About ASIS


ONLY ASIS BRIDGES THE GAP BETWEEN ALL INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS
***************************************************************
ASIS is a professional society for information professionals.  There are
about 4000 members, including students.  The membership includes educators,
librarians, and those in the information career field, as well as those who are
retired, or are working in other areas.  

What an irony, that a profession advocating the development, sharing and use of
information remains so isolated.  Amazing techniques and technologies evolve
daily in the fields of library and information science, communications,
networking technologies, and computer science.  Yet, as isolated groups,
information professionals in one field often are insulated from
developments in others.

ASIS is the only professional society that bridges the gap between one
discipline and another . . . between the diverse needs of researchers, developers
and end users . . . and between the challenge and opportunities associated with
emerging technologies and applications.


ASIS PROVIDES THE PEOPLE,
PROGRAMS AND PUBLICATIONS THAT KEEP YOUR CAREER MOVING FORWARD

Whether you need to improve your productivity through better information
retrieval, satisfy the information needs of your clients and constituents,
or need to understand or affect information policies, ASIS is the only
organization that can help you address all of these diverse needs.

*  LEARN ABOUT the most exciting developments, not just in your specific
   field, but across the entire scope of the information science...

*  GET A HEAD START on evaluation of new technologies for enhanced
   productivity, separating fads from coming trends.  Make proactive,
   not reactive decisions...

*  ADVANCE YOUR WORK to the next level.  Locate researchers to compile or
   analyze the data your must have.  Find developers and consultants with
   technology, advice and solutions you need.  Or find end users who need
   your product...

*  GAIN INSIGHT from the opinions and analysis of the nation's leading
   professionals on topics ranging from abstracting, indexing and
   artificial intelligence to international transborder data flow...

*  PREPARE for changing consumer needs, economic globalization, policy
   shifts and increasing competition so you can maximize opportunities...

*  CONTRIBUTE to the development of policies and standards that affect you
   and your field...

*  HEAR FROM OTHERS who have employed new techniques to solve chronic
   problems...

*  LEARN HOW to manage your career, your staff and your department through
   an outstanding selection of personal and professional growth
   workshops...

        "If we breed a nation of specialists and give them all the information
        in the world, we may find we know more and more about less and less."
                           Daniel Yankelovich Yankelovich, Skelly & White


FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS TO INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED PUBLICATIONS

*   Favored by practitioners, the BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR
    INFORMATION SCIENCE features news, opinions and analysis of the past,
    present and future of the information field.  Topics range from domestic
    and international information policy; to managing information organizations,
    resources and practices; to improving access to online and full text
    databases and networks.

*   Ranked among the top five journals by the Association College Research
    Libraries, the JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION
    SCIENCE (JASIS) reports on cutting-edge research and theoretical findings 
    on the latest topics, such as . . . 
    Designing Menu Selection Systems . . . Measuring Reference Practices . . . 
    Query Formulation . . . Evaluation of Scientific Literature . . . 
    Knowledge Assisted Document Retrieval . . . Accelerating Text Searching . . . 
    Clustering Analysis . . . Information Transfer . . . End-User Mediated Searches . . . 
    System Design and Cataloging . . . Automatic Syntactic Analysis.


SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS AND LOCAL CHAPTERS OFFER INSIGHT

ASIS offers the best of both worlds: participation in industry-wide development
and networking with peers in your specific field.  Join any one SIG for free,
and pay only $6 each for any others (see SIG list on membership application).

You'll also receive free membership to a local ASIS Chapter to add an extra
measure of career advancement, education, and regional awareness.  The Chapter
will be your local support group, with meetings and publications keeping you
moving forward on a daily basis.


DISCOUNTED RATES TO ACCLAIMED ASIS CONFERENCES

*   ASIS conferences attract members from virtually every profession.  Lawyers,
    bankers, electronic and print publishers, government, business, librarians,
    engineers, social scientists, information managers, computer scientists,
    and many others are a part of ASIS, leading the information field to the
    next horizon.

*   The Annual and Mid-Year Conferences of ASIS boast exciting presentations from
    research and industry leaders, opportunities for intense personal
    interaction and awards recognizing excellence in all aspects of the
    industry.  As an ASIS member, you'll gain greater understanding of
    developments within the outside your field.


        "I go to other meetings to speak; I come to ASIS meetings to listen."
                                     Pat Earnest, Anaheim Public Library


EDUCATION AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROVIDE CAREER FULFILLMENT

Keep abreast of the latest techniques and topics with top-of-the-line
instructors in information science, technology and practice in the ASIS
Professional Development and Continuing Education Program with no-nonsense
programs in expert systems, indexing, hypertext engineering, financial
management and budgeting, telecommunications technologies, imaging and
image databases, strategic planning, library automation and much, much more.

