in the committee files are minutes, exhibits, and reports of subcommittees for the National Computer Conference Committee, a conference board committee responsible for the day-to-day planning and operation of AFIPS conferences. These materials contain detailed plans of each conference, such as information about proposed agendas, resolution of problems with exhibit space, arrangements for speakers, and other day-to-day items. Additional conference planning materials can be found with the “Conferences” materials and in the “Conference Board Minutes.”
Includes minutes from the Joint Computer Conference Board (JCCB); its successor, the National Computer Conference Board (NCCB); and the AFIPS Conference Board (ACB). On October 16, 1973 the JCCB, which was responsible for coordination of the Spring and Fall Joint Computer Conferences, became the NCCB when it decided to change its meeting format to an annual National Computer Conference. On March 3, 1980, the NCCB approved the creation of an AFIPS Conference Board to oversee all conference activities not directly part of the National Computer Conference. The ACB met in the afternoon following NCCB meetings and kept separate minutes until August 1982. For the next two years the ACB and NCCB held joint meetings. In 1985 the two boards again separated and each produced their own minutes.
Consists of conference programs and guides, brochures, planning files, reports, newspaper clippings, and publications. This series also includes brochures from the 1961 Western and Eastern Joint Computer Conferences, audience surveys, Joint Computer Conference and National Computer Conference guidelines manuals, and documentation of the dismantling of the National Computer Conference in 1987-1988.
Includes brochures and background materials for IFIP conferences and a set of minutes from the council and general assembly meetings held in 1987.
Includes AFIPS