*   EXECUTIVE BRIEFINGS inform you about the latest developments.
*   TUTORIALS brings you up to speed on current emerging techniques and
    technologies.
*   PROFESSIONAL SEMINARS give you in-depth exposure to the core competencies
    of a forward-looking information professional.

                "ASIS is my primary means for relating developments in the
                broader information world to my work in the online industry."
                               Randolph Hock, Dialog Information Services


Every month you'll receive the ASIS member Jobline newsletter, highlighting career
opportunities across the country.  And the ASIS Placement Center at conferences
offers you free assistance in your search for a new career or key new employee.


SAVE MONEY ON YOUR INSURANCE, TRAVEL, AND ASIS PUBLICATIONS

ASIS membership affords you considerable discounts on valuable items, such as
insurance and travel, and discounts on publications such as prestigious
Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, ASIS books, monographs,
and briefing papers.


ASIS . . .  TURNING VISIONS INTO REALITY

Through the cumulative contributions of ASIS members, past and present,
ASIS has achieved special leadership status.

1937    WATSON DAVIS forms ADI (now ASIS), housed at National Academy
        of Science.

1945    VANNEVAR BUSH and RALPH SHAW introduced the Bush/Shaw Rapid
        Selector, enabling search and retrieval of stored microfilm.

1948    CALVIN MOOERS introduces random codes enabling retrieval
        from notched cards.

1956    JAMES PERRY, ALLEN KENT, and MADELINE HENDERSON introduce
        telegraphic abstracts.

1958    HANS PETER LUHN creates computer program which produces a
        KWIC/KWOC index.

1961    GERARD SALTON develops the SMART system, enabling associative
        retrieval.

1963    GENE GARFIELD publishes first Science Citation Index.

1965    ROGER SUMMIT at Lockheed and CARLOS CUADRA at SDC lead teams
        developing software enabling online database systems Dialog and ORBIT.

1966    LEE BURCHINAL establishes ERIC Clearinghouses.

1967    FRED KILGOUR founds OCLC, first operational computer-based
        inter-library network.

1968    MARTHA WILLIAMS establishes Computer Search Center at IIT Research
        Institute, providing fee-based batch computer search services.

1969    HENRIETTE AVRAM begins machine readable database system at the
        Library of Congress.

1970    CARLOS CUADRA at SDC develops ELHILL software, to support NLM's
        experimental online database MEDLINE, the first dial up service
        in 1971.

1972    ROGER SUMMIT makes Dialog a commercially available online service
        with ERIC as its first offering.

1977    FOREST W. HORTON authors report on information resource management
        in U.S. Government, leading to federal IRM movement.

1978    WARD SHAW begins Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries (CARL),
        one of the first public access catalogs in the country.

1982    VICTOR ROSENBERG'S PBS Software creates products which allow
         manipulation of downloaded information.

1982    DON KING begins studies leading to the quantification of the value
        of information.

1986    DAVIS MCCARN designs Grateful Med for National Library of Medicine,
        continuing trend to simplified end-user service.

1990    MITCHELL KAPOR, founder of Lotus Development, establishes
        Electronic Frontiers Foundation to protect information access.


                "ASIS has been in the midst of is all - its members designing,
                exploring, testing, building, using and marketing information
                products and services . . .  If you could join only one
                professional society, this would be the one."
                                                   Lois Lunin, Consultant.


**********************************************************************
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION
SCIENCE
**********************************************************************

THE SOCIETY

The American Society for Information Science (ASIS) is a nonprofit professional
association organized for scientific, literary, and educational purposes and
dedicated to the creation, organization, dissemination and application of
knowledge concerning information and its transfer.  Founded in the mid-1930's,
ASIS has a history which stems from the earliest days of the modern era of
documentation.

ASIS counts among its membership some 4,000 information specialists from such
fields as computer science, management, engineering, librarianship, chemistry,
linguistics, and education.  As was true when the Society was founded, ASIS
membership continues to lead the information profession in the search for new
and better theories, techniques, and technologies to improve access to
information through storage and retrieval advances.  And now, as then, ASIS
and its members are called upon to help determine new directions and standards
for the development of information policies and practices.


MISSION & VISION

The mission of the American Society for Information Science is to advance
information professionals and the field of information science. ASIS's vision
is to become the foremost interdisciplinary information association in the
world. ASIS strives to achieve its mission and vision by:

- providing methods of communication and continuing education for information
  professionals

- encouraging research, development and applications that advance the field
  of information science

- increasing public awareness of the field and its benefits to society.

- Stimulating articipation and interaction among its members by affording them
  an environment for substantive professional exchange

- Encouraging and supporting personal and professional growth through
  opportunities  for members to extend their knowledge and skills, develop
  and use professional networks, pursue career development goals and
  assume leadership roles in the Society and in the information community

- Increasing the influence of information professionals among decision-makers
  by focusing attention on the importance of information as a vital resource
  in a high-technology age

- Promoting informed policy on national and international information issues
  by contributing to the formation of those policies.

- Supporting the advancement of the state of the art and practice by taking a
  leadership position in the advocacy of research and development in basic and
  applied information science.


HISTORY

ASIS was founded on March 13, 1937, as the American Documentation Institute
(ADI), a service organization made up of individuals nominated by and
representing affiliated scientific and professional societies, foundations
and government agencies.  Its initial interest was in the development of
microfilm as an aid to learning.  ADI compiled an impressive record of
achievement in its early years of existence: development of microfilm readers,
cameras and  services; fostering negotiations and research which resulted in
the so-called "gentleman's agreement" covering the photoduplication of
copyrighted materials; establishment of programs for the storage and
reproduction of auxiliary publications in support of journal editors;
operation of an Oriental scientific literature service during World War II;
support of Interlingua to foster international science communications; and
co-sponsoring of the 1958 International Conference on Scientific Information.

As the number of people engaged in developing new principles and techniques
in the many areas of documentation and information services increased, the
Bylaws were amended in 1952 to admit individual as well as institutional
members.  Thus, ADI became the national professional society for those
concerned with all elements and problems of information science. With the
1950's came increasing awareness of the potential of automatic devices for
literature searching and information storage and retrieval.  As these concepts
grew in magnitude and potential, so did the variety of professional interests.
During the 1960's, membership increased sevenfold as  the problems created by
the "information explosion" became of national concern.

Reflecting this change in its total range of activities, as well as the
emergence of information science as an identifiable configuration of
disciplines, the membership voted to change the name of the American
Documentation Institute to the American Society for Information Science.
The name change took effect January 1, 1968, and emphasized the fact that
the membership of ASIS is uniquely concerned with all aspects of the
information-transfer process.  ASIS had become the leading and most
representative national professional organization for those concerned with
designing, managing, and using information systems and technology.



*******************
* HOW TO JOIN ASIS*
*******************

JOIN ASIS TODAY FOR ONLY $95!

Download the following membership application and Join today, and immediately
begin taking advantage or member discounts, publications, special interest
groups, and more!

Name:
Title:
Organization:
Mailing Address:
City/State/Zip:
Phone:                Fax:

Please select category of membership:
Regular $95
Student  $25

(STUDENT MEMBERS MUST INDICATE THE FOLLOWING)
I am a full-time student at (School):
Faculty advisor's e-mail address (Required):
Graduation date:

_____ Check or money order enclosed (payable to ASIS)
      or charge my

_____  VISA

_____  MasterCard

(please be sure to include payment for any additional SIGs).
Account #:
Expiration Date:
Signature:

Return this form, with dues payment to:

American Society for Information Science
P.O. Box 554, Washington, D.C. 20044-0554
Phone: (301) 495-0900  Fax: (301) 495-0810
e-mail: asis@cni.org

ASIS memberships are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Of the annual membership dues $11 is payment for the Bulletin;
$17 is payment for the Journal.

You will automatically become a member of the chapter serving your
geographic area (if one exists).  Information about your chapter and additional
chapters you may want to join will be sent to you upon receipt of your
membership application and payment.


Choose Your FREE Special Interest Group (SIG).

Your ASIS membership includes FREE participation in one SIG of your choice.
You may register for other SIGs for only $6.00 each.

Below I have checkmarked my free Sig, plus _____ SIG's at $6.00 each.

_____ Arts and Humanities
_____ Automated Language Processing
_____ Behavioral and Social Sciences
_____ Classification Research
_____ Computerized Retrieval Services
_____ Education for Information Science
_____ Foundations of Information Science
_____ Human-Computer Interaction
_____ Information Analysis and Evaluation
_____ Information Generation and Publishing
_____ International Information Issues
_____ Library Automation and Networks
_____ Management
_____ Medical Information Systems
_____ Numeric Data Bases
_____ Office Information Systems
_____ Personal Computers
_____ Scientific & Technical Information Systems
_____ Storage and Retrieval Technology
_____ Technology, Information, and Society

Go to GSLIS Home Page.